Christmas Presents

Here is what Keith would like from his mom for Christmas.

Letter from Keith to his mom, December 12 1944.
'You can send some cigs if you like, you be surprised, the last bunch all got burned (joke). '

Stuart Thomson (Stew) - The Wireless Operator

Stuart Thomson was from Trois Rivieres, Quebec. He was the crew's Wireless Operator, and he was 6 months younger than Keith. 'Stew' died about 3 months before his 21st birthday.

All the guys in the crew were chain smokers, and they depended on their friends in family to send them cigarettes from back home.

Letter from Keith to his mom, 7 November 1944.
'There is a parcel in the Post office for me now but I was too late to get it tonight so I will wait till tomorrow, I hope it is cigarettes cus I owe Stew our Wireless o.p. 9 packages.'

Stuart McLean Thomson 

This is the Wireless Operator's station. It was situated near the front of the plane, and contained radio equipment, and a detection system for tracking enemy planes at night.

Click here to see more pictures of a Lancaster Bomber's interior. 

Keith dislikes English cigarettes (and the cars are too small)

Letter from Keith to his mom,  June 19, 1944.
'I received the chocolates yesterday & they were good the cigarettes you enclosed went like wild fire nobody in the [?] would smoke these English cigarettes until mine were gone, boy what a country this is, but you can’t argue with an Englishman, they think its OK & that’s all there is to it, they think (at least some of them) that Canada is still way behind the times so I [?] & told one [?] last night that they hadn’t better bring any of their blooming cars over to Canada or the people are liable to think they are for the kids to play with they're about half the size of ours.'

A 1944 Triumph/Standard Motors car

A damaged girl cooks Keith's pheasant

Letter from Keith to his mother, December 12 1944. 
'I went to a dance the other night & stepped into a pub where I met the town policeman, his wife & another nice young girl from London (she was bombed out & her mother killed 6 months ago) they were going to the dance so I went along with them, they had a draw on two pheasants a rabbit& 200 cigs. I bought some tickets & won a pheasant so yesterday this girl cooked it for me & we had the best dinner I have had since I have been over here.'