The night "Boy" Browning came to stay

This story has been submitted by Margaret Cowell with the permission of Mabel Ulliot who fully understands the terms and conditions.

Lieutenant-General Frederick A.M. Browning was well known as a war hero and the husband of the famous novelist, Daphne Du Maurier. He was responsible for developing the 1st Airborne Division and was commander of British airborne troops on D Day. Later he was at Arnhem and is sometimes credited with the observation that it was a bridge too far. He survived the War and later became Controller and Treasurer of Princess Elizabeth’s household. He was known as “Boy” Browning because he looked so young.

There was a knock at the front door late one night. I didn’t answer the door at night during the War so Reverend Storer went. I heard voices and hoped that nothing had happened as the Vicar would be fetched for accidents or deaths. We didn’t know there were soldiers about, though earlier on there had been quite a few trucks drive through the village. Someone wanted to know if we could put up “Boy Browning”, his batman and three other staff. There were four soldiers too. Reverend Storer agreed and the next thing all these soldiers came and lined the streets in the village.

We hadn’t enough rooms for everyone so Reverend Storer had to sleep in the study as he needed to be able to get to the telephone. We put the dog in the study too. “Boy” Browning had a room upstairs. I remember we could hear him as he went up and down the passages upstairs, his boots squeaking away. We later found that he had smoked alot of cigarettes that night. Some of his staff slept on the kitchen floor.

I didn’t see him but there was quite a bit in the newspapers about him afterwards. I think that the airborne troops had been training in the area and he had come to inspect them. By the next day all the soldiers had left.

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