大象传媒

Sat 6th Jan 1945 - This evening was quiet except for our bombers coming back from Europe in hundreds.
Tues 9th Jan - Percy went to see about a twin pram tonight and bought it for 拢12.10s. He will bring it home on the car after Youth Centre tomorrow. I do feel relieved. He was at home all evening for once and actually sat and listened to the wireless.
Sat 13th Jan - Tonight there was some quite good wireless but listening for the siren with one ear quite spoils it.
Thurs 18th Jan - The Russians have launched a big new offensive and have taken Warsaw.
Mon 22nd Jan - Marjorie sent me some marvellous stuff for waterproof knicks.
Sat 27th Jan - The coldest day yet. There have been several flurries of snow. Percy was in the town all morning buying himself new shirts and pants - 37 coupons! - But he does need them.
Tues 13th Feb - Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt have been meeting at Yalta. The Russians have at last got Budapest.
Sat 18th Feb - The Americans are bombing Yokohama and Tokyo from aircraft carriers and have landed paratroops on Corregidor.
Tues 20th F eb - I had to go to the Food Office about my extra milk ration and also had time to get the children new shoes at Randalls. Roger has been in the garden most of the day but I wish I could cure him of eating sand.
Percy has a gathering in his ear but won't send for the doctor.
Thurs 22nd Feb - We had 6000 planes over Germany today. Who would be a German!
Fri 23rd Feb - Percy had to go to Youth Centre and I got out my sewing machine and started on the children's summer clothes. The Russians have taken Poznan. Turkey has declared war on Germany and Japan.
Sat 24th Feb - Percy took Gillian down town early this morning and after he had been gone some time I discovered that he had forgotten the ration books, so as it was the most marvellous morning I went down and got the rations myself. And I'm glad I did for I had the most stupendous luck to get Gillian a pair of Wellingtons, very ersatz but fairly waterproof.
Sun 25th Feb - The Prime Minister of Egypt has been shot after declaring war on Germany.
Sat 3rd Mar - There was a warning round about 5am and it seems the doodle bugs have started again after all these weeks. It is sickening. I kept listening for the siren all the evening. .
Sun 4th Mar - I thought Percy had been dreaming when he said there had been a warning in the night, but we heard later that the Germans have begun piloted raids again and that they dropped bombs in Seymour Road - 8 killed. Uncle Charlie lives there. And I heard nothing whatever!
After an uneventful day during which it rained so we couldn't go out the siren went at 7.44. The cuckoo was on from 7.55 to 8.45. Two Jerries came over and we were treated to the usual firework display. All-clear at 8.58. Who says the war is nearly over!
Thurs 8th Mar - Percy was very late home to tea and brought a large lump of ice cream which the children had never had before.
Mon 19th Mar - We had warnings from 3.22 to 3.57am, 5.40 to 5.52, 8.8 to 8.17 and 9.8 to 9.24. During the last there was a crash from 9.10 to 9.15 and a doodlebug came over in the clouds. I was afraid it was going on like that all day but all was quiet actually.
Sat 24th Mar - There was a warning from 2.58 to 3.11am and a doodlebug came over the town but not near here. At 7.2 the sirens went again and the crash was on from 7.7 to 7.15 when another came over. All-clear at 7.19. There was another warning from 7.44 to 7.57. This was rather depressing but when we heard the news that Monty and the 21 st Army are across the Rhine we felt better.
Mon 26th Mar - Just as I was getting tea ready we heard a plane diving steeply and the next minute there was a terrific crump. A Mustang had come down in flames the other side of Henley Road. The American pilot was killed.
Thurs 29th Mar - I was quite startled to hear an all-clear at 6.2am as I was finishing the baby. Goodness knows when the warning went. Since then the siren has been going all morning. I think they must have slung everything they had left at us, though actually we only heard one doodlebug. We seem to be doing as we like in Germany.
