11 August, 1942 - HMS Eagle

Grace’s older brother, Eric, was a mechanic in the Fleet Air Arm, serving on board the aircraft carrier ‘HMS Eagle’.  On 11 August the Eagle was protecting a convoy taking supplies to the besieged island of Malta – a key strategic base in the Mediterranean. 

The Eagle was hit by four torpedoes fired by the German submarine U-73 and sank within four minutes.  Most of the crew were rescued, but 131 officers and crew lost their lives.

Grace would know nothing about this when she wrote the letter below on 11 August.  News was closely managed by the government and events such as this were often not reported for several days, until the Navy was in a better position to inform the families which men had survived and which were lost.

The Nurses Home
General Hospital
Notts.                                                                                          

Tuesday    

My Darling

You had me awfully worried until yesterday afternoon as I had not had a letter since last Wednesday.  Actually I did not get your letter until last night as I was on duty till 8.30 p.m.  I started thinking of all the hundred and one reasons why you had not written and finally I put it down to the postal service – which it was.

It was grand to receive another letter from you this afternoon.

I thought the same as you – that it would be better to send your letter to Darlington so I suppose that by now you will have received that letter I wrote last Saturday, plus two old ones.

You sound as if you have had a pretty rotten time of it in Scotland.  Never mind – cheer up – only another fortnight and then we will see what Nottingham can do for you.  There is only one snag, I shall want to go home with you.

I am ready for my day off – this place does get one down sometimes – there are times when I just long to be away from it and at home or better still – with you.

It is my half-day to-day when I have finished your letter I am going to do a bit of shopping and going to the theatre to-night, collecting for the hospital.  We see the show as well so I promised that I would go.

We are giving a dance on Saturday night in our recreation room.  I wish you were here to come to it.  The “we” consists of the Sept. and Nov 1940 schools.  I belong to the Nov 1940 school.  I hope it will go off alright.  The only snag is that there are never enough males at these dances.

I think that I have rambled enough for to-day and until next time darling.

All my love, Grace  xxxxxxx