大象传媒

Sat 3rd Jan 1942 - We went out shopping and managed to get some oranges for Gillian.
The shops are supposed to keep them five days for children under six, after which they can sell them to anybody. What they actually do is to hide them for the necessary period and then let their favourite customers have them.
Sun 4th Jan - The news today that there is to be a joint command in the West Pacific under our General Wavell seems to me to be about the most important thing that has happened during this war.
Sun 18th Jan - Win says Lowestoft had an awful daylight raid the other day - 55 dead and so many injured that some of our nurses have had to go.
Sun 25th Jan - There was a warning from 10.50 to 11.15 and one of the sirens went wrong and we were treated to about ten minutes of all-clear wails.
Sun 1st Feb - It has been the hell of a day. Percy had to go on duty from 8-10.50 so we had to be up even earlier than usual. It has snowed all day and we have had four warnings viz: 8.10-8.32, 11.20-12.10, 3.10-3.25, 5.50-6.30. During the last one a Dornier came over so low I could have hit it if I'd had a gun but there was only one feeble burst of machine-gunning as it crossed the coast.
Sat 1st Feb - This is the last day of a Points rationing period and I wanted to be sure I'd spent all my points for this month as rice, peas, beans and dried fruit are now rationed. I had to bake this afternoon but it didn't take long for now the sugar ration is reduced I can't do much.
Sun 8th Feb - News tonight that soap is to be rationed.
Wed 11th Feb - The war news gets blacker, and once more there is talk of invasion here. What a sorry tale our record is so far. France, Norway, Greece, Crete, Libya twice (for our great offensive there has become another defeat), Hong Kong and now Malaya. The only thing to our credit is Abyssinia. It doesn't seem possible that we can ever recover.
Thurs lih Feb - Literally hundreds of our bombers have been going to and fro till nightfall. Somebody's having a busy day.
Fri 13th Feb - Yesterday's activity it seems was a great battle in the Channel. The Scharnhorst, the Gneisnau and the Prince Eugen had sneaked out of Brest where we. Had kept at them for nearly a year and were making for the Heliogland Bight. Unfortunately we weren't able to sink any of the blighters though we lost aircraft in the operation. It's depressing. But maybe we'll get some good news one day.
Tues 17th Feb - We began having air-raid warnings before breakfast and since then have had three more - 7.50-8.12, 11.15-12.50, 1.16-2.00, 4.16-4.40. Percy stayed to dinner to do some duplicating and said the dinner-time warning came in very useful.
Sat 21st Feb - We collected the barley samples and skidded off to Norwich, where Percy made the astonishing price of 拢8/2/6 and 拢7/l 0 per coomb. I had a rather unsuccessful time while he was doing
this for they don't queue in Norwich, they merely shove which is difficult with Gillian especially as she kicked off her Wellington boot and I had to grovel on the floor to find it. Anyhow, we had a very nice lunch in spite of the war and got back safely though it is still snowing.
Thurs 5th Mar - I went out this afternoon to get my groceries. There are to be no more deliveries of anything except bread and milk for the duration, which is an awful blow.
Mon 9th Mar - Percy and Mr Worsnop went and got their Wardens' greatcoats which have just been issued after nearly three years of war! They were also given a pair of boots and battledress is to come. Mr Worsnop was able to sample his coat as the siren went at 7.35 just after they got back.
Mon 16th Mar - I went to the clinic for Gillian鈥檚 last free issue of blackcurrant juice and cod liver oil. After next month we have to pay for it.
Sat 21 5t Mar - We set off to Norwich as soon after breakfast as possible. I went prepared to grab anything that was going and got biscuits, sweets, kippers, potato crisps. I might have had chocolate too but I simply daren't with Gillian. I really think a nice meek queue such as we have in Ipswich is preferable to the awful scrums they have there. The Norwich assistants positively cower and by the time you get what you are after you are practically tom limb from limb.
Percy got 拢7/2/6 for the barley.
Tues 31 5t Mar - Percy got his back war bonus (2/- per 拢1) and gave me half. He also gave me the money to buy a chair for Gillian on my bike, then spent practically the whole evening trying and failing to fix it on, after which he sat up till past midnight dealing with his correspondence.