Fri 30th Mar - Mrs Scase was full of tales of yesterday's raids - doodlebugs 20 at a time and so on. Anyhow the sirens haven't sounded for 24 hours so whether Jerry has withdrawn from Holland we don't know, as there is a security silence over Monty's movements. But all sorts of places such as Heidelberg and Mannheim have fallen to us today.
Sat 31st Mar - The war still seems to be going well but the Security Silence still holds though they did say today that Monty is 70 miles east of the Rhine. Danzig where the war began has fallen to us today.
Sun 1st Apr - The clocks go on for Double Summertime tonight. Mornings are going to be hard for a time.
Wed 11th Apr - It was rather alarming to be awakened in the small hours by the Claydon Cow sounding an all-clear, but as nothing apparently happened I suppose somebody pressed the switch by accident. .
Wed 18th Apr - Magdeburg has fallen to us today and the Americans are in Leipzig and Nuremberg.
Fri 20th Apr - Nuremberg has fallen today and we have nearly reached Hamburg and Bremen.
Sat 21st Apr - We have taken Bologna and the Red Army is said to be in the outskirts of Berlin.
Wed 25th Apr - The Russians have completely encircled Berlin and in Italy we have taken Moderna, Ferrara and Spezia and are across the Po in strength.
Fri 27th Apr - The Russians have met the American armies. In Italy there has been a patriot rising and they have captured Genoa, Milan and Turin, and dozens of other places. They are also reported to have caught Mussolini. General Dittmar has also surrendered to us.
Things really do seem to be getting on though the Russians are being awkward at the San Francisco Conference.
Wed 2nd May - The German armies in Italy and Southern Austria have surrendered. The air-raid warning system came to an official end today - no more sirens!! Evacuees have been told they may return to London.
Thurs 3rd May - Berlin has fallen. We have taken Hamburg without firing a shot. In fact the Germans seem so scared of the Russians that they are only too anxious to surrender to us. Rangoon has fallen.
Fri 4th May - All the Germans in W. Germany, Holland and Denmark have agreed to surrender to us at 8.00 tomorrow. In the South we have taken Salzburg.
Sat 5th May - Percy had to continue with his Course this morning which seemed rather hard. This afternoon we had a haircutting after which he proceeded to take down our air-raid shelter. It's lovely to be able to move in the dining room again. More Germans in Austria and Czechoslovakia have surrendered today. Norway is about all they have left now.
Sun 6th May - Percy spent the morning taking down the blackout in the hall which has been wire-netted since the early days of the war.
The wireless says VE day will probably be early this week.
Mon 7th May - Tonight it was announced that the Germans had surrendered and tomorrow is to be VE day and Wednesday is also a holiday. Flags are going up everywhere. I can't believe it's really over.
Tues 8th May (VE Day) - We went into the Park and through the town to see the decorations this morning. Crowds of people were everywhere, rather more subdued than I had expected but very happy. This afternoon we stayed in and listened to Mr Churchill and tonight to the King.
Tonight after dark everybody proceeded to go quite mad. A huge bonfire with an effigy of Hitler was lit at the bottom of the road and crowds of people danced and sang round it. Percy went but I didn't like to leave the children.
Wed 9th May - There was some really good wireless this evening and we were able to indulge in baths without worrying about the siren. I still can't realise that it's over.
Thurs 10th May - Tonight came the joyful news that the basic petrol ration is to be restored. It will be lovely to be able to go places again.
Tues 22nd May - I bought myself a frock, but the prices - silk 拢6 to 拢9. I had to be content with cotton at 36/3 but plain and quite stylish.
Wed 23rd May - Mr Churchill has resigned and there is to be a General Election on July 5th.
Fri 25th May - This afternoon I took Gillian to dancing, getting our basic petrol ration coupons on the way.
Tues 5th June - I went down before dinner and got our new ration books, having noticed that there is no queue at that time of day.
