I have a treasure trove of material from my Uncle Duke. When his daughter Barbara died a couple of years ago on Canada’s west coast, her daughter agreed to send me all his memorabilia if I paid the shipping charges so that I could write a long-overdue book on him. Part of that collection, that also included his logbooks, photo albums, scrapbooks, and telegrams of condolence after his amphibian crashed off the coast of Bermuda, was a stack of letters he sent his wife during his RAF Ferry Command days.
I found what was no doubt the last letter he wrote to his wife Ada and his nine-year-old daughter Barbara Jane. Duke’s handwriting wasn’t the best and the reading of the letter is a tad difficult as well because he wrote it in pencil on flimsy airmail paper where the folds get in the way of some of the words.
The letter is postmarked Hamilton, Bermuda on March 13, 1943 (the day of his fatal crash) and Duke dated it “Thursday”. I Googled March 13 of that year and it was a Saturday, so the letter would have been written on Thursday, March 11.
I notice Duke grouses about his superiors in the letter – as most servicemen did from time to time – but I think that just adds to the fun. He was a Ferry Command Senior Captain at the time of his death.
I am also attaching details on a postcard Duke mailed to Barbara Jane five days before his death (if I’m reading the postmark correctly). Ironically, it was a picture of Bermuda Lilies (which in some circles is considered a bad omen). Another attached postcard was sent to Ada from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I Googled the place and found out why Duke would have been there:
Yes, Elizabeth City, North Carolina was indeed used by the RAF Ferry Command during World War Two. It served as a key location for receiving and ferrying aircraft, particularly Catalina seaplanes, on their way to different destinations, including Canada, Iceland, and the Soviet Union.
The postcard could have been sent just before Duke headed to his “Appointment in Samarra” in Hamilton, Bermuda.
I have also attached a photo of Duke, Ada and Barbara Jane in their Montreal apartment where they lived while Duke was involved in the Ferry Command flying out of Dorval, Quebec. It was taken for a major article on the Ferry Command written by Don Whitehead of the Associated Press.
Tom Douglas has written a number of books about Canada’s military heritage and has recently completed ‘Whispering’ Duke Schiller (Tagona Press) about his great-uncle, who trained with the Royal Flying Corps in Canada during World War One, was an instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War Two and then transferred to the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. He was killed in an air crash off Bermuda in 1943.
