61st Recce Regt RAC
B.L.A.
Monday 31st July
My dearest Chotie,
Well, my Darling. I have a whole day to myself so here goes.
We’ve had a pretty thin time for the last fortnight and everyone’s relieved to have a little time of their own to get organised once again. I’ve just finished doing my laundry (?) – took me about two hours, as I have no batman here, and as it’s very sunny, I entertain high hopes of it drying quickly.
The best part of this game is getting to a ‘safe’ area once again and being able to relax a little and have a general sort out. I’ve also had my second bath and of greater importance still, my second beer! Felt quite merry after it. The first night I have in England will be sheer murder. I won’t be able to stand more than ten pints….
We’re in a very pleasant spot at the moment* – in the grounds of a Château, or more accurately, the home farm of a Château.
I’ve been over the farm, which is empty, but boasts some excellent furniture, hand-carved oak, almost black. I’d give anything to get hold of some of it. The kitchen of course is massive, with a stone floor and two great pumps, their only source of water. The staircase is also built of stone and leads eventually right up into the roof – a mass of oak rafters.
I worm my way into most of these old farmhouses as most of the Châteaux are sealed and the farms remain the most interesting buildings.
(My boys have just ‘brewed-up’ some tea, so I’ll pause here for a few minutes….)
Have you had anything to do with these buzz-bombs** yet? Or don’t they penetrate that far?
Mother & Dad hear them going overhead, but that’s about all.
You may have heard that Diller got home for a few hours last weekend to see Brinner – I think I told you in my last letter.
How are your people? All very well I hope. Don’t forget to give them my best wishes, and queries as to whether the war will be over by Xmas…(which Xmas?) That was always a sore point between your mother and I.
Have you heard any news of Margaret’s Ted*** lately? I’ve seen several of his people.
Apart from him I know of no-one else over here, except Quayle, of course, and he’s miles behind the lines, needless to say. I’m afraid I must close here for want of material – as usual.
All my love, Chotie Darling
Dicker
*According to Eric Brewer’s diary (‘B’ squadron Assault Troop) they were still somewhere in the Caumont area.
**V1 flying bombs
*** Ted Lewis, Chotie’s brother-in-law was in the Coldstream Guards before the beginning of the war when the Guards Regiments formed the Guards Armoured Division. He was a tank gunner and had landed in Normandy a couple of weeks after ‘D’ Day. The Guards Armoured Division, like Dick’s 50th (Northumbrian) Division, was part of XXX Corps.
© Chotie Darling
Eric Brewer's diary for 31st July 1944 notes: "Got near the Caumont area, Recce patrol near Villars-Bocage." The high ground near Villers-Bocage was 61st Recce's original target for D Day+1, the 7th June.
"We were to break out of the bridgehead on the evening of D-Day, spend the night in Tessel Bretteville wood, some ten miles on, and the next morning capture the high ground near Villers-Bocage, which commanded a view of the country for miles around. We were to hold on there for four or five days, when it was expected that we would be relieved by the main body of the Second Army." They would have had a long wait!
(From ‘A Reconnaissance Regiment in the B.L.A.’ by Lt-Col P.H.A. Brownrigg D.S.O and Eric's Diary by kind permission of Derek Brewer and his family.)
31st July 1944 - US VII Corps liberate Avranches at the western foot of the Cotentin peninsula - the 'gateway to Brittany'.
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