Greets once again. I've decided to make an audiobook of We 67 English, and share it out among friends and family. This whole project started in September 2020 as an idea for a Christmas gift for my partners family. My partners grandfather, Bill Warren, wrote the diary while POW in Leipzig in Germany. His diary only came to light a couple of years ago and most of the family hadn't been able to read it but were greatly interested in this memory of their treasured patriarch, Bill. I decided to set my self a challenge, and transcribe the diary (150+ pages of tiny, tiny writing) and turn it into a book which I could present to Bill's children and grandchildren.
His diary also contained a number of artefacts that Bill had collected, mostly propaganda leaflets dropped by airplane by both sides, each asserting that should you, the enemy, surrender, you'd be treated really rather well and looked after. I've scanned those and included them in the book. There are a few below!
If you want to read the whole thing, please contact me via the little widget on the right and I'll see what I can do.
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Please find below the first few pages of Bill's diary, starting in June 1941.
June 6th
At last the long awaited day has arrived! The day for which we had
hopefully sought for three summers now. It seems that Anglo-American troops have landed along the coast of France between Cherbourg and La Havre. The sky black with ‘planes, the sea a mass of boats.
Time either 11am or 12am, on the other hand it may have been pm! Germans claim 75% losses in the initial landing. June 7th Apparently the first troops landed a few minutes after midnight, A
froggy told me that 12,000 planes, 6,000 boats and 3 million men
took part in the operation which was completely successful. Other sources
mention 11,000 planes and 4,000 boats, - probably the sailors and airmen
themselves don’t know which is right. It seems dummy parachutists were
first dropped, followed later (but at different places) by the genuine live
article. Many parts of the distance already penetrated, anything up to
50km. All the Frenchmen here, although are usually cheerful, are now
most unusually cheerful & can always be seen “thumbs upping” & wearing that inimitable smile. 8pm: Radio LaBrise reports the fall of Rouen
and a speech by DeGaulle in which he tells the French people to keep their
heads down until the invasion wave has passed, & then join in the bloody
massacre of the Hun & also that he will be in Paris at the head of a new
French government by June 22nd.
June 8th
The fall of Rouen seems to be generally confirmed; a froggy informs
me that the fighting is on a 250km front, and there have been fresh
landings at Dunkirk, Dieppe, Calais etc etc. Also, 10,000 boats have been
used . Churchill is supposed to have said that the landings were more successful than ever he had anticipated and the large reserves of boats and
planes were not required. Rumors of large “breakthroughs” in the German line in Russia and south of Rome. Radio reports fighting between
German troops in France, recent amendment states that it is the Polish volunteers you have turned on the Germans.
June 9th
The German radio and newspapers have been significantly silent regarding the second front for the past 2 days, and rather reticent
today, but admitted the fall of Baen. A square head informs us that the
Gerries are making swift strategic withdrawals in Italy and the fighting is
now 60km north of Rome. Also that 4,000 large and 4,000 small ships are
taking part in the landings of troops. Begging your pardon, but a recent report from Kommando (square head source) claims the British forces to be
120km north of Rome after effecting a breakthrough in the German lines.
Also that the Allied forces in France are 140km from the coast at one
point.
