Week 35: 29th August – 4th September 1943

 

Here’s what’s going on in the world this week in 1943

• As the occupation of Denmark by Germany continued, occupying military forces dissolved the nation’s government. King Christian and Prime Minister Erik Scavenius were placed under arrest, and General Hermann von Hanneken of the German Army declared martial law. Danish crews, mostly at Copenhagen, scuttled thirty-two warships, nine submarines, two new destroyers and two torpedo boats. Another armored cruiser, the Niels Iuel, was sunk by German bombers after Danes took control of it and attempted to take it toward Sweden.
• Germany’s Ministry of Transport issued an order banning non-business use of horse-drawn vehicles, confining drivers, horses and carts to “work of war importance”.
• The ocean liner MS Gripsholm, operated by neutral Sweden to make exchanges of civilians between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers, departed from Jersey City, New Jersey toward Mormugao in Portuguese India, with 1,330 Japanese residents of the United States on board. By agreement between the U.S. and Japan, the Japanese ship Teia Maru would bring American civilians to Mormugao, where an exchange would take place on October 15.
• The Italian mainland was invaded by the Allies for the first time during World War II, as the British commanding General, Sir Bernard Montgomery, sent the first British and Canadian troops across the Messina Strait, from Sicily to the southern tip of Italy. The British Eighth Army, 5th Division, and the Canadian 1st Division began Operation Baytown at 0430 GMT and encountered little resistance after going ashore at Reggio di Calabria.
• The Nazi German SS began the arrest thousands of Jews in Belgium, with two days of raids on the cities of Brussels and Antwerp.

And here’s what was keeping Peggy busy in the ATS:

Sunday 29th August July 1943
Went to Drum Head(?) service in aid of P.O.W. – rather good fun. Hundreds of troops – my poor legs aren’t so young as they were! Raining cold & miserable.

Monday 30th August 1943
Off duty. Did maintenance in morning. Helped to take Tx aerial down & alter frequency. Larcking about as it was my turn to stay in. Only get 24hrs every eight days now. Pretty bloody.

Tuesday 31st August 1943
Letter from Joan and Auntie K. Joan going home on 3rd. Joan Doris & Ivy on 24hrs. Very busy all day. R.C.O.S. (Royal Corps of Signals) in camp not far away – come here for meals etc. bit of excitement.

Wednesday 1st September 1943
On duty in Cobboldstean(?). No letters. RCOS still here. Jo & Arthur mucking about as usual. On night duty, S/P. 8-12! – Tx jeep with Doreen! Not very nice day.

Thursday 2nd September August 1943
My day in again. Very very dull. Now I’m longing to go out as it gets so very depressing. Margot, Molly & Doreen on 24hr. Went to bed at 2105 still tired.

Friday 3rd September 1943
On duty. Quite a nice day. Lots of Air (?)Copp in morning. Did some cleaning up. Dance at night. Crowded. Drank too much beer, so left early as I was feeling ill!

Saturday 4th September 1943
Standing In. Very cold this morning. Had great fun Community singing in dining Hall as (?)we got turned out at 2200 hrs – Men only.

Week 34: 22nd August – 28th August 1943

 

