Special airmail delivery to
the Red Hall

A pilot's eye view of the Red Hall

In the summer of 1918, an aircraft flew low over the Red Hall and after circling several times, dropped an object into the adjoining grounds.

At that time, the Red Hall was part of the Great Northern Railway station complex for Bourne and stood next to the platforms which were accessed over an iron footbridge. The early 17th century mansion was originally used as the stationmaster’s residence but by this time the company had purchased another property for this purpose, South Lodge in nearby South Street where the then stationmaster, Charles John Cook, lived with his wife and son Jack.

The object which fluttered down from the plane into the grounds of the Red Hall was a note in an envelope addressed to Mr Cook who had been appointed earlier that year and written by a young airman he had befriended who was then serving with the Royal Flying Corps stationed at the Cranwell airfield, near Sleaford, which had just become a training unit for officer cadets. It read:

“I am just on my way to [King’s] Lynn, leading a formation, so you may perhaps see us go over. I shall drop this somewhere near the station so you may get it or may not. Anyway, if you do, remember me very kindly to Mrs Cook and Jack. - Yours T Waite, RAF.”

The crest on the notepaper is that of the Royal Flying Corps which lost its identity towards the end of the Great War and became the Royal Air Force which was formed on 1st April 1918 and although the note is undated it was almost certainly written after that date because the writer quite specifically adds RAF to his signature. We are also unable to decipher his rank but the abbreviation after his name appears to be that for 2nd Lieutenant, his army rank used while serving with the RFC because the RAF system of ranking which we know today was not introduced until 1919.

Fortunately, the note was found by railway staff and duly delivered to the stationmaster. It has also survived the years and is reproduced here together with a photograph of the pilot as a reminder of this unusual and light-hearted incident in those troubled times.
 
Mr Cook remained at Bourne as stationmaster until later that year when he was moved by the railway company to Grantham where he took over as goods agent, later becoming stationmaster until retiring in 1938.

NOTE: I am indebted to Graham Moorfoot for supplying a photograph
of the pilot and a copy of the letter he wrote.