Major J S Holland to his wife Kathleen

My dad found a box of things that my grandfather, Major J S Holland, kept during the war, including various things such as his compass and maps.

The letter pictured is from my grandfather to my grandmother after he went missing in action and was a prisoner of war (we also still have a letter that my grandmother received to say he was missing in action). My grandmother was living in Glasgow. During this time when my grandmother didn’t know whether my grandfather was ok, her mother had a dream where she saw my grandfather walking across a river and said he was fine but that he was frustrated.

When he returned home he said this was true – he had indeed been frustrated as they had been promised that tanks would be arriving as reinforcements, but they never came – which is why they were captured.

 

Back to list