Description:

BATTLE OF BRITIAN CORRESPONDENCE
A remarkable correspondence of ten holograph letters, 68pp. largely 8vo., from a woman named Anna who lived in Sellindge, Kent, (near Dover) dating between Aug. 5, 1940 to July 13, 1945, written to her friend Eleanor in the United States. This incredibly detailed correspondence reads, in very small part: "[Aug 5, 1940] ... we are the first line of defense here & should those Germans get thru' one air line they'd take all the fun out of those happy people in London & else where. We have our warnings as I say several time a day, some days, but the bombers do not get inland - we had a ringside seat in perfect knowledge of our safety & watch the battles form bedroom windows as whey wage it over Fokestone hill & channel. Then we see some fighters or perhaps one would break away & come towards us being chased by our fighters then go out in field to watch. this is all very much against the A.R.P. regulations as there is danger form shrapnel & perhaps machine gunning, but the risk is ours. ... One knows very well that the German is too intent in saving his own life to machine gun a stray person in field. Not so in the towns. The A.R.P. men chase one to the shelter & there one has to stay put until all clear is given ... We have cleared out all known 5th columnist 'Traitors' to be precise & time alone will decide how many more we have. It is nice to know America has taken a timely warning and is hunting her's out ... How I wish I could make all you people realize their danger. This isn't a war which will peter out over time. It is like a dreadful plague & unless you defenses are up & you have got the anti toxin it will reach your shores ... We do not want your men - we have enough of our won tho' many brave volunteer Americans have joined us but we do want planes. If America would only realize now, that our strength will be hers should the invasion come & our weakness will mean the eventual loss of that fine American continent. It must now happen. I cannot think that hose clever Americana won't see the danger in time ... At first we used to stand about & watch the sky when a raid was on ... now we give a cursory glance overhead when busy & get on with what we are doing. So much for our respect for our brave lads in the air. They have been tried & proved their mettle. One almost feels like waving a hand to them as they fly over the house on their way to meet the raiders. They are wonderful Eleanor. We fully expect Hitler to use Gas on us now that he sees he can't win by fair means ... [Sept. 6, 1940] ... slews of Jerries have just come in & the sirens has gone About 70 bombers with quite a hundred Messer's it is a awesome sight I can assure you to see those bombers come in from over the farm from the marsh like this [illustrates the pattern] Just a long straight line - one feels it would be easy to take [a] pot shot at them ... At first they used to send bombers in formations of 7 or 17 with 17 or 20 fighters - now it is this awesome long line with hundreds of messer. The marsh side of my house (east) is the fighting Zone. East side (Dover & Folkestone) Defense Zone. The latter puts up [a] terrific barrage - words cannot describe it so that is a rare time the formation of bombers come throw there - some came thru' with this raid I saw the shell bursts in sky - They mostly came from [word cut out] as they can get thru there when they came in the hundreds. The fighters engage our fighters ... The bombers sail thru' while this is going on tho' quite a few are brought down on beach ... They sailed over drone -over farm my house - messers fighting all they way then the real trouble starts for bombers as they meet the defense guns between [word cut out] & on ... to Thames Estuary. How I wish we had more planes. It seems all wrong that they should get sailing over my house before being brought down. The return journey is mostly very much a broken formation ... It is heartbreaking to watch the parachutes come down as they take so long & there are so many obstacles sticking up in air ... One boy coming down was shot thro' heart by a messer pilot as he was sailing down so defenseless - it is impossible for them to help themselves in any way. Another was riddled by bullets. Eleanor it was heartbreaking to watch ... Wed Am at 9.30 Bombers dropped incendiary bombs on farms at 'Monks Horton' a mile or so down road (attempting to fire corn) anti aircraft fired & winged it, then it drubbed two on church 13th century just along the road facing my back door - I was in Kitchen with nippers [children] house shook I raced them to cupboard under stair & just then bomb dropped three fields of other side of farm. Then the drome got it again as the fighter emptied his plan in his endeavor to get away. Out of all those bombs there was not a single casualty ...The church is a bus stop - the 9.20 bus had just gone The bungalow facing church had all windows blown in & roof collapsed. The owner was out ... Bill's sister has a spitfire parachute on view on her lawn. Pilot came down in her field badly burned about face ... A piece of messer. fell at Bill's mother's feet while she was watching battle in sky ... This 50 destroyer deal, I think almost brings U.S. in It is a very red warning. How I wish they could send 1000 plans over straight away this very day. The nippers thoroughly enjoy watching the Dog fights - not for worlds would I have them realize the awfulness of it. On Sunday they watched one Spitfire bring down 3 messer one after the other - right on their tails he came ... this is known as 'Hell's Corner' but I rather think it should be 'Suicide Corner.' ... Last night we sat at little bedroom window looking over farm towards Bolonge & Calais. We saw the Parachute flares leave our Bombers- the whole French coast was lit up by the terrific German Barrage...[Oct. 23, 1940]... It did not seem possible that life could go on pretty much as usual regardless of vast hordes of planes assaulting us at intervals. Even now I can scarce believe I saw those planes over my house anything from 100 to 500 at t time ... They are doing their best now to cut we people in South off from rest of country but they have failed again. Certainly they mucked up our mails & papers early last month when they first started sending their bombers over by three hundreds but fortunately for we ordinary mortals the Powers that be in the air Force soon settled Jerries big ideas... I am getting so very sued to sudden thuds day & night ... the bomb in Bill's field has not yet exploded - something has got to be done about it as the land has got to be ploughed ... " Much more superb content, too expansive to quote here. Offered with several remnants of the original transmittal envelopes with censor labels. An amazing read! Usual folds, else very good condition.

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December 8, 2011 11:00 AM EST
Stamford, CT, US

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