Here’s what’s going on in the world this week in 1943

• The identify of “Gertie from Berlin”, who broadcast Nazi propaganda to English-speaking radio listeners, was revealed by the FBI as Gertrude Hahn, an American citizen and native of Pittsburgh. Miss Hahn, had moved to Berlin in 1938 when her father decided to return the family to Germany.
• Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union announced that the recapture of Kharkov from German occupiers ended the Battle of Kursk with a serious strategic defeat for the German forces. Kharkov, the fourth largest city in the U.S.S.R., was the last major enemy base on the southern frontier. 
• Heinrich Himmler, the commander of the Gestapo, was named Reichminister of the Interior in Germany, after Adolf Hitler removed Wilhelm Frick from the post. Frick was reassigned to become the Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, replacing Konstantin von Neurath as Germany’s overseer of the “protectorate”.
• Lord Mountbatten, Royal Navy Vice-Admiral and leader of the British Commandos in the Pacific War, was named by the Allies as the Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia. Mountbatten would conduct the Allied war effort against Japan in coordination with the Supreme Allied Commander in the Southwest Pacific operations, U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur.
• The German rocket Henschel Hs 293 struck, and sank, the British ship HMS Egret, marking the first successful attack by a guided missile.
• The USS Eldridge, was commissioned for the U.S. Navy. The destroyer escort would become part of American folklore as the subject of the supposed Philadelphia Experiment. According to variations of the legend, the Eldridge was either made temporarily invisible, or even sent by time travel into the future
• King Boris III of Bulgaria died at the age of 49, two weeks after his August 14 meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, and only four days after suddenly becoming ill. His 6-year-old son ascended to the throne as  Simeon II, with power to be executed by a regency made up of council of ministers. Simeon II would be the last King of Bulgaria, forced out of office with the abolition of the monarchy on September 8, 1946, but would return to power in 2001 as Simeon Sakskoburggotski.

And here’s what was keeping Peggy busy in the ATS:

Sunday 22nd August July 1943
Very tired! On duty so missed O.G. Parade! Thank goodness. Had a game of hockey at night such fun! S/N supposed to be lighting up tonight.

Monday 23rd August 1943
Hot today. Hockey match tonight against R.E.M.E. Match cancelled. Had a knock about with some of the girls and Jack. On night. Bullseye!

Tuesday 24th August 1943
Maintenance in morning. Went to S’hampton in truck. Empire saw “Hangmen also die” very sad. Had supper at Winston. Back to dance. nothing doing. Went to local with Jack and Doreen. Back to dance. Good fun.

Wednesday 25th August 1943
On duty. Searching. J & D gone to dentist at S’hampton. Nothing exciting happened. No letters from home yet.

Thursday 26th August 1943
Fatigue day. Pressed my slacks etc. Slept most of the afternoon – but got caught for a lecture on “Kings Law”. Pretty grim. Searching at night. Out of A (ammunition?) for Bullseye.

Friday 27th August 1943
Slept all morning. Went to flicks at S’hampton. Saw “Lucky Jordan”. Back to Lyndhurst. Missed bus so walked most of the way back. Met Jack at the local. Came back to dance. Raining.

Saturday 28th August 1943
Still on 24 hr. Went to Totton in the morning. Wings for Victory – lots of our girls on the Parade.

Week 33: 15th August – 21st August 1943

 

Here’s what’s going on in the world this week in 1943

• United States and Canadian troops, prepared for heavy resistance, invaded Kiska, an island off Alaska, and were surprised to find it deserted. Japan had taken control of the island shortly after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour. Although there was no resistance, four American soldiers were killed by mines and 24 were killed by friendly fire, shot by mistake by their own comrades in heavy fog.
• The German SS surrounded the Jewish ghetto in the city of Bialystok, in German-occupied Poland, to begin deportation of the thousands of residents to concentration camps. As the roundup began, the Jewish underground force began fighting back. The battle went on for five days before the Germans were able to suppress the insurrection. Most of the leaders of the underground force committed suicide rather than being captured.
• The Quadrant Conference between the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, continued in Quebec City with the signing of the Quebec Agreement by U.S. President Roosevelt, U.K. Prime Minister Churchill, and Canadian Prime Minister King. The terms of the pact, officially titled Articles of Agreement Governing Collaboration between the Authorities of the USA and the UK in the Matter of Tube Alloys, would remain secret until 1954. “Tube alloys” was a codename for atomic weapons. The nations agreed to combine their atomic physicists and researchers to develop the atomic bomb, and not use the weapon against any other nation without joint consent.
• Secret negotiations began in Lisbon between General Giuseppe Castellano and the Allies to discuss an Italian surrender.
• Sylvester McCoy the actor and seventh to play the TV role of Doctor Who (1987-1989) was born, Percy Kent-Smith, in Dunoon, Scotland.

And here’s what was keeping Peggy busy in the ATS:

Sunday 15th August July 1943
Came on duty with Roddys team, so missed C.O.S. (Chief of Staff) Parade! Dick came. Big Home Guard Inspection by Brig! Didn’t go out. Very hot.

