Читать книгу We Were Young and at War: The first-hand story of young lives lived and lost in World War Two - Sarah Wallis - Страница 35

My dear Parents,

We’re off again tomorrow. I can’t tell you where to. Fifty letters have been opened [by the censor] and I might get into big trouble. Please don’t tell anyone about what I wrote in my last letter. Our lodgings are still excellent. We always seem to find the best houses: there’s even a bath, which we have all been using, of course. It’s the first house we’ve found with running water. These people must have had lots of money to be able to afford all this. If we want coffee, we have only the finest coffee beans. There are kilos of it. It’s such a shame I have no room in my rucksack. Otherwise, Mummy dearest, I would bring you a few pounds. And such fantastic wine! If it were not for the scenes of war all around, if you just looked at our lifestyle in this house you’d never know there was a war going on. We all think it will be over by the summer. And we must come to terms with the number of losses. Victories like this always cost a lot of blood. We only hope that our own families don’t have to sacrifice too much.

Please send my greetings to my siblings,

All my love from your Herbert

By the time Herbert sent this letter, optimistic officials in Berlin were already drafting memos on the post-war strategy for the European countries under German control.

In Britain, the War Cabinet, under new Prime Minister Winston Churchill, held a meeting to assess Britain’s ability to withstand an invasion were France to fall and Germany commit its full forces across the Channel. Much of Britain’s arms and ammunition had been left behind in northern France when 300,000 BEF soldiers escaped across the Channel from Dunkirk.

From Cheshire, Brian wrote to Trudie about his own small contribution in the aftermath of Dunkirk.