The three friends shown above look so carefree, that you wouldn’t think it was taken in the midst of a war. England had already been hit hard, many times, from the Nazi Army before the Americans joined forces with the Allied Forces. This set of photographs were given to James Doran, of Harrison, New Jersey, during World War Two. All I know is that the woman’s first name was Eileen,and that the photos were from England. I think they could have been taken somewhere at the South Devon Coast, also called Devonshire, where he was stationed before shipping out for D-Day. Jimmy Doran served with the Fourth (IVY) Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, in the 12th Regiment. These pictures could have been taken near Tiverton. I really don’t know much about the women that served Great Briton during the war. The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), was the women’s branch of British Army during WWII, and the uniform looks similar to Eileen’s below. Any other suggestions?

You can click on any of the smaller pictures to enlarge them. I’m always hopeful about solving photo mysteries! The three ladies look to be the best of friends.

From this photo of Eileen with a young boy, I wonder could she have been a war widow? It isn’t clear if this child, in the photo above, was hers. James Doran (1919-1997) arrived in England at the end of January in 1944. At some point of that year, the Fourth Division had moved down to the coast, in preparation for the Normandy Invasion. This photo below shows Jimmy and Eileen together. She has such a cute sweet face, and looks Irish to me.

Friday’s Faces From the Past is a blogging prompt suggested by Geneabloggers to help with unknown photographs. I’m hopeful that maybe Eileen could even still be alive, or someone from her family or friends will recognize these photos.