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338171 A/C Shaw
R.A.F. Mount Batten
Plymouth

21/3/30

Dear J.B.

This is disastrous. A day or two ago I got a
letter from St. Andrews, asking if I'd take a Doctor of Laws
in May next. I naturally concluded it was a student leg-
pull, and sent it cheerfully back to the address given, saying
that it was no go. How could I be expected to imagine
it was serious?

Now it seems you were at the bottom of it, and they
meant it. It feels an incredible thing to have happened. I thought
that honorary degrees were only given to more or less important
people. St. Andrews is a charming little spot, and I loved its
University: I'd have liked to have wrapped it up in a clean
napkin, like a Stilton, and kept it on my side-table for an
ornament. It seemed to me almost the ideal spot for
taking learning to one's mistress.

How am I to get out of it now? It would mean
endless trouble. 1) Leave for the occasion

2) Plain clothes? - only airmen are now forbidden
plain clothes -

3) A lot of money .... calculated on my pay of
27/- a week.

4) A lot of publicity. Lord Thomson put all sorts of
silly restrictions on me last September: to stop
flying, & drop Winston & Philip Sassoon & Lady Astor
and Austen & Birkenhead: he would undoubtedly
sack me if I appeared in public at St. Andrews.