The Postcard
A postcard that was published by H. J. The image is a glossy real photograph. The card was posted in Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday the 29th. August 1944 using a 2d. stamp. The card was sent to:
Lance-Corporal H. Pope,
254, R.A.S.C. A.A.C.(M)T.,
Shirley,
Southampton.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Tuesday 29/8/44.
Arrived here alright this
morning 1.00 am!!!
Have been into Weston
today, but the weather
has not been very nice -
rain!! Still who cares?
I shall have a good time
whatever the weather.
Hope you are not working
too hard!
And that there are no more
punctures!!
I wonder if you have heard
from Pat yet. I hope you
have, and that she is
settling down OK.
T.T.F.N.,
Love from Nora."
(T.T.F.N. is short for Tat-Ta For Now)
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside town in Somerset, England, on the Bristol Channel 18 miles (29 km) south west of Bristol.
Owing to the large tidal range in the Bristol Channel, the low tide mark in Weston Bay is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the seafront. Although the beach itself is sandy, low tide uncovers areas of thick mud, hence the colloquial name, Weston-super-Mud. These mudflats are very dangerous to walk on.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his family lived in Weston, at Swiss Villa (towards the north end of Trevelyan road), while he was supervising the construction of the Bristol and Exeter Railway in the area.
With the opening of the railway in 1841, thousands of visitors came to the town from Bristol, the Midlands and further afield, on works outings and bank holidays.
Mining families also came across the Bristol Channel from South Wales by paddle steamer.
To cater for them, Birnbeck Pier was completed in 1867, offering in its heyday amusement arcades, tea rooms, rides and a photographic studio. It is now in a derelict state, and has been added to English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register, but visitors can still admire its structure from behind barbed wire.
The First World War memorial in Grove Park, containing a sculpture by Alfred Drury, was unveiled in 1922, with additions by Walter Cave for the Second World War.
It contains the names of 402 men from the area who fell in the First World War. It consists of a winged allegorical figure of Victory holding an olive branch, which stands on an octagonal column. The memorial is a grade II listed building.
Current and Former Residents
Notable current and former residents of the town include:
- A. V. Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough: Minister of Defence in the Attlee government, raised in Weston-super-Mare
- Jeffrey Archer: author, politician and convicted perjurer
- Jhonn Balance: musician, founding member of Psychic TV and founder of Coil (band)
- Ritchie Blackmore: guitarist and founding member of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore's Night.
- Peter Christopherson: musician, founding member of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV
- John Cleese: actor and member of Monty Python
- Jill Dando: murdered broadcaster and journalist, after whom the sixth form centre at Weston College and a garden in Grove Park are named
- Arthur Stanley Eddington: one of the foremost astrophysicists of the early 20th century, grew up in the town
- Daphne Fowler: game show champion
- Baron Glanely (William Tatem), ship- and racehorse-owner, died during an air raid at 16 Malvern Road in June 1942.
- Rupert Graves: actor, born and educated in the town
- Bob Hope: comedian and actor, lived there as a child
- Sean Martin: writer and film director
- Con O'Neill: actor
- John Oldmixon (1673–1742): historian
- The Revd. Dr John Polkinghorne KBE FRS: particle physicist and theologian.
- Hans Price: (1835–1912) architect, responsible for much of the architecture of the built environment in Weston-super-Mare and the distinctive character of the town
- Paulo Radmilovic: Olympic gold medal athlete
- Gareth Taylor: footballer; born 25 February 1972 in the town[
- Michelle Terry: actress and writer
- Peter Trego: cricketer
- Daniel Thomas: (1985–2018) Youtube star who suffered from an extremely rare form of cancer.
The Battle of Marseille
So what else happened on the day that Nora posted the card?
Well, on the 29th. August 1944, the Battle of Marseille ended with the surrender of the Germans on the fortified harbour islands.
Operation Goodwood
Also on that day, Operation Goodwood was called off after failure to deal any significant damage to the Tirpitz.
Operation Goodwood was a series of British carrier air raids conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord in occupied Norway during late August 1944.
It was the last of several attacks made by the Home Fleet during 1944 which sought to damage or sink Tirpitz and thereby eliminate the threat it posed to Allied shipping.
Previous raids on Kaafjord conducted by Fleet Air Arm aircraft had involved only one air attack; in Operation Goodwood several attacks were made in a single week. The Royal Navy hoped that these raids would wear down the formidable German defences.
The British fleet departed its base on the 18th. August 1944 and launched the first raid against Kaafjord on the morning of the 22nd. August. The attack failed, and a small raid that evening inflicted little damage.
Attacks were conducted on the 24th. and 29th. August and they were also failures. Tirpitz had been hit by two bombs during the raid on the 24th. August, but neither caused significant damage.
British losses during Operation Goodwood were 17 aircraft to all causes, a frigate sunk by a submarine, and an escort carrier badly damaged.
German forces suffered the loss of 12 aircraft and damage to 7 ships.
In late August 1944, responsibility for attacking Tirpitz was transferred to the Royal Air Force. In three heavy bomber raids conducted during September and October 1944, the battleship was first crippled and then sunk.
Historians regard Operation Goodwood as a significant failure for the Fleet Air Arm, and attribute its poor results to the shortcomings of the force's aircraft and their armament.
