alex revell Posted 10 May , 2023 Share Posted 10 May , 2023 Hello all Amongst Rhys Davids papers is an envelope containing notes of congratulations on his successes and decorations. As you can see from the scan of the envelope and the embossed heading of the notepaper they are from somebody of importance, possibly the RFC or government. Unfortunately the signature is hard to decipher. Any suggestions as to what it is would be appreciated. The lower left hand of the evenople is torn, but after the initials underlined by dots here is Lt Col. Many thanks Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Renault Posted 10 May , 2023 Share Posted 10 May , 2023 Hi Alex- my colleague and I are trying to run this one down, with no success as of yet but we have a few leads still to try. We're particularly intrigued by it being written on the 30th, which makes it either September 30th, in which case this person had significant advanced warning of the DSO, or October 30th, in which case this person has not been informed RD is missing. Either way it narrows down the potential places we need to look. Is there any other possible source of information about him, any other letters, partial or otherwise? We're trying to compare handwriting samples. We'd be intrigued to know where you found the letter as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 11 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 11 May , 2023 Hi Max I think the best thing I can do is to scan all three notes so you have all the possible details to work with. I'm busy this morning so bear with me 'till later. Your efforts are very much appreciated Regards Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 11 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 11 May , 2023 Max, Here are the two other notes. They are in order of dates. You already have the last one, of course, dated 30th. There's no other information about him, unfortunately. The notes were in an the envelope amongst R D's papers. I have noticed that in the earliest, dated 7.6.17, he has an incorrect hyphen. ie. Rhys-Davids.. This is corrected in the last two notes. The form of greeting in the last two, 'My Dear Rhys Davids' is very common with letters in those days when the writer has achieved a more intimate friendship with the recipient. Regards Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Renault Posted 11 May , 2023 Share Posted 11 May , 2023 Thanks very much for the scans Alex- we both appreciate being able to see original material like this. As it is, though, my colleague had just come through on this one- just as we were gearing up for a complex handwriting analysis, she got it in a far simpler method by spotting the name in her notes! The writer is Cyril Louis Norton Newall, commander 9th Wing. It's the odd way he writes the letter 'n' that made it tricky to see at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 11 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 11 May , 2023 Max, BRILLIANT!!! You don't mention your colleague's name in your reply. Please give her my heartfelt thanks. Of course, it all makes sense. 56 Sqdn were in 9th Wing at the time. Regards Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Renault Posted 11 May , 2023 Share Posted 11 May , 2023 I'll certainly pass those on- I don't want to name her in public but I shall carry on our private convo where I mentioned her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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