The Americans in Broadstone and D-Day

This story has been submitted to the People's War website by Marie on behalf of Roy and has been added to the site with his permission. Roy fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

The Americans arrived in Broadstone, Dorset, the village where I was born and grew up in 1943. They were part of the 1st Infantry Division and Services of Supply.

I was 9 at the time and well remember how bowled over we kids were at the sight and sound of these exotic creatures. They seemed to have money to burn and were lavish in their generosity towards us, plying us with candy and chewing gum.

Once a week they laid on a film show in the village school. One film I remember was “The Sullivans” starring Anne Baxter and Thomas Mitchell. At Christmas time they gave us a wonderful party in the Women’s Institute. After the party they gave us rides in their jeeps, careering around the village at top speed!

The American troops were, needless to say, very popular with the local girls. I remember one of them saying to me : “You got any big sisters at home?” I’m afraid I had to disappoint him!

My special American soldier was a Top Sergeant from Texas. He ‘adopted’ me, which meant that all the goodies he gave out were for me and no-one else. Eventually, of course, they left us for France and things in our village were never quite the same again.

On D-Day itself I well remember we were all assembled in the school hall to listen to a ‘very important broadcast’. As we stood there, the solemn, authoritative voice of John Snagge was heard over the wall-mounted loudspeakers. Snagge was the BBC’s Senior Announcer and was always chosen to broadcast on State occasions and events of national importance. I remember his words were to the effect that earlier that morning Allied forces under the command of General Dwight D Eisenhower had landed on the coast of Normandy and were establishing beach-heads.

That broadcast had a tremendous impact on me because I had been following the progress of the war on the wireless (as we called it in those days) so realised what a momentous moment in our history D-Day was.

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