Wed 8th Apr - Choc Thirkettle and Wilfred Lewis, two Ranelagh Road boys, are missing in Malaya. It has been terrible to see all the photographs of Ipswich men in the paper who are in like case but hearing about these two has made it worse than ever.
Fri 10th Apr - I went out and stood in various queues, including the longest one I have ever seen, for kettles. You simply can't get hardware of any sort and we badly need a new kettle. Well, I got one, and I consider that I deserved it. Queuing up with a heavy child in your arms is no joke.
Sat 11th Apr - We got another warning at l0pm and Percy had to go on duty till 0.50 which was bad luck, for he must have been tired. Anyhow, it's another 9d to go in Gillian's National Savings.
Mon 13th Apr - Percy went down to get his Warden's battledress. As it will take him at least half an hour to get into it, it doesn't seem very practical.
Wed 15th Apr - I spent most of the evening making Gillian summer knickers out of odd pieces of material.
Mon 27th Apr - Not much luck in the town and the clinic have put Gillian on to Lease Lend orange juice instead of blackcurrant puree.
Sat 2nd May - Percy had an NUT meeting all morning and this afternoon made a start on our Morrison shelter.
Sat 9th May - We were awakened by loud explosions and were able to watch another raid over Norwich. It was quite exciting - rather too much so in fact, when they dropped some quite near here. I didn't get to sleep any more till I heard a faint all clear from Dereham at 2.30.
We went to Dereham this morning and did a little shopping and to Norwich this afternoon though I quite expected we should be turned back. But people really are liars. Though I would be the last to deny that heavy damage has been done in places, it is not a tenth of what I have been told. The whole block near Woolworths as well as that famous emporium itself has gone and there is a good deal of damage round Earlham Road. It is also quite true about NTC being burnt out for we went to look. But round the Cathedral we saw no incidents at all and the City Hall and Castle are practically intact. Trade was as good as ever and nobody looked even worried.
Mon 11th May - The Prime Minister in a broadcast last night said that if the Germans used gas in Russia, we should use it on them. Percy came back from his Gas lecture tonight all worked up about phosgene and C.A.P. and insisted that we should have our gas-masks on the landing as it is an ideal night for a gas attack. Up till then I was rejoicing to think it was such a cloudy night.
Fri 15th May - I had a card from Miss Hirst saying that S2 students had lost everything when NTC (Norwich Training College) was burnt out and would I join a subscription list for them.
Sat 16th May - I cycled down town after oranges, not daring to wait till Monday as the paper say they came in yesterday.
Tues 19th May - I had to queue up for nearly an hour for our new ration books.
Tues 2nd Jun - Last night 10.36 of our bombers raided Essen and here we had a minor blitz all on our own (a "heavy attack on the port of Ipswich" say the Germans). It was 2am when I was awakened by various pops and bangs, and looking out I saw two red glows in the sky, which was Nacton Road Schools and the heath, though I thought they were farther away. As there was a sinister sounding plane rushing about we decided to go down and the next minute the siren went. After that there were various loud noises but Percy said it was all gunfire and he thought they might be bombing Harwich. The all-clear went at 4am and I thought no more about it till I saw large crowds round the casualty lists on the Cornhill. Then upon inquiry I discovered that we had been well and truly bombed. Nacton Road School burnt out, St Helens church damaged as well as lots of houses and five people killed, 26 injured.
Thurs 11th Jun - I had to buy Gillian a new coat but was able to get a Utility one (guaranteed by the Govt.) at 拢 1.0.3d which was an agreeable surprise for they have been from 拢3 to 拢4.
Sat 13th Jun - While I was waiting in the car (for Percy) there was a 3-minute crash warning but nobody took the slightest notice. It is a most peculiar noise though, like a pig being killed.
Mon 15th Jun - The Wightmans have gone away for a week and Percy is looking after their chickens. This is a terrible business in wartime as no corn is allowed and you have to cook stuff for them.
Tues 16th Jun - During the morning Percy rang up twice, once to say he had arranged a Homes for the Homeless meeting up here tonight and once to ask me to go down to Springfield for his billeting books, which I did. I had a fairly successful afternoon in the town, having got gooseberries (5d a pound, controlled price) and sweets.
