Green Croft Farm,

                                                                                                                                                   Taynton,

                                                                                                                                                   Gloucester,

                                                                                                                                                   GL19 3AN

                                                                                                                                                   July 20^th 2005

 Tel 01452790359

e-mail:  donmon2@tiscali.co.uk

            _____________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Sebby and Mary,

We have now been back about a month from our holiday in Brittany, which we enjoyed. We also visited some of the Normandy Beaches as we made our way back as Monica had never been there before. We had planned to see the Bayeux Tapestry but instead visited the US Cemetery at Omaha where she was quite overcome but was very glad to have been there.

I hope that you are both keeping well despite the problems of age and that your birthday celebration went well. I will be interested to hear your news particularly about your battalion’s reunion. 

I am still investigating the WWII history of Highnam Court but am now concentrating on the British Navy (HMS Ganges) time there in 1940/42.  I am also investigating an RAF plane crash that occurred in October 1940 in a field quite near to where you were stationed – on land that also belonged to the Highnam Court Estate.

You have been a very great help to me, but I now seem unable to find out much more about the US involvement at Highnam.  It seems that there were about 1500 US soldiers stationed there in WWII so no doubt there are more veterans like yourself still around. As I told you in my last letter, I wrote to three addresses in the US with the name Wilbur Kelsey in an effort to obtain a copy of Bridge to Berlin. One letter was returned unopened and I did not receive a reply from the other two.

Would you be prepared to lend me your edition? I could then copy all the pages and I promise I would return it to you promptly.

I recently visited another US WWII ex army camp on a large country estate near Bridgenorth, Shropshire but I only found a few bullet cases and some modern coins. I did though find a valuable gold ring that the squire had lost 15 years previously. It was a wedding ring presented to him by his wife at their wedding at St James, Chapel Royal, London in 1985. He was extremely delighted and we all (three of us) went home with a bottle of champagne each!

I enclose a few photos taken in France for you interest.

Best wishes to you both,

Don.