Don’t know if any of you follow Dan Snow’s Twitter account. He posted this letter from a father to his son’s CO after he was killed in action. I thought it was worth sharing here. Dan Snow on Twitter
Nor do I but if you click the link you can read it. It's a public tweet so everyone can see it. Click on the first page & it's easy to read the whole letter by clicking the > arrow I am on my laptop at the moment though , might be different on a mobile or tablet.
Casualty I believe the letter was written to his son's pilot, not his CO. The aircraft that he was onboard was lost with all crew so presumably he was flying as a spare bod. The "French boy" who visited Sgt Smith's parents appears to be 654574 F/Sgt James George Louis Martin, whose DFM was gazetted 11 February 1944. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36374/page/740/data.pdf
photo of Runnymede panel from my photo collection Sergeant SMITH, JOHN GEORGE Service Number 1810132 Died 23/11/1943 Aged 20 630 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Son of John Henry and Ada Marie Smith, of Woolwich, London.
I see the author of that letter served in France in WW1. I used to know a Great War veteran whose son (only child) was killed whilst a skipper of a Stirling bomber. (I have mentioned them a few times on here) It really was heartbreaking for those chaps who'd fought in & survived the trenches of WW1 to loose their sons in the following war.