[Bombing of Ruhr Valley. personal account] Autograph Letter Signed 'Handley' to his mother about Bombing Raids on the Ruhr.

2 pages, 8vo, both with Royal Air Force letterhead bearing the motto 'PER ARDUA AD ASTRA'. Not in good condition - creased, frayed, torn and discoloured - but a marvellous and immediate piece of history, regarding what one authority describes as the 'strategic bombing [.] principally against the Ruhr, on which No.149 concentrated during the winter of 1940-1'. The letter begins 'Dear Mum, | Just a line to thank you for the photographs, I think that one of you is very good. | I have done two raids so far, the last one was very good, we bombed the dockyards on the Ruhr and started three lovely big fires, I think that every bomber in the Air Force was over that night, bombs were bursting everywhere and the A. A. fire was just like bonfire night. I think the German A. A. and their searchlights are rotten, they never got anywhere near our machine. We are doing another raid tonight and I hope we give them another good plastering.' Two sentences of domestic comment conclude the letter. It is a question how the writer was able to give away so much information.…