gone with it. We had a sort of Christmas pudding for supper tonight.
It's now 7.30.p.m and I've said all there is to be said up to now, so I'll close down.
12th Parachute Regt.
B.L.A.
29 July 44.
Letter 14. 9.30.p.m.
There is nothing really to say apart from the day-to-day doings.
Fri. 28 July. This morning at 11 o'clock we moved from battalion reserve to our forward positions again. As we were moving into exactly the same area the move back was fairly simple, because everyone knew where to go. During the afternoon I read a bit more of the French History I picked up a week or more ago. I stayed up the first half of the night and my platoon sergeant the 2nd. half. During stand-to in the evening a German reconnaissance patrol approached our position by coming up the road leading through it and making use of the brush and trees on the road-side. Something must have scared them though, because our people heard 2 or 3 human beings suddenly scamper down the road away from us full split; they then dived into the trees on the left and we could hear the cracking of twigs as they made off through the thicket cover.
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That was the last we heard of them during the night - a reconnaissance patrol consists of only about 3 men. During the night a German plane or two flew overhead and were fired on by our ack-ack; but they didn't visit us.
Sat. 29 July. After stand-to this morning I washed and shaved amid billions of mosquitoes. This filled up most of the intervening space between stand-to and breakfast - the rest of the time I lay down. From 9.15 until 1.15 I slept in my slit-trench. This afternoon at 3 o'clock we laid on a mortar shoot on his positions with 2" and 3" mortars; he has the same idea too, though, and put his bombs down first. One of his 2" mortar bombs landed about 6 yards from me as I was about to wash my hands just outside my slit-trench. They don't make any noise on arrival (unlike the 3") and so it was quite unexpected. Luckily I was standing with some ration crates (empty) between me and it. and most of the pieces coming my way caught in these; but two small splinters of metal touched me - one about quarter the size of a postage stamp in the back of my left thigh and the other a graze on the right triceps of my arm. I've put some gauze over them, and if there's any metal still in them it should work its way out in a day or two. Actually they are nothing to worry about and I am jolly lucky to get off with 2 scratches when the bomb landed so near. The rest of the afternoon has been spent in my slit-trench! Our strafing, which follows the Jerries, gave back more than we received.
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Several people have felt sick here today. I don't know whether it's the water or some food that has got contaminated or fly-blown; but the M.O. is looking into it. I felt a bit seedy last night, especially as we had two greasy courses following for supper (pork knots and beans, followed by marmalade pudding), but I am feeling fine now.
In the last 48 hours a plague of mosquitoes has developed here. What attracts them I don't know, because we bury all tins immediately and pour pools sump oil onto stagnant ponds to prevent their breeding. My batman is just lighting some old rope to smoke them out of here; you have to choose between smoke and mosquitoes.
Several people round here don't eat their chocolate ration so I swap my issue of cigarettes for their chocolate. I've quite a supply of bars now.
It's a lovely sunny day today. Earlier on there were two showers but they only serve to lay the dust.
There's no more news now, so I'll close down.
12 Parachute Regt.
B.L.A.
Letter 15. 31. July 44
7.0. p.m.
Hope my letters are coming through regularly now. Let me know if there are any gaps.
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Sun. 30. Jul. Today we moved back at about 10 o'clock a.m. into battalion reserve. We came back to precisely the same slit-trenches; but during one 48 hours in the forward position mine had been enlarged and improved and turned into a fortress -
I have room enough to kneel up in it. The floor is covered with grass, and it is very comfortable. The entrance is built up rather awkwardly though, but what is awkward for us is also awkward for bomb-splinters too; awkward entrances are always the best.
During the morning I washed and read a bit of my 'Histoire' . In the afternoon I slept; and at 7.3O.p.m. there was a church parade in a nearby brickyard, which lasted about 20 minutes. Later in tile evening I read the papers.
Your 'Manchester Guardian' came today and was very welcome - most of the papers we get are picture papers for the troops; we never see a paper of newsy reading.
Mon. 31 July. Last night was pleasantly peace full and I slept from about 10.15 last night to 8.15 this morning. Got up fairly late and read my 'Histoire' again. This afternoon I read and slept a bit, so it's been quite a lazy day - what you want when you come back into reserve.
It's glorious outside; sun shining and no clouds, and nothing coming towards us overhead. In fact it's so peaceful that two grasshoppers have just jumped
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into my slit-trench and I have just chucked them out again. When the first one jumped in onto my pillow it looked like a dragon coming for me!
So little has happened that I'll close now.
12 Parachute Regt.
B.L.A.
Letter 16. 2 August 44.
I received Daddy's letter and the enclosed typed report yesterday. It is certainly well typed and should be easy for even a busy person to read. I hope it brings some result fairly soon, such as the dismissal of Strologo.
You mentioned in your letter that my letter 8 has arrived, so you see I am about 8 letters ahead of you the whole time; though this time your letter took 8 days to arrive. I suppose the delay in mail (you posted it on July 23) was because they were bringing over material for the present big offensive in the American sector.
How's Bun getting on with the coat of arms? It will look quite swanky flying from my slit-trench.
Tues. 1 Aug. Up at 6.15.a.m. for a reconnaissance of the rest and reserve area to which we were moving back this morning. We went to it and back by car before breakfast. After breakfast we marched down. We are in an orchard in a village; nearby is a battered farm with
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2 old dames who refuse to leave it, although they have been offered other accommodation; I suppose they were born and bred in it and don't want to leave, although the roof is more holes than tiles, and the windows and out-buildings etc. are destroyed. One of the women rescued a wounded parachutist who was caught up in a tree on landing on D Day, and then looked after him.
