Cape Breton Deaths courtesy of CAPE BRETON GENEALOGY & HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION VISIT OUR WEBSITE - <http://www.cbgen.org/>www.cbgen.org NEW MEMBERS WELCOME Cape Breton Post November 11, 2013 Saturday "Censored letters from departed relative reveal more than you might think" "Saturday, March 27, 1943. Hi Mom: Saturday night (censored) I've had a pretty easy time of it this week. We only flew one night, and that was only a (censored) trip. But if things go like I hope they will, I should be doing lots of flying soon. My skipper has been taken off our crew, and is being posted overseas (out of England), not back to Canada, but still farther away from home." This was one of several letters home written by my maternal uncle Rannie MacLean, after he had reached England in the spring of 1942. After joining the Royal Canadian Air Force, he had been trained as a Navigator/Air Gunner, and was "seconded" to the Royal Air Force Coastal Command, after he arrived in the British Isles. (The military term "seconded" refers to an individual who has been lent to another regiment, unit, or branch of service, for an open-ended period of time.) His letter continues: "At that rate it will leave me the only officer in our crew, which isn't very nice, since I wouldn't have any one to kick around with. So I'm trying to get posted with him. I'd like to stick with J. J., he's an awfully nice guy and a heck of a good pilot. I think it will work out OK, I hope. We should do much more flying out there (censored), and thus get our ( flying) hours in much quicker than here (censored), and then, too, I'd be seeing the world." This letter, and the envelope in which it was mailed, both show evidence of being heavily censored, which was common practice in all branches of the military in the Second World War. One end of the sealed letter had been opened, and resealed with white tape, after the letter inside had been censored. The censor had placed the following stamp on the sealing tape, in a bold black typeface: "EXAMINER 7129". The envelope had been addressed to my maternal grandmother: "Mrs. Hector MacLean, P.O. Box 363, North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada." (This was long before the post office offered home delivery, and long before the use of postal codes. You had to go to the post office to pick up your mail, using a key, from your private mail box.) The name of the town from which the letter was mailed had also been removed by the censor. When you look at the original letter, you can see where the censor used some type of knife, or razor blade, to cut out any reference to where my uncle was located, the name of his squadron, or where they were flying when out on patrol. His letter continues: "I haven't had a letter from you for 6 weeks now. Something must be wrong somewhere. There isn't any Canadian mail coming in at all. There should be some soon, though, I hope. How is everything going? Well, I hope. How is the (new) baby, and Mary? I'm going to have a bath, and get to bed, and get a good sleep. I'll be going to church tomorrow morning (Sunday), and then we are flying tomorrow night (censored). So, so long, for now. My regards to everybody. Love, Rannie." The next night, on 28 March, 1943, my uncle Rannie MacLean climbed on board his Wellington aircraft, and set out on an anti- submarine patrol. He never returned, and no trace was ever found of his aircraft, or any of the crew. Like so many of his fellow aircrew, he was simply "Missing in Action!" Next week: trying to find out what exactly happened on that fateful night. Rannie Gillis Rannie Gillis is an author and avid Celtic histori an whose column appears every week in the Cape Breton Post. He can by reached by email at [email protected] sympatico. ca