W Herman to the parents of Tom Gallagher "There is still a hope of his quick release but until then don't worry to much as Jerry has a great respect for British soldiers." Date of letter: 25 April 1945
Charles William Maw to Emily Ella Maw "I say thanks to you both with all my heart" Sent from: Audrieu, France
Frank Mortimer to his brother Billy "I miss my pint a heck of a lot out here" Sent from: Sorrento, Italy Date of letter: 22 July 1941
Jack Walter Dale to his brother Victor "PS When you get a life jacket treat it as your best pal. I shouldn't be here now if I hadn't had one." Sent from: Longmoor, Hampshire Date of letter: 11 July 1940
John Batten Smith to his aunt Thelma Biddlecombe "So this is what you call an A1 group. From the Bomber side it probably is and the Squadron is definitely a good set. But from the point of view of promotion it's terrible." Sent from: RAF Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire Date of letter: 13 January 1944
Jean Vandevenne to Jessie Matilda Hayward "Perhaps you will come to Belgium after the war" Date of letter: 8 October 1944
Lt Asher Pearlman to Margo Goodwin (nee Robertson) "I'm allowed to say that at the moment of writing I'm intact in life and limb and an occasional smile has yet been known to flick across my war-weary face." Sent from: Italy Date of letter: 9 January 1944
Jim Hart to his sister Gladys "I never thought I could love her more than I did, but I have since found that she is everything in the world to me" Date of letter: 4 March 1940
Bill Hind to his brother Ted "Just a line to let you know I am alive and kicking in this dump" Sent from: Ceylon
Ben Sawyer to his brother John Sawyer "Well I'm in the same boat as you for I got wounded in the right thigh on D-Day" Sent from: Shrewsbury
Albert John Westwood to Ilma Mary Collins "I do hope and trust that you enjoyed the celebrations darling [...] Anyway, enjoyed them enough for both you and me – I bet you did." Sent from: Germany
Bill Furlong to Ivy Furlong "At last the day has come, and frankly no-one seems to know quite what to do about it. Last night there were terrific celebrations here, & we were busy with the old beam [searchlight] for a long time." Sent from: Vlissingen, Holland Date of letter: 8 May 1945
Flt Eng Sgt Jack Kenneth English to his sister Rita "I am getting quite fit playing rugby etc, there is little else to do except read. I fear this life will make me incurably lazy." Sent from: Stalag Luft 3, Germany Date of letter: 8 April 1944
Vivian Morton (nee Daniell) to David Kingston "The sights and above all the stench of those early days I shall most certainly never forget, it's marvellous what one can survive." Sent from: Belsen Concentration Camp, Germany
Albert Norman Sadd’s wartime recollections "Just before the end of the War the Germans marched us out of the camp towards the West in the direction of the advancing British and American troops and away from the advancing Russians. After a couple of days the German guards vanished and we were left to our own devices. Eventually I met up with advancing Americans who took me to Regensberg."
Victory Harding to Phyllis Harding "I have been taken prisoner of war in Germany. I am in good health." Sent from: Germany Date of letter: 13 September 1944
Tally and Didi to Margaret Hect "We know the deepest depths of life, nobody in the world can be so poor as we were." Sent from: Belsen concentration camp Date of letter: 27 April 1945
Captain James D Shearer to his father James G Shearer "Overhead, fireworks were bursting in red, green and white. It was like a setting from some fantastic play, it was so dramatic" Sent from: Holland
Frank Pilsworth to his son "Mam tells me that you sit up with her at night now so you must be getting a big lad, well keep smiling and look after Mam till I come home again" Sent from: Italy and Austria
Able Seaman Walter Morris to Meg Morris "If I am not home for the day darling, think of me the whole time and take courage from the fact that I shall be near you in spirit and praying for you the whole time." Date of letter: 15 May 1941
Corporal Alan Farnworth to his parents "Yesterday we were all working as usual on the top floor of the Royal Palace when the news spread round like wild fire that the war had ended - it had been picked up from a German Radio Station and the news wasn't really official" Sent from: Caserta, Italy Date of letter: 8 May 1945
Mary Astles (née Young) to her mother in London "We are in a Palace only lately evacuated by the Germans... by the look of things they cleared out in an awful hurry for things are strewn all over the place - they are most untidy people" Sent from: Italy Date of letter: 1 May 1945
Herbert Wharton’s Certificate "The people of Norway wish to thank you... for your valuable services in helping to restore freedom to our land." Sent from: Norway
Captain Robert Randal Rylands to Jennifer Olive Traill "It’s about time I said I love you Jendy – haven’t said it for exactly 10 days." Date of letter: 27 July 1944
A Belgian friend to William Hendon "How did the Germans react when they heard the war was ended? What a come down for them, eh?" Sent from: Belgium Date of letter: 14 May 1945
Bernard Victor King to Doreen Dalton "As I had nothing to do I thought I would write to someone." Sent from: Normandy, France Date of letter: 22 July 1944
Robert B McWilliams to Lily McWilliams "My darling, as I send these greetings, even though we are far, far apart, I still have the sweet cherished memories That I keep in the place next my heart." Sent from: Monte Cassino, Italy Date of letter: 3 March 1944
Dick Boon to Doll and June "I’ve not the faintest idea on what I’ll do after the war – at least I feel entitled to be cynical about many things" Date of letter: 26 April 1944
English (UK)English (UK)
