My first fighter leave

My first fighter leave – Ron Gridly and I first met when I was staying at one of the most sophisticated hotels in London – the YMCA. We met in the swimming pool. Grid was a Canadian in the peacetime RAF and he eventually married the beautiful red-headed Ruth who had maintained a stable of prostitutes in London.

Grid was 32 years of age and he was a former bomber pilot. He was now stationed in London. Ron and Ruth were a devoted couple and it was a pleasure to be invited into their lovely home (flat) in Kensington and to have wonderful arguments on all subjects, and at any hour.

Grid was killed in a car accident just before I left for Malta. Ruth simply gave up, I think, and she died in less than a year after Ron’s death.

When I met my Mother-away-from-home – Mrs. Fred Folkard – she said that I should invite Ron and Ruth to visit. Ron and Ruth visited with the Folkards several times and I have often wondered what Mrs. Folkard would have thought had she discovered Ruth’s capital status. Mrs. Folkard liked Ruth very much and, someway or other, I don’t think that it would have fazed Mrs. Folkard one bit.

It was the rascal Gridly who was sitting in the adjacent chair when the tonsorial artist cut all the hair from both sides of my head because I mistook an English crew-cut for a Canadian brush-cut, and because I was dozing at the time Ron started to laugh like mad. I woke up and wanted in on the fun. Grid said, “Take a look in the mirror.” I did. I jumped out of the chair, pulled the white sheet from around my neck, and grabbed the poor old English barber by his collar and yelled, “What in the hell are you trying to do?” The worst was yet to come as I wouldn’t let him cut the remainder along the top of my head. When I got back to Westhampnett I was to known as “The Iroquois” for about three weeks. In order to cover my head I ate in my wedge hat, I slept in my wedge hat, and without my wedge hat I kept out of sight as much as possible. The guys said that all I needed to do to scare the Hun pilots was take off my helmet when the Hun pilots approached.