Becky Bartos is the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Whatley III. Becky has generously sent us her father’s collection of photographs from his time with the 8th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, in WW2 Europe 1944 to 1945. She says “He was born March 25, 1923 in Dothan, Alabama. He volunteered for active
WW2
The other Dunkirk
First published 2016/04/06 A few short years before D-Day, another terrible battle took place in Normandy, just 100 miles north east of those famous beaches, around Veules-les-Roses and Saint-Valéry-en-Caux. It’s not talked about much in England and until our visit we had no idea about the events of 11 & 12 June
Caen, before and after the battle of 1944
The scars of Angoville-au-Plain
First published February 15, 2014 On our way to the vast beaches by Les Gougins in Manche, just north of Utah Beach, we took a small detour to pay our respects in Angoville-au-Plain. Hidden down ancient lanes long sunk into the Normandy countryside, Angoville is reached by a single track road. This is a
Dark clouds over Chambois in the Falaise Pocket
It’s often the simplest postcards that reveal the most shocking stories. This is true of Chambois. First published here 2014 Our postcard shows the old keep or ‘donjon’, once part of a medieval fortress that now houses nothing more ferocious than a loft of lethargic pigeons. The photo and the postcard do not