A really dumb question for our UK friends

[ksdaddy]

I'm reading an old (1926) book about US WWI aviators called War Birds. A couple chapters are about training with the Royal Flying Corps. It was stated that the British pronounce(d) some of the letters of the alphabet differently.... Ack(a), Beer(, Haiches(h), Ella(l), Esses(s), Toc(t), for example.

 

Really? Is that archaic now or do folks in the UK still do that? How did I live 49.94 years and never hear of this?

[feminazi]

I have to say, that's the first I've heard of that! The older generation who were around in World War II do sometimes speak more 'Queen's English' (Posh basically) than the younger generations though. However, there are some of your examples that are the correct pronunciation for today, for instance, Haich (h) and Esse (s), but I'm not sure how much that would differ from American Pronunciation? We'd pronounce it.... Aye (a), Beee (B), Haich/Aich (h), Elle (L), Tee (t).

[TommyK]

Do you mean like reciting the alphabet:

Ack, Beer, Cee, Dee, Eee, Eff, Gee, Haitches...

instead of:

Ay, Bee, Cee, Dee, Eee, Eff, Gee, Aitch,

 

or

 

The ICAO spelling alphabet used to clarify radio communications pilots use,

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta.... Tango, United, Victor... ?

 

 

 

I thought our boys trained with the French, i.e. Lafayette Escadrille.

[ksdaddy]

Not Alpha Bravo, the normal way. We'd say Ay Bee Cee, they'd say Ack, Beer, etc. Never heard of it, that's why I posed the question.

 

The book is a novelization of actual diaries of two US pilots. The original title was "Diary of an Unknown Aviator" and for years he claimed it to be just that. The truth came out just before he died, that its content was based on the diary entries of himself and a fellow airman.

 

I'm not very far into the book but it's apparent (so far) that the whole 'training in Europe' thing was not as neat and tidy as the history books would lead us to believe. These guys were hard drinking, carousing, womanizing, fighting guys who weren't quite sure what to make of the war, were quite certain they would likely die, would probably never get home and not sure exactly who to answer to... the US and British 'higher ups' had minor p___ing contests as to who was in charge and it was the cadets who got shuffled around and confused. Some of the training was redundant so they got bored and drank more to pass the time. They trained on some planes that weren't um.... very likeable and would never actually see action, but it was required.

 

Not saying it's the best book I've ever read, but it's a good insight into the time without revisionist historians getting into the mix. It's confusing because the diary entries mention (seemingly) dozens of fellow aviators by name and whose fist ended up in whose face, and it's hard to keep straight.

 

I friggin' dig biplanes is all. I want a Stearman in my back yard just to say I have one.

[pohatu771]

I have a feeling that the way they spell the pronunciation of the letters is their way of describing how it sounded, to them, with a different accent - not an intentional pronunciation change. It's like the first verse of "A Day In The Life," or many other Beatle songs, where there's an obvious "R" sound at the end of words like "Saw."