Sun 21st Jun - During teatime we were a little bit cheered when 60 fighters swept over the rooftops to escort a bomber sweep over Dunkirk, but at 6 o'clock the news came that Tobruk has fallen and after that we were more fed up than ever. So far we have never had a success against the Germans. It makes you wonder if our army is any good at all.
Fri 26th Jun - I was rather glad we did sleep in the shelter, for although there were no German planes over, we did a 1000 bomber raid on Bremen and you don't hear the noise quite so much on the ground floor.
Sat 27th Jun - The siren went just after 2, luckily for Percy whose early night it' was. I went up and looked out of the back window and could see that Norwich was having another pasting. I could also hear our barrage-men being told to stand to several times while the crash-warning bell was ringing like mad, but nothing happened here.
Mon 6th Jul - In the town this afternoon it came on to rain fast so we went into Woolworths, mainly for shelter, but came out with a pound of raisins (you could have as many as you liked but they are 16 points a pound and we only have 72 for the month between us) and some sweets. Then in Marks and Spencer鈥檚 I got some more sweets and a pound of figs (only 6 points), so for once I didn't do too badly.
Thurs 9th Jul- The siren went just before seven this evening. We were in the garden and Gillian burst into tears. It is ages since we heard it during the day and it certainly is a fearsome noise.
Tues 14th Jul - I had to go to the Food Office about our chickens which Percy ordered last night. What we're going to feed them on at first, goodness knows. Mrs Wightman says it takes ages to get a permit through.
Fri 31st Jul- We had the usual warning from 12.50 to 3.45 with an attack on the Midlands. The only unusual thing was that the gun out at the back decided to get going and a lot of people thought we were being blitzed. It certainly makes a terrifying noise.
Sat 1st Aug - I woke just before 1 am to hear literally hundreds of planes overhead. For a time I was in a panic till I realised they were our bombers going out. We made a mass raid on D眉sseldorf.
At 7.30 Percy had to go to a presentation to Mr Pearson, our Head Warden, who is leaving Ipswich. They have now changed their duties so as to do one whole night in four instead of half a night every other night. So Percy is on all night tonight.
Tues 11th Aug - The siren went at 12.55 and after a time a plane started to circle round. I didn't worry till I heard it go into a dive and then there was a terrific crump. After that it dropped flares - quite a pretty sight - and then a whole lot of incendiaries. The all-clear didn't go till 2.15. Mr Perkins rang up before breakfast to say that all the H.Es - eleven of them - had fallen on or near the school field. Percy went up later although it was his day off and says that the Greenwich got the worst of it and has scarcely a whole window or ceiling. His school has broken windows and burst doors and of course the field is an awful mess. The incendiaries fell on the Mersey estate again but I had a look at the casualty list and there are none killed and only one detained in hospital.
Wed 12th Aug - My father gave Gillian his whole month's sweet ration. They do spoil her. He also got me 2 pounds of tomatoes which is marvellous. You have to queue up to get 2 pounds.
Sat 15th Aug - We had a warning from 10.55 to 11.45 - short, but crammed with incident. Soon after the warning flares began to drop and all up this end. Then hell was let loose, guns roaring, shells and bombs screaming and incendiaries rattling. The H.E.s didn't go off but houses were burnt out in Westwood Avenue, Clarkson Street and All Saints Road as well as other places. The Germans say they started fires "in the harbour area".
Thurs 3rd Sep - The town is busy with American soldiers. They look rather like convicts in their battledress and in their forage suits like something out of a dream of the future.
Mon 7th Sep - This evening we spent some time playing with a piece of cordite Mr Worsnop picked up in his garden after a raid. At ten pm the sirens went. We hadn't heard them for so long I felt quite weak at the knees.
Tues 15th Sep - The town is simply honeycombed with barrage balloons. We have one round the corner on the by-pass, another on the farm where the gun is across the way and another on the Park. Gillian was very thrilled. Mr Wightman called round to say there will be searchlight and dive-bombing practice from 1.30 to 2am.
Wed 16th Sep - We seemed scarcely to have closed our eyes when at 11.50 the siren went and the guns started to go completely mad. It was fascinating to watch the balloons go up. There was a red glow in the sky and Percy was told later that they dropped incendiaries harmlessly in Ranelagh Road.
