The Silent Day

by Max Arthur

On 6 June 1944 Britain woke up to a profound silence. Overnight, 160,000 Allied troops had vanished and an eerie emptiness settled over the country. The majority of those men would never return.

This is the story of that extraordinary 24 hours.

Using a wealth of first person testimonies, renowned historian Max Arthur recounts a remarkable new oral history of D-Day, beginning with the two years leading up to the silent day which saw the UK transformed by the arrival of thousands of American and Canadian troops. We also hear the views of the American troops, who quickly formed strong views of both the British military and civilian populations.

Then, on that June morning, many British people woke up to discover that vast areas of the country, which had throbbed with life only the day before, were now empty and silent. Civilian workers found coffee pots still warm on the stove but not a soul to greet them. Many women - and children - felt bewildered and betrayed.

Then, throughout that day and the days that followed, the whole population gathered around wireless sets, waiting for news. There are powerful testimonies from families of who lost loved ones on the beaches of Normandy, and dramatic personal accounts from young widows who had never had the chance to say goodbye.

The Silent Day is an original and evocative portrait of a key event in world history, and a poignant reminder of the human cost of D-Day.

Genres: History, War, Nonfiction, World War II

544 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 2014

About the author

Max Arthur is an author who specialises in first-hand recollections of historical events. He has worked closely with the Imperial War Museum to bring together two books in the Forgotten Voices series, Forgotten Voices of the Great War and Forgotten Voices of the Second World War. Prior to becoming a writer, he served with the Royal Air Force and for some years was an actor.

Reviews

[Liberty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved this book. Some problematic content, (i.e. a bit inappropriate and unnecessary regarding the private lives of some of these folks), but on the almost complete whole I REALLY enjoyed the book. Absolutely incredible that the entire book is made up entirely of first hand accounts of D-Day: before the war, preparation for D-Day, the actual conflict and the peoples response, then the end of the war. Phenomenal and a masterpiece.

[Arturo · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the few rare books about the Second World War that go the way of the dissapointing route. The recollections vary wildly in both quality and lenght; repetition in the experiences, should be condensed; the oral transcriptions need editing; photos of the events accompany some of the texts but they all are just for reference, there's probably just one photo of one of the men giving his account, and is of a high profile commander anyway, all the rest just lend their voices and there's not more to it; no glossary, no footnotes to explain acronyms, expressions or phrases that might be unfamiliar to the reader, in all it gives the impression of a rushed job with just the necessary amount of detail to add some photographs and make sure there's a chronological order.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. So many memories from soldiers, civilians, children, workers, doctors, nurses, English and American, and of course the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Some stories were so intriguing I wish they had been longer!

[queen-zara amoah]

0.5⭐️ DNF
erm. i thought it was gonna be like a cool story ab someone living through ww2 but it was non fictional way too factual

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my opinion, this book is intended primarily for British readers, since nearly (but not) all of the people reminiscing are English and all of the places from which the stories take place are in England. Readers from other countries are not excluded, but a good knowledge of England's geography would be helpful while reading the book.