Our father Derek Thornton kept the letters from his parents, relations and friends, sent to him while he was stationed with the RAF in India and Ceylon. This letter was sent from Dad’s Auntie Janie who dictated it to my Grandma who wrote it for her as she had clear handwriting. Our father’s letters were shared among the family who enjoyed reading them. Our father also sent items from India and Ceylon. Auntie Janie had recently lost her husband. She lived near tennis courts about a mile from Brighouse town centre.
Blakeboroughs was one of the main factories in Brighouse specialising in valve manufacturing. Dad had done his apprenticeship there before joining the RAF and his father worked there too.
I remember Dad telling us lots of stories about his time in South East Asia including posting a whole coconut back to his parents in Yorkshire with the name and address painted on the shell.
The letters were tied up in a neat bundle and kept in a box. They were discovered when our father passed away. They make interesting reading and I’m glad they were kept in a safe place so that this particular letter can be shared. It describes the VE day celebrations that took place in Brighouse, West Yorkshire.
The second photograph is of our father Derek Thornton in his RAF uniform aged 18 or 19.
