Saturday, 1 January 1938
Debit
6. For the diary.
Credit
~
Monday, 3 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Aunt Elsie here.
Wednesday, 5 January 1938
Debit
10d. (Dad bought 500 pellets for me.)
Credit
paid before accounts made
2d. Modern Wonder.
Thursday, 6 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Aunt Edie brought Jane home from Beaconsfield.
She promised to have me at Easter.
Friday, 7 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Margaret, William, & Mrs. Ballad to tea. Mr. Ballad came in time for a light supper.
Two British Police Officers beaten up by Japanese Soldiers in Shanghai.
Saturday, 8 January 1938
Debit
paid before accounts made
3. 100 corners for fixing photo’s in album
Credit
in accounts
6d.
1d.
Reds claim Teruel anti-Red Chief & 1,500 garrison surrender.
Italian Fleet to be enlarged by 14 units. (2 battleships, 12 large destroyers.)
Sunday, 9 January 1938
Debit
1/4
Credit
19/9½
∴ net total = 18/5½
Prince Paul of Greece married Princess Frederika of Brunswick.
Anti-Reds confirm fall of Teruel – because of treachery.
Monday, 10 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Took bill to Aunt Kits’ & then to school.
Snowed in afternoon, but rained first.
Night School, (Arith).
Tuesday, 11 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Start school.
Plan to speed up R.A.F. productions.
Uncle Harry came in evening.
Wednesday, 12 January 1938
Debit
2d. Modern Wonder
Credit
~
A Philatelic Society is going to be formed at school. I think I shall join if possible.
Thursday, 13 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Aunt Edie came.
Friday, 14 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Wattie came, gave me some stamps & a stamp mag.
Night School. (French).
French Parliament resigned.
It got very windy in the afternoon … [cont. in next diary entry]
Saturday, 15 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
6d.
[cont. from previous diary entry] … & by Saturday morning it was blowing with gale force, dying out in the afternoon.
Sunday, 16 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Went, with Dad, to dinner & tea at Auntie Mable’s. Others there = Joy, Rosemary, Aunt Kit, Aunt Jen, Uncles Tom & Sydney.
Monday, 17 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Arith., night school.
(A good book – “Death in the Stocks“, by Georgette Heyer.
Longmans, Green & Co.)
Book Synopsis
An English bobbie returning from night patrol finds a corpse in evening dress locked in the stocks on the village green. He identifies the body immediately. Andrew Vereker was not a well-loved man, and narrowing down the suspects is not going to be an easy job. The Vereker family are corrupt and eccentric – and hardly cooperative.
Tuesday, 18 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
In break, meeting to see how many will join Philatelic Society. (about 30, all boys.) The Head said he had Great Britain & American collections. He will take stamp club.
Wednesday, 19 January 1938
Debit
2d. Modern Wonder
2/-. Lent Mother
Credit
~
Turned out for games, picked sides. I got 2 of our sides
4 goals. 4 all.
After games, about 4 o’clock, first proper meeting of the Philatelic Society. Head picked out Seniors for Committee. (I was one.).
Head showed us his Great Britain collection, & gave a sort of short lecture or talk about the essential needs of a stamp collection.
Mr. Severn is other Master to help.
Others in committee :- Holland, Greenwood, Page, Harvey-Taylor, Stocker, Hicks. (so far, perhaps also a few others later.).
Thursday, 20 January 1938
Debit
2d. Modern Wonder
Credit
~
Committee had meeting in break, & decide programme for next meeting of club. (Wed., next.).
Trial flights of Mayo Composite craft yesterday (both together).
Friday, 21 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
night-school.
A good book (of 15th time). – “Simon the Coldheart” – Georgette Heyer.
Book Synopsis
Even as a fourteen-year-old orphan, Simon Beauvallet knows his own mind. Later, friend and foe alike will know better than to cross the flaxen-haired mountain of a man whose exploits in battle have earned him knighthood, lands and gilded armour.
After Agincourt, he has no equal save the king himself in generalship – until his legendary prowess is baulked by a woman. In Normandy, the icy rage of Simon the Coldheart must melt – or quench Lady Margaret, spitfire of Belremy.
Saturday, 22 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
6d.
I intended to go to pictures to see Will Fyffe, but got late, & finding picture not continuous, came home.
Sunday, 23 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
1d. Church
Monday, 24 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
2/- paid back
Letter from Nancy containing many Australian stamps.
night school.
Tuesday, 25 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Piano recital by miss Ruth Spooner at school.
Fire display of northern lights (aurora borealis ) at night which I saw. Sky was Red in portions (like huge red clouds) with white streaks in places.
Wednesday, 26 January 1938
Debit
2d. Modern Wonder
Credit
~
Stamp club. (I am not on committee).
Thursday, 27 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Delays in Shadow Factories .
Friday, 28 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
French night school.
Explosion in munition factory in Scotland (Ardeer.).
[Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES
January 28, 1938, Friday, Page 13
"6 KILLED IN SCOTLAND BY EXPLOSIVES BLAST; 12 Hurt- as Flame Shoots Up 200 Feet at Ardeer-4 Towns Rocked by Detonation
With a terrific detonation that shook four towns, a column of flame 200 feet high shot up from one of the world's biggest explosives factories at Ardeer, Ayrshire, this afternoon and for some time the gravest fears were felt for 3,000 workers known to be within the grounds."]
Saturday, 29 January 1938
Debit
9d Spent on stamps & mounts. Credit 2/6. *
Reconstruction of the Monument from Beacon Hill, 1938, by Mark Tapping
Then in Aylesbury this morning, heard that lightning had struck the monument on Coombe Hill. In the afternoon, after changing library books in Aylesbury, I cycled up to the Hill, & climbed up to the monument.
I found that, although the 4 small pillars were intact (ball on one looked unsafe), only about ¼ – ½ of the main piece left standing. Masonry was scattered all over the place, huge pieces had been flung many yards, & there was were even fragments at the bottom of the hill. I managed to secure some pieces of granite with gilt on, a plain piece, & several small bars of lead iron.
* Aunt Mable came in afternoon, gave me :- 2/6.
View of the South African War Memorial following its destruction by lightning,
with people examining the damage, Coombe Hill, Wendover, 1938
Permission of use granted and copyright managed by
Bucks Free Press, Reference number BFP : 05842 (CD number BFP 081)
photo by Ronald Goodearl
[Added by Cathy: Could this be a photo of Dad perhaps?]
Sunday, 30 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
Monday, 31 January 1938
Debit
~
Credit
~
