Mar 24 Monday 9 pm [1941]
# MORE AIRCRAFT GUN ATTACKS – NARROW ESCAPES
More than a fortnight since I wrote up my diary. Still no money from Vine tho’ one or two letters have passed. We are writing no more, shall leave it in other hands now. He evidently does not mean to pay. Two nights a German plane has machine gunned near the Point again. Sat 22nd at dusk was the last time, am thankful we had “blacked out”. Father was on duty, as soon as the plane passed I ran out to see if the lookout was safe. A bullet went through Andrews’, Miss Gardiner’s house was hit too, the one the troops have. Colleen Pimperton age 11 came in with Jean after Sunday School yesterday. We asked if their house was hit (just near the Point) and she said “No but the next house let to soldiers was, a bullet went through the window and on to a chair or bed.” Then she added in a cool and blasé voice “no casualties, soldiers just going on guard” as if it was all in the day’s work and she was rather bored with it. We think the same plane was brought down a little later north of us.
Miss Norah Gardiner and her sister Fanny, daughters of Professor Gardiner, lived opposite Andrews’ coastguard house in Landseer Avenue. Norah ran a private school there and two other sisters, Kate and Victoria, taught elsewhere.
Colleen Pimperton was the daughter of Wilf (see 12th Jan 1941).
# RON MOVED TO LOCAL AIR BASE – RAF BINBROOK
# DUMMY ‘DROME – WOODEN BOMBS DROPPED?
Ron has been home on 7 days leave, he is at Binbrook now. He passed his test and was highly delighted. He gets 28/6 a week now and attends to the instruments of two Wellington bombers now. We got his letter Wed 12th to say he was coming on Thursday. Just 4 months after going away. What a long 4 months and a short 7 days. Emmie came on Friday. Ron is very fit and well and has changed very little except that he is livelier and more self confident I think. He has lost much of his shyness. Lovely weather all the week. It was a fortunate week for him as Ralph, Malcolm and John Kirk were all on leave. John Smith too but he was staying with Peggy at Croft and came over on the day Ron went to Trusthorpe. He had tea and stayed a while hoping to see him but they missed the 5.30 bus back and J had to be back before lighting up time. John Smith and Malcolm are still shy. John is at present blowing up orchards at Wisbech. He tells various yarns but vowed this was true. Near his camp is a “dummy ‘drome”. This is quite feasible but he declares that a Ger. bomber flew over it and dropped wooden bombs then flew off and bombed the real ‘drome with live ones! And they say Gers. have no sense of humour. He is hoping to get in the R.A.F. He is a great hefty chap 5ft 11” now.
Malcolm Robinson as well as Ralph Faulkner (see 16th Dec 1940) and John Kirk (see 11th Dec 1940) were friends of Ron, about his age.
John Smith was a village friend of Ron. Peggy was John’s sister in Croft, a nearby village. They were the elder siblings of the twin girls who lived with their mother (see 26th Jan 1941).
Ron would have been visiting ‘Crossing Farm’ at Trusthorpe to see his mother’s cousin, whom he knew as ‘Aunt Amy’, and family (see 9th Dec 1940).
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