Madame F. Moreau
46 Rue de Rosamel
ÉTAPLES
62630 FRANCE
24th October 1962
Dearest E----,
Things are going wrong here. My foreboding premonitions were correct. In fact I have to say that it is a pretty desperate situation and I sincerely hope that somehow the underground network is still working and that this letter reaches you.
Your letter was so full of hope, what with the demonstration you an M---- attended. It must have been truly amazing to have been there and heard that brave Marion's words. But, for now, I find it hard to share such optimism. I don't mind saying I am frightened. Very frightened. The bright glimmers of hope that you send only serve to make my fears grow ever more. For losing those embers, having them snuffed out before the fire can truly take hold, would be so very heartbreaking.
As I said it is desperate. The Germans have breached the Wall. It seems unbelievable to say it. That massive monolith to war is, all of a sudden, a useless relic. What we grew up to think of as permanence is now disastrously shifted.
It is no wonder that the Government was imploring for more troops from South Africa. All around is disaster and chaos ensues. I do not know if this is being reported in England but a mass of rocket attacks utilising these new weapons of theirs has broken down the Wall in several places. Split it wide. They concentrated the rockets on places like Ypres where they had already damaged the Wall with that previous attack. Apparently there are breaks at Arras and Verdun to the south. That is what the gossip says anyway. There may be more breaches by now. The truth is that we don't actually know what is happening, apart from something bad. Something very bad.
You could see the attacks from where we are near the coast. Those that could stand left their hospital beds and stood in the courtyard outside and looked at the distant sky above the vicinity of the Wall. We are about ninety miles or so away but we could still see the fires and foreboding orange glow in the sky. The explosions shook the ground beneath our feet, even at this great distance.
The rumours say their crawler tanks soon crossed the gaps followed by large concentrations of troops, artillery, rocket launchers and tracked troop carriers. Their planes seem to rake the sky largely unchallenged, and it wouldn't surprise me if stormtroopers parachute in droves from the sky. They must have been massing underground at certain points for weeks. Once through the gaps in sufficient numbers it could not have taken much for them to over-run our rear trenches and camps.
There was panic around the hospital as the night wore on. So H---- and I took our chance, before dawn came. The remaining few able-bodied troops here and the doctors and officers were called away to the local HQ or some such. The place was empty apart from us pathetic patients. Most of the nurses fled. So I took fate into my hands and broke into one of the doctor's offices. Smashed the glass and let H---- and I in. Nobody seemed to notice there was such confusion.
We searched through drawers and cupboards and then I broke open a filing cabinet with a dinner knife and finally found some medical discharge papers. Forged the signatures so that H---- and I have papers that will hopefully get us onto some ship or other back to England. It is a big risk I know, but we are hoping that no one will notice a couple of wounded soldiers in amongst the thick of confusion that surrounds us. It seems a desperate measure but it is highly likely that they will try to send every available soldier to face the advancing Germans and our wounds might not be deemed sufficient to not send us.
So H---- and I donned our uniforms and gathered our things to leave the hospital before the dawn arrived. Aurelie stood waiting at the doors, as if she knew something was up; perhaps she had seen us break into that office. She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, pushing a brown paper parcel of sandwiches into my hand. I didn't know what to say. H---- stood there speechless too, and she kissed him, full on the lips, and he held her round figure tightly for a fleeting moment. "Bon voyage, mon ami..." she whispered in his ear and then we shuffled out into the darkness.
This was two or three hours ago. We have walked out of the town towards the docks. The dark streets were filled with Frenchwomen fleeing; babies on handcarts and tired children crying. Dragging suitcases and meagre possessions over wet cobbles and heading south. H---- gripped my elbow as we stumbled against the tide.
Soon, in the distance, we could see ships and boats of all sizes buzzing around the docks, illuminated by the flashes of explosions. Ships coming and going, with troops and supplies, and ships sadly burning and sinking.
