| Dear Ken,
I felt I had to write and tell you what an
amazing website you have created - it has helped me to find out
exactly what happened to my mother's fiancé during the war.
His name was Corporal Richard (Dick)
Wrighton. He was a meteorologist in civilian life, and joined
the RAF Volunteer Reserves in 1939 and he was reported missing,
presumed dead on 22nd June, 1941, aged 23. He was due to marry
my mother the following Saturday, and as you can imagine, she
was devastated. Richard's father apparently worked in the War
Office, but despite numerous enquiries he could never find out
what happened to Richard, or indeed what ship he was on, as at
that time the information was considered classified.
From the time I was little, I have been
haunted by the fact that no-one knew what happened to him, the
only information they had was that he was on a ship which was
carrying some sort of coding information.
My mother eventually married some 6 years
later - a friend of Dick's who helped her through her grief.
Whilst she had a very happy marriage, she so often wondered what
happened to Dick.
My mother died earlier this year, and I
now have her engagement ring, given to her by Dick, which I wear
now, some photos and a letter written by Dick "to be opened when
I am reported missing". Everyone who reads it sheds a tear.
Since mum died, I have been trying to find
out more about Dick. I spent many hours on the Internet, and I
wrote to the RAF to access his military records, which yielded
little about his whereabouts when reported missing.
Because he was RAF but on a ship, it
seemed impossible. I have spent many hours trying to find which
ship he was on - but with so little information I was getting
nowhere.
Then a friend suggested accessing Dick's
death certificate, which I did - and how amazing it was to find
the name of the SS Arakaka listed as the place of his death.
Once Googled, your fantastic website came
up - and even more amazing are the letters written by the War
Office to Dick's father. I wonder who "M" was, mentioned in some
of the correspondence? You also refer to a report by the
Squadron Leader written questioning the suitability of the ship
for meteorological purposes, but I can't find that in the
records displayed.
The reason for writing is that the whole
point of my research was to place a copy of Dick's letter to my
mum with whatever records of his death I could find. I am
attaching a copy, and wonder if you would be prepared to post it
with your other documents? I cannot bear the thought of a young
man disappearing forever without his brave words being recorded
somewhere.
I am enclosing some photos too in case you
find them of interest - the first three look as if they may well
have been taken on the Arakaka judging by the photos I have
found on your website. Dick is on the right (third photograph down in the
left hand column),
and playing the 'drums' with his shipmates. Perhaps the other officers
may also have been with the ship when it went down.
With best wishes, and thanks,
Lesli Gallivan (Mrs)22nd October 2007
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