Laffin Crew outside Nissen Huts at airfield

The young faces of the Laffin crew out on the airfield, training either in a Heavy Conversion Unit (H.C.U. - January-February) or Operational Training Unit (O.T.U. February-March). See the crew photo dated 13 April 1944 (Night Raid on Happy Valley or Crew photo's) they appear to have weathered 2-3 years in a span of 3 months.

Ken Donaldson, London

Ken Donaldson touring London, he is the Wireless A/G for the Laffin crew.

First letter from Croft airfield, the Laffin crew is now operational, awaiting thier first mission.

RCAF Overseas

23 March 1944

Dear Rose, and All,

...We are just getting settled down again, oh yeah I forgot to mention it but we have moved again, so now we are in another station. The barracks are bloody awful, but they sure have a swell YMCA here, lots of room, a big library, all sorts of games, and a lunch counter of sorts, which is where I am writing from.

Ken is down in the mess sampling the beer, which is always his first job at a new station. Well we should be getting leave in a week or two I hope, so I might go home with Jack, or go to Edinburgh. I`ll wait and see if the leave comes first and how much my pocket book weighs, if it has a few pounds I’m all set.

I guess Mike will be rambling around telling all his girlfriends that he is on a day off, so he will be able to see at least 4 of them. If they raise an argument Mike just says we’re through, so they always write and ask him to come back on his next leave. It is a great life if you like a great life. How is everybody in the family getting along? I am pretty fair myself.

So long for now

Love Clair

Douglas and Mike Laffin - Crew 88 complete 2 missions.

Douglas and Mike Laffin, Doug is in the army and will visit with Mike regularly at Croft.

The Laffin crew have two missions completed;

26/27 March 1944 - Courtrai, Belgium and 29/30 March - Vaires, France.

RCAF Overseas

434 Squadron

31 March 1944

Dear Rose, and All

...Well the gang is all here and all well and happy. Cliff is in very high spirits reading a letter from his dear Marge. She expects to be Mrs. Cliff Wentworth when he gets home, and Cliff just sits here moaning about the fact. He says she is a lovely girl but I don’t want to get married soon as I get home, he’s still kicking himself for telling her things that he shouldn’t have.

We are getting 7 days leave starting on the 5th, next Wednesday; I am going home with Jack, so I will know at least one person in the town. Mike was sitting here last night trying to figure out how many of his seven girlfriends he could see in seven days, so he got disgusted and quit. He decided to go and see one of his brothers who is in the army over here, told his girlfriends that he wasn’t getting any leave for at least 3 months.

...I banged my watch on one of guns the other day, so now it stops every time it gets to 25 past 5, it isn’t so good in the morning cause when I wake up and see what the time is, I turn over and go back to sleep. The next time I wake up and ask somebody the time, it is usually 10 O’clock, and we have to get up at the bright hour of 9 O’clock, and be at squadron headquarters by 9:15. 

...Well there goes Cliff writing another letter with a dreamy look in his eyes, he will be kicking himself in a couple of days again for writing such trash, I always tell him to be like me, don’t write that sort of stuff. ...Well I won’t be able to get you that trinket from Scotland this time, as I’m not going there, but I will see if I can find one in Jacks home town.

So long for now, Love Clair

Rose - Crew members are out on the town...

Rose is the second oldest of the 6 children. 

RCAF Overseas

434 Squadron

12 April 1944

Dear Rose and All

Well I just got back this morning from 7 great days leave, and found 28 letters waiting for me. I went to Jacks home in Gloucester last Saturday night and I sure had a swell time. I had a look at England’s old cities down in that part of the country. We even went to the dog races and lost our fortunes. So help me I swear that one of the dogs Jack bet on came in so far behind that he won the next race. That was the only night Jack and I got even got half swacked. That is quite a city, I even met a nice WAAF there, she made me promise to write to her.

...Mike is sitting here trying to write his way out of a marriage, more of his troubles. If I was him I would quit going on leave. Poor Cliff is in the same trouble, but his is way back in Canada, they both like these girls the best of all. They are not ready to get into a two-man crew just yet, as this job at the present time is kind of shaky.

