On this Day in 1939


Some of our archives have an immediate relevance to a specific date with a location that is very relevant to the locality. This telegram is one of them. 

It is the anniversary of Britain's declaration of war on Germany. The third of September 1939. 81 years ago today. This telegram was sent to the Castle, then the depot of the Border Regiment. The message from the War Office is clear 'war has broken out with Germany.' Little did we know what the next six years would bring and the impact it would have all over the world.

This small piece of fragile paper is a gateway to a period in twentieth century history that impacted on every man, woman and child. From serviceman, to factory girl, to evacuee...the Second World War brought terror, fear, excitement, death. Shared experiences such as bombing and rationing affected both rich and poor. The war led to changes that saw the end of an empire, the beginning of a welfare state, a better life for the poor, the elderly, the young and the infirm. 

When this telegram was delivered to the Commander of the Border Regiment Depot on the third of September, few would realise that life was about to radically change and the world as people knew it 81 years ago would look very different in 1945. 

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