Legendary Watford printing business Sun Engraving and Sun Printers even produced its own series of news sheets detailing its efforts, and that of workers who were called up, under the title The ‘Sun’ at War.
The website dedicated to the fascinating history of the business, www.sunprintershistory, features a number of photographs and reminiscences of its war efforts.
Former Sun employee Basil Boden has memories posted on the site: “All sorts of war work was done at the Sun: parts of tanks were made, leaflets were produced in many languages, and weekly news sheets were printed in French and German.
“We also made ‘Window,’ which consisted of bundles of strips of metal foil printed black and fastened with elastic at one end so that they scattered when dropped from an aircraft. This was widely used to confuse enemy radar, and was dropped over the channel between Dover and Calais during the D-Day invasions to camouflage the true location of the action.”
The company was involved with the top-secret production of huge books of maps produced from covert aerial photography of the coastline where the D-Day landings took place.
They were titled ‘Tactical Targets’ for different areas.
The first series of books, code-named 'Boxes' by the company, held between 90 and 200 full-page illustrations in which the targets were engraved by hand, which in some cases required over 50 engravings per photo.
The heaviest book weighed 7.5lb and contained 360 separate printed items, all hand-collated.
Boden said: “As the war went on, more and more men and women were called up, or volunteered to join the forces. All sorts of uniforms were on display when they visited the Sun to see old friends and hear how other mates in the services were doing.
“So a news sheet, Sun at War, was produced and sent to all serving forces employees, giving the latest information about who was doing what, and where, so they could all keep in touch. It included letters written to their mates at the Sun, as well as photos. In all, four volumes were produced, the last including a list of all who had served, died, or become POWs.”
The firm’s Milford House head office also took a direct hit from a V1 flying bomb in July 1944, destroying part of the building.
The Watford Observer has also celebrated Sun Printers' vital role in supporting the war effort.
World leaders and veterans have gathered in Normandy today to mark the 80th anniversary, with the King and Queen attending The Ministry of Defence and the Royal British Legion’s commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer. King Charles is Patron of the Royal British Legion.
