Letter to Mrs Bengston from Joseph Michel
Title
Letter to Mrs Bengston from Joseph Michel
Description
A handwritten letter in French with an English typed translation. First he apologises for not having written sooner. The he refers to services at the graves and the events of May 1944. Finally there are photographs of Clifford Shenton's parents and Joseph Michel.
Creator
Date
1945-12-16
Temporal Coverage
Format
Five sheets
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
EMichelJBengston451216-0001, EMichelJBengston451216-0002, EMichelJBengston451216-0003, EMichelJBengston451216-0004, EMichelJBengston451216-0005
Transcription
[A handwritten letter in French with an English typed translation]
[1st three pages in French]
[Full English translation]
Courboir
16 December 1945
Dear Mrs Bengston
I must apologise for having allowed several months to pass without writing to you. However please understand that, even if material concerns take a great part in our every lives, my friends in England remain both in my thoughts and in my heart and I feel very close to you.
At the risk of reawakening your terrible grief I must tell you that in November we honoured the memory of your brave children who fell in the horror of 3rd May 1944.
First of all on 1 November our parish priest blessed the graves. Then on 11 November the Service of Remembrance took place. On that day we, along with all former servicemen from both wars, joined the cortege to the small cemetery where six French soldiers, two American Flying Officers and the eight crew members of the Lancaster B134 had been laid to rest.
During the ceremony the President of the former servicemen called out the names of all these heroes. As each name was called out another former serviceman called out “Died for Freedom on the Field of Honour”.
I was hoping to take several photographs of this ceremony and send them to you. Unfortunately the rain and bad weather prevented me from doing this. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that all the graves were completely covered in flowers.
If I sound anxious to relate these details to you it is to show you that we haven’t forgotten and we have no wish to forget your brave sons who died for us and to whom we owe our eternal remembrance.
If you come to visit next year I would consider it an honour and a pleasure to welcome you and to offer you our simple but welcoming hospitality.
Yours sincerely
Joseph Michel
Long Live England
[page break]
Copies of photographs taken in 1947 when Joseph Michel visited the parents of Clifford Shenton at their home in Leicestershire. Copies supplied by Jean and Herbert Allison. Jean acted as interpreter during the visit.
[black and white photograph]
Left to right: - Clifford’s parents, Joseph Michel, Jean’s mother.
[black and white photograph]
Left to right:- Jean, Joseph Michel, Clifford’s parents.
[1st three pages in French]
[Full English translation]
Courboir
16 December 1945
Dear Mrs Bengston
I must apologise for having allowed several months to pass without writing to you. However please understand that, even if material concerns take a great part in our every lives, my friends in England remain both in my thoughts and in my heart and I feel very close to you.
At the risk of reawakening your terrible grief I must tell you that in November we honoured the memory of your brave children who fell in the horror of 3rd May 1944.
First of all on 1 November our parish priest blessed the graves. Then on 11 November the Service of Remembrance took place. On that day we, along with all former servicemen from both wars, joined the cortege to the small cemetery where six French soldiers, two American Flying Officers and the eight crew members of the Lancaster B134 had been laid to rest.
During the ceremony the President of the former servicemen called out the names of all these heroes. As each name was called out another former serviceman called out “Died for Freedom on the Field of Honour”.
I was hoping to take several photographs of this ceremony and send them to you. Unfortunately the rain and bad weather prevented me from doing this. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that all the graves were completely covered in flowers.
If I sound anxious to relate these details to you it is to show you that we haven’t forgotten and we have no wish to forget your brave sons who died for us and to whom we owe our eternal remembrance.
If you come to visit next year I would consider it an honour and a pleasure to welcome you and to offer you our simple but welcoming hospitality.
Yours sincerely
Joseph Michel
Long Live England
[page break]
Copies of photographs taken in 1947 when Joseph Michel visited the parents of Clifford Shenton at their home in Leicestershire. Copies supplied by Jean and Herbert Allison. Jean acted as interpreter during the visit.
[black and white photograph]
Left to right: - Clifford’s parents, Joseph Michel, Jean’s mother.
[black and white photograph]
Left to right:- Jean, Joseph Michel, Clifford’s parents.
Collection
Citation
Joseph Michel, “Letter to Mrs Bengston from Joseph Michel,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/28017.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.