...All anybody ever calls me over here is "Sody".

Will you please let me decide who I should marry, besides I won’t be getting married for quite a while after this mans war is over. At least not until I have enough money to start something and a job that is fair market, so in that case I will probably be an unmarried man the rest of my life. I don’t intend to go out on the street corner selling pencils and shoestrings for a living. How are prospects for starting a tourist camp somewhere in the Rockies? I can always knock off a bank or two to get the financing.

God I got so many letters to write that I don’t know if I will ever catch up.

So long for now,

Love Clair

Mr. & Mrs. Ture Soderstrom, my grandparents. Crew completes a gardening mission.

Clair's parents Agnes and Ture

Clair and crew have completed thier 3rd mission - aerial mine laying off the coast of The Netherlands completed on 1/2 April. 

RCAF Overseas

434 Squadron

17 April 1944

Dear Rose, and All

I received two letters from you and one from Dad today, and one of your parcels yesterday with bars, chocolate, candy, gum, shaving cream, cod liver oil tablets, pipe cleaners, and tobacco. I also got 300 cigarettes from Oscar and Jean the other day.

This letter will probably not get finished today, as I will soon have to get cracking cause we are flying tonight. Well I got back from leave 5 days ago and worse luck we don’t get another leave for a whole month. I went home with Jack on leave and boy did I meet a terrific blonde, she was swell.

...Did mom get those flowers for Easter? The only trouble around here is that we have to get up too early every morning, 9 O’clock an ungodly hour. I guess we will get use to it in time.

...This is a great life, we are getting a few baseball teams together here now, and a bunch of other teams. I’m just waiting in hopes for next week we are having a squadron party and I expect it will be some blow out. So I will blow out with the rest of the boys.

...Mike and Allie are sitting here playing Chinese checkers and talked me into playing too, guess they will get their way cause I haven’t got much space to write much more.

So long for now,

Love Clair

Mike Laffin - Crew has encounter with Luftwaffe, cannot mention in letter.

Mike Laffin has two other brothers in the forces, and his wife to be is also serving as a nurse.

The Laffin crew will be going on their 5th mission tonight bombing the rail yards at Lens, France. Two nights previous (18/19 April) they had thier first encounter with 3 Luftwaffe nightfighters while laying mines at Kiel Bay on the east coast of Denmark.

RCAF Overseas

434 Squadron

20 April 44

Dear Rose, and All

... I spent all morning cleaning my turret, so you see we do work once in a while.

Did you say Curt was over here? If he is I wish he would drop me a line, so I could maybe go and see him on my next leave, but that is whole month from now.

Where in the blazes did you happen to scare up all those corny jokes? How does Fred like you roaring around with all those Americans? I`ll bet you six pence you don’t marry Fred next year, I will even risk a shilling.

Mike didn’t feel like waiting around here for supper, so Jack and him are up in barracks asleep, here I am half asleep writing a letter home like a good boy. The rest of them were smart, they wrote their letters last night, while I went to see a show called "China" and the night before we were playing "Dike the Bridges". Well I’ve got Cliff’s pen and he wants to write to dear Marg....

So long for now,

Love Clair

Rose and Tim. Jack and Sody didn't feel well Easter Sunday

Rose and Tim

Tonight the crew will be flying a bombing raid to Laon France, attempting to destroy the German equipment at the marshalling yards.

RCAF Overseas

434 Squadron

22 April 44

Dear Rose, and All

...Don’t get too sore about not getting letters from me, if you listen to the news or read the paper you will see that we are very busy little boys.

Well old dear you are quite right I haven’t even been on a dance floor since I set foot in this country. All the rest of the crew dance, Jack use to dance at the Normandy and Crystal Palace, it does not help that I haven’t met a girl to go dancing with. I did meet a swell girl on leave, but she is blonde, lives a long way from here, and has a boyfriend.

...Yeah I go to church every Sunday when I’m home, Jacks mother almost got us there on Easter Sunday, but Jack and I had spent the night before and most of the next morning in one of the neighboring cities drinking rum. She didn’t think we looked well enough to take to the neighborhood church...

So long for now, Love Clair