大象传媒

My SOJOURN at the MAJESTIC HOTEL,Harrogate.

At His Majesty's pleasure.

My name is Charles H Matthews, during the Second World War I came to stay in Harrogate at the Majestic Hotel, on the 19th September 1943.
I was a Coastal command pilot, lately returned from Halifax Nova Scotia on the old Queen Elizabeth and raring to go to an Operational Squadron, to do my part in the anti-submarine war in the Atlantic.

In those war years the Majestic Hotel among it's many roles was host to hundreds of RAF non- commissioned Pilots, who with no immediate knowledge of their future roles in the RAF, were held there at what was known as No. 7 Personnel Reception Centre.

During 1943 and later, many recently trained airmen pilots, Sergeants, Flight Sergeants newly returned from Canada came to stay at the magnificent hotel in Harrogate Yorkshire called 'The Majestic' the grandeur and magnificence of the building, were lost upon these nineteen year olds. They only wanted 'out' from this place of confinement, with little or no reason to effect a release from the boredom of waiting. You only had so much to spend and the pub wasn't the best value upon which to spend one's meagre pay. Homesickness after many months away over there in Canada was a problem to be dealt with, usually by skiving off on a Friday afternoon to try one's hand at hitching a ride south to the Midlands or wherever

These pilots separated from the rest of their crews, navigators gunners wireless operators etc. were now faced with the boredom of weeks of nothing tangible for the war effort.

Highly skilled, after training in Canada or the USA, at great expense to the governments of Britain and the Dominion of Canada they were not yet needed by the advanced training units, such as Operation Training Units (OTU) or Heavy Conversion Units (HCU). Those who had progressed through OTUs overseas were to go on to their Squadrons for operational duties.

These men had all been members of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, in the Dominion of Canada, possibly over the previous twelve to eighteen months. Pilots for bombers, fighters, transport and Coastal Command planes, we were all represented here, Many without the advanced training and needed for ops. Some indeed were ex- instructors returning after their tour of duty or in some cases the staff pilots whose tireless flying in Anson and Oxford aircraft took navigators into the air to train over the featureless prairies and lakes

Assembly was held on the car park before the main entrance at the rear of the hotel grounds, parades each Monday at 8am were the times to await the call to pack, ready for posting onward to training units.

Charles Matthews
This article was sent to the editor of the Centennial Anniversary Book of the hotel Majestic, As a result I was invited, with my wife, to the celebration Dinner held at the hotel in 2000.

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