Private Papers of S R Verrier

Letter to his parents written on 6 June 1944 by Private Sidney Verrier of the 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, serving with the British 6th Airborne Division.
‘I’m off on the long-awaited “Second Front”… Now then, Mum, if you don’t worry, I won’t be worrying, so keep your chin up…I may be home again soon, when this war is over. There is only one thing I wish, that is to have Dad on one side and Uncle Jack on the other side of me to tell me when I go wrong. You can’t beat the old sweats at this game…Remember me to all relations and folks. I love ‘em all.’

152 ms and ts letters written to his family in London while he was serving with the 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division) in the United Kingdom (circa May 1942 - June 1944 and (?) July - October 1945), France, the Netherlands and Germany (June 1944 - (?) July 1945) and Palestine (October 1945 - August 1946), with frequent mention of his family and references also to his training, conditions in France after he was parachuted in on D-Day, the attitude of local civilians in France and Germany and his response, VE Day and conditions in Palestine prior to his return to Britain for discharge and eventual admission to a mental institution with schizophrenia, later diagnosed as resulting from his wartime experiences.