[Received May 1, 1918]
[#43b]
Carleton House,
Ayr.
April 9, 1918
Dear Mother and Father:
I have had a right disappointing day.
This afternoon I was scheduled to fly over Glasgow and Troon in a stunting formation on a Spad and drop bushels of the enclosed leaflets and snow flakes on the populace while they were gathered at a patriotic open air meeting. Then do stunts for them and help thrill them to the point of further diggings into their purses. Well the formation went, saw Glasgow and had their fun but I remained on the airdrome with Mr. Spad who refused to work properly. We fiddled and fooled all afternoon but could not get the engine to perform properly. I learned considerable about the bus and think it will go tomorrow.
The flight that Frank Read is in got a new Spad today so we have hopes of taking some trips together. I’ll see Glasgow yet.
Won’t it be nice to fly over John Brown’s Yard and look it all over from a position where Mr. Luke cannot throw you out (assuming that they have no anti aircraft guns stowed in the yard).
I got a very nice letter and a cute little silver chupie [sic] from Isabel Robertson (Isabel Whiting) today.
Lovingly,
Parr
We will not get any flying pay. Only the men commissioned in the States and having flying orders from Washington get it. We get our orders from Pershing and he does not give us regular flying orders so we cannot get the pay. We don’t have to fly technically unless we want to. If anybody beats me back to civil life when this is over they will have to go some, but I would not have missed it, being as it is going, for worlds.
With this note Parr enclosed a leaflet about 5″ wide × 7.5″ high with the heading “War Weapons Week, 8th to 13th April,” announcing that “Troon has promised to raise £15,000 for the purpose of providing a Fleet of ‘Aeroplanes’. . . .” There are also three “snowflakes”: 1 inch square or circular pieces of paper with, on one side a picture of an airplane or a ship, and, on the other, the text “help to buy this war weapon during the Scottish week April 8–13.”
The plane flown by another American cadet at Ayr at this time, George Vaughn, did not act up, and he wrote home on April 11, 1918: “A day or so ago three of us flew in formation over a town quite near here, on a ‘War Bond’ day, to give a little exhibition, and drop pamphlets about War Bonds. It was very good fun.”346
The “cute little silver chupie” was probably a good luck charm based on Rose O’Neill’s comic strip characters: “cupies” or “kewpies.” Hooper’s fellow second Oxford detachment member Hilary Baker Rex similarly notes in his diary on June 18, 1918, having received a “mascot ... a silver cupie.” Isabel Robertson or Whiting is unidentified.