We arrived in the area at about 11 o'clock after a 21/2 mile march and the first job was to get into the slit-trenches. Mine was dug already but had no head-cover, so the rest of the morning and afternoon was spent in building it. I first covered it with iron railings to hold the weight, and then a layer of wood and groundsheets (abandoned by a previous unit) to hold back the earth and wet, and then sandbags and earth, so that it eventually became a fortress. I covered the floor with sedge and rushes from a nearby stream so that the earth floor wouldn't catch in the blankets, tiled the step down so that it shouldn't cave-in - I found a good right-angled ridge-tile for the nosing of the step. To keep the rain from pouring in at the entrance I found a car bonnet. I also had to supervise the digging of tin-pits and sumps and the stand-to positions of the platoon so I wasn't finished until about 8 o'clock p.m. and throughout the day it was boiling hot. One of the old women in the house has given us the use of a room as a reading room, and later in the evening I played the piano there for about 1/2 hour. At dusk the officers had hot baths in cider vats, and jolly good they were; so I eventually got to bed (in pyjamas!) at 12.30.
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Wed. 2 Aug. Had a good night's sleep last night; as mine was a new slit-trench there were no mosquitoes. After breakfast there was a weapon and kit inspection, and later in the morning I washed my clothes. I was then told I was giving up my platoon and becoming battalion Intelligence officer, which is what I now am. After lunch I moved over the orchard to another farm where battalion H.Q. is, and looked over the job with the Intelligence Sergeant; and later in the evening went to contact the Intelligence people I should come into contact with at Brigade. This evening I received Mamma's letter sent on the 28 July; it came quite quickly - so the delay of Daddy's was probably that being a bulky package it came by parcel post and so took longer. I haven't yet looked around to see where I shall sleep at B.H.Q. and so I had better get round now, seeing that it is 9.30.p.m. and it will soon be getting dark.
Today, while I have been at battalion H.Q. I have actually eaten my meals from a table and sitting on a chair, so you can see we're almost civilised. The farm at B.H.Q. has a few inhabitants, who have promised us eggs - there are some hens and ducks, and cows, about. The farm is built of the usual grey Normandy stone, with thin plaster interior walls and stone flag floors. It is built round a yard, with the house on one side and the out-buildings on the 3 others. My 'Intelligence Corner' is downstairs, and we eat upstairs, where I am now writing this letter.
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Well, my kit is still in the yard, so I'll go and find a nook for myself for the night.
By the way it's Hackenschmidt's birthday today, 2 Aug.
12th Parachute Regt.
B.L.A.
Letter 17. 4 Aug 44.
When I finished writing my last letter to you I installed myself with another officer in the command post, which was empty. The command post is a large underground room where B.H.Q. goes to in the event of a stand to, so there was plenty of room to make our beds there.
Actually I keep my kit and valise in the house, and use the command post merely for sleeping in.
Thurs. 3 Aug. In the morning I censored some of the outgoing mail, and at 11.30 a.m. there was a practice stand-to, in case we should have to while we are back here. Since the Brigadier came round to inspect it, we didn't get away till about 12.30. Then before lunch I went to Brigade to get a situation report of how the American advance was going on in the west of Normandy. After lunch I tided up the maps and the Intelligence stores generally, and then did more washing - actually the sun is so hot now it would bleach my clothes
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of its own accord. This made me a bit late for tea, but there was still some left. In the evening I straightened my kit out, and paid another visit to Brigade, and went to bed at about 10.45.p.m.
I nearly forgot to fetch in my washing, and when I got it in the dew had got it wet again.
Fri. 4 August. This morning I have done practically nothing but potter about. I visited Brigade again and put out my washing again to dry, and pinned a map of N.W. France onto the wall of the orderly room; at 12 o'clock I thought I'd write some of this letter before lunch, and that is what I'm doing now, sitting in the 'dining room' at one of the tables. It's another scorching day outside, and somewhere near (I can't see through the orchard for apple trees) a bulldozer can be heard at work. A newspaper reporter is about at the moment collecting stories about what happened in this division when it dropped on D-Day. Quite a lot of the battalion are away at the moment at the flicks so it is fairly quite here. The flicks are at the same town as I took my party to about 2 weeks ago when we saw "Gentleman Jim".
The Yanks seem to be doing well down by Rennes; let's hope this is the final break-through leading to the roll-up of the German Army. You can see now what that huge attack on Caen was for - he concentrated on this side and then the Americans could push through where he has weakened his positions. Let's hope it continues.
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They are starting to 'lay' the table now, so I'll finish this later in the day.
It's now evening, so I'll finish this off. This afternoon I read my 'Histoire'; I've got as far as the French Revolution in it. After tea I read a bit more, and had a look at 'Country Life' which some previous unit had left behind.
This evening I collected my washing in from drying, and went to Brigade for the news, and at 10.30. am going to bed.
12th Parachute Regt.
B.L.A.
Letter 18. 8 August 44.
I have been so rushed recently that I have had to let 4 days go before I could write to you. However better late than never.
I have received Daddy's letter posted on 1 Aug. and Mamma's letter posted on 3 Aug. and also a letter from Uncle;
I got these all today, so I have had quite a mail. I also received your parcel on Saturday with the coat of arms, bags, the toothbrushes, etc., intact.
Thanks very much for all the things sent, and also to Bun for the arms. It is jolly well done, and is sitting over my slit-trench door as I write. I'll write to Bun when I write next. No-one has queried yet what it is, though I dare say a good many have wondered! So I've now broken the record of the man who last bore arms in the Boer War!
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