6 June, 1944: D-Day, and Letters from Stan and Grace

 

The Belfast Telegraph must have been an evening newspaper to be carrying news of the D-Day landings on 6 June, 1944.  At last, this was the opening of the Second Front which Stan and Grace, and many people across Europe, had longed for.

Both Stan and Grace wrote letters on this day.

Stan's Letter

2364226
Sergt. S. Bristow
Headquarters
15 L of C Signals
Cen Med Forces                                                                 158.

6 Jun 44

My Very Own Darling,

What an exciting and memorable day our anniversary has been this month!  At last one of the days we have both been waiting for, along with thousands more, has dawned.

I’ve been quite excited all day & the feeling of depression which has been troubling me for the last four or five days has completely disappeared.  At last we are on the move again!

It must have been very exciting to have been in England today.  What sort of headlines did the newspapers have.  Really big ones I should imagine.  It is difficult to realize what the South Coast of England must be like at the moment and the Channel too, with more than 4,000 ships in it at once must have looked something like the Thames on boatrace day – only on a much bigger scale.

We are all sat by the Mess wireless waiting for Big Ben to chime 9 p.m. & then listen to the King’s speech.  I am sitting in my favourite position on the balcony watching the patterns the rays of the full moon are making on the still waters of the Adriatic.  It looks so peaceful and it makes me wonder why life can’t always be as peaceful as this scene.

As is natural; the fall of Rome caused more of a stir amongst the civilians than the start of the Second Front & on Sunday they had all their flags out.  The latest turn of events has, for us anyway, outshadowed the news of the fall of the Italian capital.

Let’s hope that things keep on proceeding according to plan, at last one feels that we have embarked on our last all-out effort and that the end of the European struggle is at last within sight.

The excitement of the day was crowned as far as I was concerned, Darling, by the appearance of a letter in the most-looked for handwriting of all my correspondents – you.  The appearance of a letter in your hand never fails to produce a thrill, my Dear, a thrill which I first experienced one day in Feb 1942 when your first letter arrived and I read the words which were the forerunners of many more.  I often wonder if you found it a struggle to write that first letter when all the time your conscience was saying “Don’t”!!

Well Darling I’ll have to close now as the end of my page is near.  All my love, Angel, and for the first time for a good few weeks I really feel that the one moment we are living for is really nearer.  Don’t you.  You mean everything to me Darling.  Always yours Stan  xxx

 Grace's Letter

G.H.N.                                                                                (135)

6-6-44

My Own Precious Darling,

What a momentous day this has been!  First Darling, that the “Second Front” has really started at last.  I can hardly believe it.  I do hope that things are really going to get started moving now.  I felt so excited when I heard the news though I realise what a terrific task lies at the front of us.  It is another big step in the right direction, isn’t it Darling?

The other things which made this a momentous day are that the Second Front should start on our anniversary day and that this morning's post brought a dear letter from you saying that you had received my photograph all right.  I am glad that you like it.

I believe that in my letter written on the sixth of last month I wondered how many more sixths of the months would pass before we really saw each other again.  Maybe not as many as both of us thought at that time.

I suppose that I had better not get too optimistic and excited about this but just “wait and see” how things go.

As it was Mary’s birthday yesterday we decided to celebrate it by going to the Theatre this evening.  We also thought that we would like to see what sort of shows are being given to you boys out there you see it was an E.N.S.A. show and had just returned from Italy.  They had done a tour of Africa, Malta, Sicily and Italy.  It was called “Africa Star” and the artists were Leslie Henson, Hermione Badderly, Hugh Dempster, Nan Kenway and several others.  It would take up too much space to tell you them all.  It was a very good show.

I do not remember you telling me that you had seen it but maybe you did – my memory is very bad at times!

The trouble is that when I go to the Theatre I find it “more-ish” and it is far too expensive these days to go often.

The bottom of the page once again.  However, there is just enough space left to say “I love you, Darling and always will.”  Yours for ever, Grace  xxxxx