All posts tagged Mrs Short

Sep 27 Wed 8 o’c pm [1944]
# PARATROOPS RELIEVED FROM ARNHEM
# YOUTH PARADE IN SKEGNESS
# JEAN’S TYPING LESSONS ARRANGED
# MORE FLYING BOMBS REPORTED

At the beginning of my last entry I put the Invasion of Holland by Paratroops. Owing partly to the bad weather we were a long time linking up with them and only to-day have we heard the welcome news that they have been withdrawn to the south of the river and linked up with our other troops. I judge we were not strong enough to break thro’ the Gers to get to them, but we are all deeply thankful that they, or alas, all that are left of them, are relieved after 13 days. Owing to the weather conditions they had the ordeal of seeing food and ammunition being dropped into Ger. lines instead of to them. It will be one of the epic stories of the war, small comfort that to those at home who will have lost sons and husbands and brothers.

It is still very stormy tho’ the wind has settled a bit again tonight. On Sunday, the Harvest Festival, it poured with rain all day and we neither of us got to Chapel. Jean should have paraded to Hogsthorpe in the afternoon. There is a big Youth Parade at Skegness to-night. Ciss says bus’ does not leave Sk. until 9.45 so there will be some sleepy-heads in the morning. Ciss and P[ercy] and Gw[en] have been to Boston and now Gw has gone to Sk. but she is on holiday. Jean stayed at Sk. Was going to get tea at Joyce’s if she could. Took them some apples. I went to Sk on 5 pm bus’ yesterday to see Miss Cusack. Jean is to commence Ty[ping] and S[hort] Hand lessons next Wed. £1.1 for 12 lessons. She will leave work early those days. It is at the far end of Grosvenor Rd so will mean a good walk to the bus’ if she is not cycling. Sat near Miss Eva Scarb[orough] coming home. Her hospital received direct hit from Flying Bomb.

I did a little baking this afternoon in case Mrs. T[ed] B[rown] comes tomorrow, expect she will as I have had no letters. Rene came after tea for a few minutes. Mrs. Y. goes home tomorrow. Rene thinks she is looking forward to going home to her husband after 3 weeks away. Rene will not be sorry to have the house to themselves I expect, tho’ Mrs Y is very pleasant. I have missed Rene very much, but am pleased to say I have not been really laid up tho’ very seedy at times. Mr. Marsh and Miss Robin married on Sat. Went away Mon. morning. T[om] Coote went to see niece at Sutton to-day, Mrs. Sh[ort] says. She brought me some pears, and parsley-tops for rabbits to-day. She was taking Mrs. Hall some tomatoes for chutney to-day. Flying bombs still come over most nights and Gers. still holding out at Dunkirk and Calais, expect they are dug in so deeply they will take some ousting. Shall be so pleased when we need no longer black-out. I have not proper ones as we hope the necessity will soon be over, and they are a nuisance doing every night. Have dug 2 rows of pot. to-day. Don’t think there will be a very big crop, so many are only seed size. Have pulled all apples except Brams. Red ones go bad very quickly. I sent a few apples to Harvest Sale also a “Saucy Rabbit”, it only made 4/0. Rene brought me some of the carrots she bought. Jean did not buy anything. J[im] Hall brought me ½ lb. nice biscuits today, Frear’s. I had not seen that name before but Rene knew it. Planes are droning all the time, it is a lovely night with a bright moon.

I thought it thundered this morning and the rain certainly seemed like a thunder-shower tho’ it was so cold. I have seldom seen it pour faster than it did Sun. and the wind was almost a gale. We were amused at the red-hot pokers in T Cootes garden, they are getting passé and the wind bent their heads over and as it caught first one and then the other they bobbed their red heads and long necks forward like a crowd of turkeys.

Had a cup of tea out of Ciss’s pot (I had kettle boiling when they got home on the 4.40 bus’) and did not have a sit-down tea, so think I’ll soon have supper. Have put a kaolin poultice on my foot as it is rather red and inflamed. C and P have gone down to Con’s. P. is having a week’s holiday, says he will have the other when Peace is declared! I cannot see that much before Xmas myself. Cleared up the shed a bit to-day. I wonder if it will ever be easy to go in and out and handle the tools without being so sore at heart.

9 o’c News
Some 2000 out of 8000 men withdrawn Mon night from Arnhem after 9 days, 1000 some hundreds left behind wounded. R.A.M.C. men stayed with them.

Operation Market Garden’ as previously mentioned (see 18th September 1944) proved to be a tragic venture. After suffering huge numbers of Allied casualties the operation ended with the evacuation of what remained of the 1st British Airborne Division from the Arnhem area.

Miss Eva Scarborough, a chiropodist, was the sister of Elsie (see 3rd February 1941).

Mr Marsh and Miss Robin, who married, have not been identified.

RAMC – Royal Army Medical Corps.

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?

7/7/44 10.30. PM Friday
# PLANES COMPETE WITH BIRDSONG
# OVERWORKING IN GARDEN
# MAKING RASPBERRY JAM
# DREAMS OF RON

It has been a fairly nice day and is a perfect evening. I am in bed and the sun has just gone down like a ball of fire. Birds are still singing, a blackbird’s or thrush’s liquid notes from somewhere in the garden. Alas, that over it all is the continuous droning of planes. We are greatly blessed so far by being out of the radius of fly-bombs (doodle-bugs). They still come over Lon[don] and the South by day and night tho’ many are shot down and yesterday 11 of their lairs were bombed.

I feel “fey”, as the Scotch say, to-night that weary feeling of false elation said to presage trouble or depression. I am tired but not sleepy. Did too much in the garden yesterday I expect, then went to see Eva and Grace, found it windier than I expected, did more garden in evening. There is such a lot to do, and I am not used to heavy garden work. The soil too is very heavy compared to the old garden which was mostly sand. Have done no garden today except hilling 3 rows of potatoes. Jean hilled 4 very well too. Mrs S[hort] brought back borrowed hay-fork yesterday and half bucket of new potatoes. Rene came to ask me to dinner but I had just got oven hot for baking and was tired too, so did not feel like cycling down there. She came again this afternoon but did not stay long as Tom is holidaying for a week. Am making rasp[berrie]s Mavis brought into jam by Mary’s recipe 1lb. ras. 1lb sugar and 1 teaspoon Boric acid pdr. Mix well and stir frequently for 24 hours, no cooking. Wonder if mine will keep. Mr Hall and Albert and Ted are on leave for a few days.

Last night I dreamed Ron stood at the foot of my bed putting on his pullover ready for going out, I opened my eyes suddenly and raised my head to see him better (actually) and he vanished. I saw his brown face so clearly, not sad, or smiling, just calmly pulling on his pullover.

Birds and planes still vying with each other. It will soon be too grey to see to write. It is not dark all night with this moon just past its full. The air seems full of planes but I can only count 6 in sight circling round probably going out or on manoeuvres. One had a tail light but it was a 4 eng[ined] bomber not the dreaded fly-bomb. Percy is on H.G. [Home Guard] duty all night so hope we have no air activity. I am more nervous again now since the fly bombs came tho’ not as nervous as before.

Mrs Hall, neighbour at Council House No. 1, would have been relieved that her husband and two sons were on leave from the Navy as she had been worried about them in possible D-Day action a month previously (see 7 June 1944).

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?