Monday 16th August 1943
On duty. Working very hard. Letter from home. Fired a hell of a lot on Sunday night. Portsmouth Battle zone – no sleep. Five planes brought down. Another plane down today!

Tuesday 17th August 1943
Went to M.O. (Medical Officer) with bad eye. Had a good morning in Lyndhurst. All Privilege leave stopped & ???? leave for big manoeuvre.

Wednesday 18th August 1943
Didn’t do anything at all. Should have been our day out – but it wasn’t!  Jerry keeping pretty well away thank goodness! Forgot – letter from Bert! Yesterday.

Thursday 19th August 1943
Got paid today. On duty all day – bit of Co.op. Heard all letters censored from today Have to take tin hats out with us.

Friday 20th August 1943
Had regrading today. Still A.W.! so no chances of my ticket. Dance in camp – very nice too danced with Jack (our ??) all night. Had some beer – on duty. One call out for 5 mins.

Saturday 21st August 1943
Raining! letter from Eric. Pressed Jack’s and A’s slacks in morning. Went to S’hampton – Shirley – grand time shopping Dance at Guildhall – met Jack had a grand time – bit late getting in.

Week 32: 8th August – 14th August 1943

 

Here’s what’s going on in the world this week in 1943

• The United States Army barred the taking of photos at all beach resorts on the Atlantic Ocean, and even painting or sketching beach scenes. Civilian violators could be barred from the going to the coast or tried in a military court.
• For the second time in a week, U.S. General George Patton struck a U.S. Army soldier after losing his temper. This time, his encounter was with Private Paul G. Bennet at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital in San Stefano, Sicily. Patton asked Bennet what he was ill with, and Bennet, replied, “It’s my nerves… I can’t stand the shelling anymore.” According to a medical officer who witnessed the attack, General Patton replied, “Your nerves, hell. You’re just a God-damned coward, you yellow son of a bitch!” and then slapped him.
• After two weeks of warnings to Italy from the Allies, that “The respite is over. The bombing of military objectives will resume” air raids resumed. The Royal Air Force dropped tons of incendiary bombs on Milan and Turin as well as making the first bombing run on Berlin since May 21. American bombers began an even heavier attack on Rome than the one delivered on July 19. American bombers also struck German Austria for the first time, targeting the Messerschmitt arms plant at Wiener Neustadt south of Vienna.
• A day after the second bombing of the Italian capital, Rome was declared an open city by the Italian government, which made the announcement in a radio broadcast by Stetani, the official news agency. Marshal Pietro Badoglio, the Italian Prime Minister confirmed the decision later in the day, offering to remove the city’s defenses, under the supervision of the Allies, in exchange for no further bombing.

And here’s what was keeping Peggy busy in the ATS:

Sunday 8th August July 1943
Manning – so got out of Church Parade. Worked pretty hard. Swotted for exam Had dance. Not very good also S/P 0100-0500

Monday 9th August 1943
In bed. got up for test – then cancelled but tomorrow. Went out to Lyndhurst & Totton saw SBS. Commando in Lynd. Went to flicks San Francisco.

Tuesday 10th August 1943
On duty in afternoon (I was on 24 from yesterday). Did dummy runs all afternoon. Very hot and very tired. nothing much happened.

Wednesday 11th August 1943
Plotting! Hard at work all day – film (?tng) in afternoon-Evening “. The Immortal Sergeant V.G. up at 2300 – 0215 – bulls eye. Hostiles. Fired. up again 0430 – 0800!

Thursday 12th August 1943
Very tired. Bed. Slept soundly til till 1235! Another sleep in the afternoon. Letters from Geoff & Eric. Went to flicks. Arthur Askey in “King Arthur was a Gentleman.” V.G. Dance.

Friday 13th August 1943
On duty. didn’t do much in morning. Kit inspection & Pay Parade in afternoon. Washed my hair. Plotting at night – but no call outs. Thank Goodness.

Saturday 14th August 1943
Letter from Geoff. Coming today. Geoff came in evening. Played Housey Housey, and lost loads of money. Played hockey in afternoon.