October 2nd 1939

Mum and Dad were NOT proud when I told them about the volunteer spying! They sent me to bed early without any tea.They said I was prying, which was different to spying.Mum kept all the notes we made though.Huh!

Ralph Henderson, in my class, has an American Uncle who sent him a comic book. It's called 'Batman' and the hero wears a cape. I wonder if he goes to sleep upside down? I must try that later.

Dad showed me where Poland was on his map. He said there would be a lot of unhappy people there. Lots of unhappy Mums and Dads in our street that are missing their kids. Mum keeps squeezing me very hard recently for no particular reason.

October 5th 1939

Still no bombs or bombers flying over us. Wonder when it will all 'kick off'? My teacher, Miss Turner, told us that the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were not being evacuated to another country like lots of the rich kids. Princess Margaret is the same age as me.I think she is pretty but that's MY secret.

Dreamed Sam and I  saved Princess Margaret from enemy bullets last night. We both got a medal from King George V1 and when we got home-they were made out of chocolate!

Saturday at last. Helped Dad tape up the windows. Everybody's been given a booklet with ideas on keeping safe. It's going to be really exciting.There are pictures of shelters in. I wonder if Dad will get one?

Church just gets longer and longer. Mr. Busby, who stands behind me in the choir, keeps nodding off in the sermon. Dad told me that he knew a man who'd dreamed he was having his head cut off and he died immediately he woke up when someone tapped him on the back of the neck. Hope Mr. Busby's not dreaming the same.

Sums all morning.Who needs to learn their tables anyway? Sam's brilliant at them. He's on his eleven times table. I told him to think of two fat ladies when he gets to the answer '88' to make him laugh when he calls them out for Mrs.Turner.

October

10th 1939

New kid in the class today.His name is Lewis and he's from Lancashire.He can draw really good pictures of planes and stuff.He drew Miss Turner getting married to Adolph Hitler and both had a moustache.

Dad is digging a huge rectangular hole in the garden. He says it's for the shelter when it arrives. It sounds GREAT! I can probably live in it for most of the time and it will be like my own little house. No parents or big sisters allowed.

Ralph let me read one of his Batman comics. Batman lives in the 'Batcave'.I think the shelter we'll get will make an ideal 'Batcave'. Ralph's Uncle wrote and told him that America wasn't joining in this war. That's a shame because we could use Batman on our side. What a team that would be -Batman and Tarzan!

Miss Turner spent most of the morning with the little 'uns while we got on with our story writing. My story involved Batman being our new Headteacher and our school uniform had to be black capes.We had new lessons like 'punching' ,'saving girls' and 'crime solving'. He'd be a much better Headteacher than Mr.Lambert.

Helped Dad with the hole in the garden. Mum came out with some ' sandwiches for the men'. I liked being called that. I showed Dad the muscles on my arms and he laughed. He called them 'sparrow's kneecaps'. Dad keeps all of his muscles together on his belly! HAHA.

Tried getting out of Church by claiming I had broken my leg but it didn't work. I used a pair of brooms for crutches and made my leg look really painful to stand on but Mum didn't believe me. When I grow up, the only time I'm going to church is when I marry Princess Margaret.

Lewis is teaching me to draw a cartoon Adolph Hitler.It's not easy but I'm getting there. Today I drew Adolph dressed as a baby in a pram. Miss Turner told me off, took the picture away and then put it in her handbag!

October 17th

1939

Dad asked me if I could show him on the map in the shed where Poland was. I found it straight away because he'd shown me before. He told me that Hitler was sending lots of Jewish people out of their own countries and into Poland. We have a Jewish kid in our class.He played with George Kempton before George was evacuated.

Went into the staffroom with a cut knee today and guess what? MY PICTURE OF ADOLPH AS A BABY is on the staffroom wall by the tea urn. Sam told me that I should charge the teachers money for looking at it but I won't. It does make me feel a little bit famous though.

We were short of a goalkeeper for football in the yard at playtime. George Kempton's friend was on his own so I asked him if he'd be goalie. His name's David and he's really good at saving penalties. We won the game by a mile.

October 20th

1939