We have decided we will wait till morning and try our luck trying to board one of the returning steamers. I do so hope our paperwork is sufficient. H---- thinks we should look for one of the merchant navy ships or civilian steamers. They are more likely to be convinced of our story than a warship or troopship from the Royal Navy.
We heard from a passerby this morning that German tank regiments had taken Dunkirk and were fast approaching Calais. We are south of there but I fear it will not be long before they get here. I suppose this was always the risk of the years of stalemate strategy. It only takes one split in the defences for the dam to break and suddenly a war defined by impasse becomes a quicksilver fluid thing. Those unseen gods are moving their chess pieces swiftly towards the endgame. I just hope that the army we have been massing can somehow stem the sweeping tide.
For now we are hiding in a long abandoned warehouse as evening draws in. H---- lies snoring on some dirty sacking. How he can sleep at a time like this is beyond me. I suppose years of sleeping in fear means that he can sleep through anything. The sky seems to be filled with the sound of enemy planes, you know those fast ones that they have now, bombing and harassing the constant flow of ships. I couldn't possibly sleep.
I don't mind telling you E----, that H---- is as scared as I. Earlier he clung to me like a frightened child. Even though he is much older than I, he still can't see properly and has come to rely on me. He shakes with every bomb that drops. Even in his sleep. His shaking reminds me of Thompson. I have to be strong, for him and for you.
It looks like this war might be over sooner than we had thought. I cannot imagine that the Germans will want to stop now. I cannot imagine that the channel will be much of a barrier for them. Their mentality will be much the same as ours would and revenge will be in their hearts. If we had broken their wall then it is clear that we would wish to crush them. Ride on to Berlin and crush them into the dirt. And I fear that they will want to do the same to us. To poor old England.
In this dark lonely moment of the night my fears burn in my mind. I cannot stem them. I fear I shall never see my poor mother again. And my love, I fear that I may never see you again.
If there is one ounce of bravery in my poor tired body then it comes from you E----. I am writing this letter to you so that you know that I love you E----. With all my heart. You are the dream I cling to and if I can survive somehow, against all the odds, I wish for us to be married. I know that is not the most romantic of proposals; not one that you or I might have wished for, but I need you to know what is in my heart. Just in case.
So I am trying my very best to be brave and get myself back across the channel to you. Whatever it takes. H---- and I are between a rock and a hard place. First we must try our level best not to stick out amongst our own soldiers and to try convince some sailor types to let us on their ship. On the other hand the prospect of being captured or killed by the advancing Hun is distinctly unpleasant one.
In the morning, before dawn, while it is still dark, I will post this through the door of a house nearby where I know one of the women in the network lives, in the hope that it will find its way to you. And then H---- and I will take our chances down at the docks. Here's hoping the docks aren't smashed and that there are still ships coming in. The bombing right now is quite heavy.
I hope with all my heart that you get this letter and know that I will try my very best to see you again. Who knows, perhaps H---- and I will tu
rn up on your doorstep in time for my birthday; I am sure he will love to meet you, and we can celebrate together. A year since I first wrote to you. I can scarcely believe it. Please have the kettle and the cake ready for us.
I love you, always,
J
Xxx
Josephine Tyler BA MsC PhD
University of Michigan
Anthropology & Archaeology Faculty
Field Research Unit
'Remembrance expedition'
C/O USS Robert F. Kennedy
North Atlantic Station
Email:
[email protected] Monday 29th October 2012
Dear Nancy,
Today is Remembrance day, and as I write to you, all around the world people will be stopping to pay their respects to all of those millions who perished in the Great War and its aftermath; all those horrors of the twentieth century. So I felt that I had to write to you today Nancy, and tell you of my discovery. Today of all days it seems fitting. Today, the fiftieth anniversary of the first German atomic rockets.
Firstly, I must tell you how thrilled I am and what an honor it is to be on this expedition. Of course you knew this before I left. I still can't quite believe that I was picked. Never thought I had a chance when President Clinton announced the multi-national expedition to Europe for the anniversary. But then I