Friday, 13 October [1944] Littlecote, England
Saw some more of the grounds and house this morning. Indoor swimming pool, chapel, tennis courts, cricket field, gardens, hot houses, nothing like it. As usual it started raining around noon. C47’s pass by all day long. What a job of production the U.S. has done. It makes one proud to be able to say, I am American.
Gave away a few cigars today, to various people on the estate, quite a luxury for them. They always save them until evening.
Saturday, 14 October [1944] Littlecote
We have been eating C rations since our arrival at Littlecote. We expect to get “B” rations soon. We worked until noon. I spent the afternoon walking about the grounds by myself. I enjoyed it very much. Later in the evening, I went through the castle. The art was beautiful. It amounts to something like a million dollars. There was a big collection of old rifles, pistols and armor.
Sunday, 15 October [1944] Littlecote
Slept until 10 o’clock, got up, showered and walked to Hungerford, about a 40 minute walk from camp.1Hungerford is a market town in Berkshire, England near Littlecote where General Eisenhower visited on August 10, 1944. During his visit approximately 18,000 people gathered for a military parade; the entirety of the 101st Airborne Division was present in addition to several other units. Hungerford was also home to “Wings for Victory” parades geared towards raising money for savings bonds. £1,745 million was raised by 1945. “General Eisenhower on Hungerford Common, 10th August 1944,” “Wings for Victory Parade.” Accessed April 25, 2014. Hungerford Virtual Museum. Online.
Had my first taste of English Beer, (it is terrible). Met several English families and got along very well. There is an American Red Cross in Hungerford, which dispenses coffee and donuts, at a small price. It is equipped with a radio and a Ping Pong set. I passed an hour or two looking inside. Took another walk around town. Had a dozen kids ask me for gum, any gum chum. The first three did all right. The others received too late, mate.