Testimonial of Eric Stern

The 130th Chemical Processing Company was decimated in the July 3, 1944 blast.  But it was not alone.

The G-5 Unit of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) was stationed at Sloane Court and suffered two casualties with an additional 19 men wounded.

The presence of SHAEF at Sloane Court, confirmed by documents from the National Archives and a tip from a London Memorial reader had never before been reported.  News of the Sloane Court bombing was kept confidential due to wartime censorship. We are also posting a new list of casualties obtained from the National Archives that confirm the presence of the G-5 division of SHAEF on Sloane Court.

Sgt. Eric Stern oversaw the surrender of German forces, acting as an interpreter in Norway.  He was also an interpreter for the initial meetings of the Council of States directed by the U.S. government in Frankfurt.  According to his daughter, Stern and his unit moved to Edinburgh, Scotland immediately after the bombing.

Stern chronicled the bombing in a letter he wrote the next year to his mother.

Click to view letter