Wed 6th June - Percy went to a sale this afternoon and has bought four houses in Ranelagh Road for 拢920 as an investment.
Tues 19th June - This evening we all went to the Sports where I enjoyed meeting various old friends, including Mr Ford, just repatriated from a German P.O.W. Camp and looking very fit and manly.
Tues 3rd July - I was having a very busy morning when in walked Sonnie home on eleven days leave from near Hanover. He is looking amazingly fit.
Sat 14th July - Japan was shelled by American warships today. The British flag flies over Berlin and tonight the street lamps are alight for the first time.
Thurs 26th July - Percy's last day as a Class teacher was also the day for Election Results and we now have a Labour Government by a sweeping majority. Poor old Churchill. After all he has done. At school Percy was presented with a case for gramophone records with two records in it.
Mon 6th Aug - Tonight came the news of the invention of the atomic bomb and the dropping of the first one on Japan. Thank God it's our discovery.
Wed 8th Aug - The weather has been fairly decent today but we didn't go out as I thought I ought to begin bottling plums. Our trees are loaded this year and one branch has already broken off with the weight of fruit. However I didn't have much success for the wartime rubber rings aren't much good. Percy had to start Youth Centre again tonight. When he came home he took the car to be decarbonised.
Wed 15th Aug - We were awakened soon after we got to bed by fireworks, guns and ships' sirens and when Roger looked out of the window this morning he could see a flag, so we were not surprised to hear that the Japs had really surrendered at last and the war is over.
Percy has a carbuncle or something on his nose so doesn't feel very festive but we drove round the town and saw the decorations. The ships in the docks were the most interesting.
Thurs 16th Aug - Percy was picking plums all morning. We have made nearly 拢1 selling to various people at 4d a pound.
This afternoon we went to Felixstowe. They have opened the beach at Brackenbury though all the mines are not accounted for.
Tues 21 st Aug - We have had to let the boiler out for the first time since we were married. We simply can't manage on the little coke they send us. What we shall do in the winter heaven knows.
Thurs 23rd Aug - We went to Felixstowe this afternoon. They have now opened the beach from Brackenbury to Cobbolds Point (a man with a red armlet wanders about the beach looking for 'suspicious objects' which is rather sinister).
Fri 24th Aug - We have had an orgy of spending today. This morning we went to Footman鈥檚 to buy me a coat and hat and had to pay 拢 16.16s for the coat - quite an ordinary one at that. This afternoon we blew 40 coupons and over 拢8 on new curtains for the front of the house. Heartbreaking but necessary. What people with no children's coupons to purloin would do I don't know. It's lucky that I can cut down most of their clothes from our old ones. While Percy was at Youth Centre I made the curtains and got them up before we went to bed.
Thurs 30th Aug - I haven't been able to do any washing for two days so tonight in desperation had to turn a lot of old nappies sides into middle.
Fri 31st Aug - I went out shopping while Mrs Scase was here but things are more difficult than ever since the war ended.
Sat 8th Sep - Percy was out all the morning and came home late to dinner with the news that he had bought a Chappell piano at Murdoch's - 拢98 10s!!
Sat 15th Sep - We saw some of the fighters going to flyover London because it is Battle of Britain Day.
Mon 17th Sep - This was the third V -day holiday in Ipswich so Percy was at home all day.
Sun 7th Oct - The clocks went back to ordinary time for the first time for years. Of course the children were terribly peevish by bedtime.
Wed 10th Oct - We went to Church as usual this afternoon and then had a look at the Thanksgiving Week Exhibition at the Car Park. Roger went on a tank and enjoyed himself very much.
Fri 12th Oct - The news is chiefly concerned with the Dock Strike. It looks as if we shall get nothing at all to eat soon.
Sun 28th Oct - The news says bread will be rationed if the dockers don't go back to work.
Thurs 1st Nov - I went and voted. People didn't seem to be showing much interest in the first municipal elections since the war began.

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