A Story of War

I am back here a week now and bored stiff. I sell my old sports coat for 40 guilders and a wheel of Tom Raynor’s for 100. We practise formation flying as a Wing, and though I miss the first two shows there is one tomorrow over the Hague where Queen Wilhelmina is holding a review. We practise twice yesterday and there is to be the same today. Mitch is away and I am now C.O. and lead the squadron. We expect to move to Celle near Hanover any minute now, and it will be pretty grim with peacetime training, just like Hawarden again. My view is that it is all a life without an end, without a glimmer, and what use is ambition at all. But then I am paid £480 p.a. and my board and lodging costs me practically nothing, and where would I get that in any job out of the service? Somehow I am almost regretting  that the war is over – it at least gave me a purpose in life. What is there now – not just ‘soldier on’, surely?