Page 40 - Leonard Tebbenham

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Thursday 25 October 1945
Meteorological Office,

RAF Maiduguri,

N. Nigeria,

West Africa

My dearest Blodwen,

I have had a fairly busy day today for a change. I was up at 3AM to do a forecast from El Geneina
in the Sudan to here, and then after an hour and a half’s sleep I was up again at 5am for a
forecast for another aircraft going in the reverse direction. Then I had a couple of hours sleep,
breakfast and then another forecast for an aircraft from here to Kano. The weather at the moment
is easy, but when the sandstorms and dust come along it will be rather tricky.

Roger Eden the Engineer with who I have shared rooms so far has moved into a separate room
and I move tomorrow next to the Doc’s room. The Doc and I have just engaged a Hausa boy to
‘do’ for us at £1 each per month and he waits on us hand and foot. I have not got very brown yet
because I daren’t sunbathe until I get used to the heat. My arms and face are a bit brown but my
body is yellow from mepacrine.

How do you like your job, have you settled down to it yet? I do hope you are happy at number 4. I
hope you don’t go to St Albans to have to travel up and down. Tell me all about the job. Can you
tell me Jack’s and Toot’s addresses, I had better drop them a line. Also don’t forget to tell me the
bank balance because I want to make sure the RAF give me all my allowances etc.

The sending of duty free fags to W Africa has now stopped I think, but if you send say 500 which
should contain the name of the sender and address them as follows I should get them OK. The
Mess Secretary, Officers Mess, RAF Maiduguri West Africa. The Mess Sec is Anderson and he
will see I get them. In other words they are nominally sent to the Mess not to an individual. It’s well
worthwhile because fags are 5/- for 50 and duty free are 13/9 for 500. They take about a month to
get here.

Well cheerio darling, take care of yourself and don’t make yourself ill travelling up and down from
St Albans, stay at number 4.

Your loving husband Len xxxx