Billet

Tommy's term for his personal friend, the Kaiser.

Billet.

Sometimes a regular house, but generally a stable where Tommy sleeps while behind the lines.

It is generally located near a large manure pile.

Most billets have numerous entrances, one for Tommy and the rest for rain, rats, wind and shells.

Billet guard.

Three men and a corporal who are posted to guard the billets of soldiers.

They do this until the orderly officer has made his rounds at night.

Bed and Board Most of the wartime staff at Bletchley Park were serving away from their homes and loved ones, but almost nobody actually lived on site.

So where were they housed and how were they fed? Billets, assigned living quarters, had to be found in the local area.

These could vary enormously in quality and the many different reminiscences of Bletchley Park's veterans reflect this.

In this episode, Bletchley Park's Head of Content, Erica Munro, and Research Officer, Dr Thomas Cheetham, get to grips with the pressures involved in finding bed and board for thousands of staff during a time of national strife.

The young wife had other occasions for practicing her womanly role of peacemaker.

Billeting was not the only cause of friction.

Families were divided against themselves.

Friends suffered estrangement.

Cold because a German shell wrecked the 2nd Company's cook truck the day before.

By midday, the changeover is complete and the guards march back to their transport at a derelict factory just south of Joe's Bridge before riding to Billet's further south.

In the 11 days from the liberation of Brussels to their departure from the bridgehead, the division loses 113 killed, 405 wounded and 80 missing.

The Welsh Guards, 3rd Irish Guards and 5th Coldstream Guards bear the weight of these losses.