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Copy of letter No.22 from Sgt. Pilot Murray Wilson to H.M.W.
26th.March 1942.
I'm in Edinburgh now dear and have just been to see the Sinclairs. We have a night here on the way through so of course I rang them as soon as we arrived here, the train got in at about 7.15 and we booked in at the Royal Hotel in Princes Street and then had a bath, shave etc. then tea and then out to see them.
They are a great family and I have promised to stay with them when I get some more leave. Elizabeth brought out a whole lot of snaps that Constance has sent her at various times and she told me the news of her latest letters. I just had a couple of hours with them as I didn't get out till after nine, but I was jolly glad to be able to meet them and I think they were pleased to see me. Elizabeth's sister - forget her name - (Anna who is very lovely and married to an Enlgishman in the Air Force, H.M.W.) wasn't home, but the others were, I suppose I was a bit lucky that they weren't all out as of course I couldn't tell them that I was coming before I did.
Yesterday we went from London to Norwich and stayed the night there in some damned broken down sort of a boarding house that calls itself an hotel. It is run by the usual boarding house type of woman who informed us that we couldn't have a bath as they only allowed their guests one bath a week and anyway casuals couldn't have one at all. It was that sort of a dump. However it was only for a night so we survived it but it was a bit of a comedown from the Strand Palace that we had just come from.
We came from Norwich to Edinburgh today and had quite a good trip. This Hotel is quite a nice place and I am looking forward to a decent snooze when I've finished this. I should have started by telling you where we are going instead of saying it bit by bit. We're off to Stornaway and that is in the Isle of Lewis about the most godforsaken of all the godforsaken joints that ever were. I forget whether I said before that we were going to Horsham St. Faith - near Norwich - or Bircham Newton. Anyhow we were told to go to them both in turn and then finished up with Stornaway so I won't see Rae unless we get called back as we may do but it is not very likely.
We went to Norwich to fix up our luggage which we had previously sent there. Tomorrow we continue the journey and go to Inverness and beyond that we have not worked out what happens. I would never have thought such a long drawn out journey was possible here, but the big advantage is that we are getting a decent sleep each night and then travelling in the day time, we worked it out that way to suit ourselves - I believe we were due there two days ago but it will be a couple of days hence before we arrive.
We had a great week in London - didn't go to any more theatres after the two I told you of but saw a couple of picture shows. One day we all got together in Australia House and decided to go out to see the Science Museum - it is supposed to be very interesting - but when we got there after a lot of bother finding it, we discovered it had been closed since the beginning of the war, or so we were told. Anyway it was certainly shut then, but still we saw a bit of London we hadn't seen before.
On Sunday night I went out to see Madge and Keith Cummings and took them some sugar and some tea. There was another chap there too - Ron Westen a West. Aust. chap who was in England when the war broke out so he joined the R.A.F. It was nice to see them again.
In my rush of telling you what I'm doing I didn't even tell you that I had another letter from you. It was waiting for me at Horsham - No.28 and was such a lovely surprise for me. I didn't expect any mail there, but got your letter just as we had finished lunch.
This is just a short letter to tell you how things are going so goodnight.
Received 6th. June, 1942.
Letter No 21 not get rcd.