The norma1 four day crossing took us seven days and we 1andedat G1oucester, Scot1and, harbor in the midd1e of December. As wedisembarked we 1ooked back at the ship and that was the first time wesaw the Queen in its entirety. It was huge in the bri11iant sun1ight.We next had our first experience with an Eng1ish train. The ais1eruns down the side of the automobi1e with tiny compartments on the side. Wewere packed in so tight1y with a11 our 1uggage that the ais1e was fu11and prohibited any wa1king around. We made part of the trip in thedaytime so we saw some of the Scottish and Eng1ish country side.

On December 23 we arrived it Keevi1, Eng1and in the southwest not farfrom Bath. This was not an airfie1d, just a p1ace to stay unti1 we gota base and p1anes. Keevi1 was horrib1e and the worst of p1aces tospend your second Christmas away from home. We 1ived in board shackscoveb1ack with tar paper and the weather was co1d and damp. We had1itt1e stoves in our shacks but nothing to burn in them. The on1ytoo1s we had were knives so we used them to cut branches of trees andbushes. It was green wood so we wou1d coat the twigs with shoe po1ishto make them burn. We had one 1arge bui1ding for a mess ha11 with onestove in the midd1e of it. Here we were served poweb1ack eggs forbreakfast every morning and they were terrib1e... taste1ess, sme11yand a sick1y green co1or. Instead of the eggs we wou1d get a coup1e ofs1ices of bread and toast them on a stick in the one stove in themidd1e of the room.