Thurs 17th Sep - Percy heard today that the balloon site on Gippeswyk Park was set on fire on Tuesday night and the Goods Yard also got it.
Mon 28th Sep - It was quite pleasant to sit wrapped up in rugs (we have been asked not to light fires till Nov 1st) and feel tolerably certain that there would be no activity this evening.
Thurs 1st Oct - I was in Cowells when the siren went again and to my surprise people showed some signs of panic. Some of them crowded outside the air-raid shelters which have hardly been used since 1940. I took hold of myself and walked speedily away from the dock area though the ground was trembling with gunfire and I felt a trifle scared. But whatever it was was soon over for the balloons began to come down before they were properly up and the all-clear went in ten minutes.
Sat 3rd Oct - A card came to say that under the new zoning scheme we have to change our milkman tomorrow. This is a bitter blow as our present man has been very good to us. However, I had to dash down to the Food Office about Gillian's priority milk. Mrs Welch says they have been besieged by similar applicants. The Food Ministry is completely bats, of course, like most govt. departments.
Mon 19th Oct - It was a very cloudy day and the Luftwaffe had a field day over East Anglia. We had no excitement till just before eleven, when guns, bombs and machine-gunning all began at once. We could hear the plane but Percy actually saw it. It dropped a bomb in Willoughby Road and one on Cranfields. They also seem to have bombed practically every town in these parts. Every time one skirted the town the guns began again and Mrs Wightman was an absolute curse popping in and out. Even when the all-clear went the balloons didn't come down so I stayed in this afternoon.
Thurs 5th Nov - The most marvellous bit of news today. The Eighth Army has broken through in Egypt and the Axis armies are in full flight. The tears were running down my face as I lay in bed this morning and heard the news on the wireless. It's the first real piece of good news for so many weary months.
Sun 15th Nov - The church bells were rung this morning to celebrate our victories in North Africa. They have been silent since Dunkirk in June 1940 when it was decided they should be used as the alarm for invasion. There were no peals as most of the ringers are in the forces but it was marvellous to hear them through the mist.
Sun 6th Dec - Percy was out all day on the Invasion Exercise. He had to patrol this road so was in and out a good deal. The general public were not allowed in the streets between 9.30 and 4. It was a very realistic exercise with dive-bombing and real explosions. The enemy advanced up this road during the afternoon and a more villainous-looking crew I never saw, for they had nearly all blacked their faces for camouflage.
Wed 16th Dec - Percy had to go off at 8.00 pm to sleep at Springfield School. This is a new stunt for wardens and they are very annoyed at it. I have never heard Percy use such language about anything.
Mon 21st Dec - Percy suggested that we should go down town and buy me a pair of shoes for Christmas. We tried Parnell鈥檚, Alderton鈥檚, Randall鈥檚, Barrett鈥檚, Trueform and Stead and Simpson and all had either no shoe my size or else had sold their quota for the day, so we came home without any.
Summary for 1942 - We haven't got Victory yet but surely we have it in sight. It has been a hard year, especially the first part of it. It seemed at one time that we should never stop the progress of the Japs and in Egypt and Russia the Germans were steadily going forward to meet them. This part of the world was very hard hit by the loss of Malaya and our defeat in Libya for no end of East Anglia men were missing and of many of them there is still no news.
But now the tide has turned. We have had a real success in North Africa and the Russians are doing marvels. I don't subscribe to that school of thought which holds that the war is as good as over. Obviously our greatest sacrifices are yet to come. Many a family circle will be sadly depleted by this time next year but I hope and pray that by then Germany and Italy will have been defeated - and then, heaven help Japan. Never till this year have I felt any particular hatred for the Germans. But seeing Norwich after the Baedeker raids had more effect on me than anything that had happened hitherto, and now this persecution of the Jews has made me loathe every German. I always think of Hannah Leach at College, who is, I imagine, a Jewess, besides being one of the sweetest and kindest women I have ever met, and imagine what the Germans would have done to her and her little boy. Anyhow, it really does seem that we have got their measure at last and with America really in it, the end of the road does seem to be in sight.
As far as our own personal lives go, 19 has been an easier year than the two that preceded it. Raids, though sharp, have been less frequent and we have become inured to food rationing and to walking or cycling instead of using the car. On the whole I think we are better in health for the war.

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