'Cycled to Cheam'. Routes on modern Google map. Say about an hour's cycling and two hours in a queue. Then Morden in the afternoon. The day soon goes! |
London in the Blitz. Fred French, 66 Chestnut Road, Raynes Park, Wimbledon, London SW20 kept this diary, blogged 69 years later, during WWII and peacetime. He loves music, model aircraft, radios, railways, roses. His sister Theresa (Ciss) goes out to work - Fred does the shopping, etc. 'On this day' and other notes by Tony French.
By the same editor Poems Please Me
31 March 2015
31 March 1945: Easter Saturday
30 March 2015
30 March 1945: three fish queues on Good Friday
30 Good Friday. Rather mild but a driving chilly wind;
the sun was nice in sheltered places. Stood in two fish queues for nothing but
got served at a third shop. Mrs. Veale, her mother and Dennis have gone away
till Tuesday so I am looking after the cat and the dog and have the key of the
house. Took a bottle of tablets to Mr. Akhurst in afternoon.
29 March 2015
29 March 1945: caught no fish... tanks across the Rhine
29 Thur. Rather mild, cloudy; showers. Further
repairs to the fence. Spent the afternoon cycling to all the fish shops for
miles around but caught nothing, but notices say they will be open tomorrow.
Saw dear Annie Chapman in Worple Road pushing a pram. Met Mrs. Conrade who told
me Eddie’s house at Clapham had been damaged by a rocket; they were out at the
time. The news from the Western Battle Front gets better and better. British
tanks are pushing ahead 80 miles east of the Rhine!
28 March 2015
28 March 1945: Maud arrives
28 Wed. Rather mild, dull all day; showers. Did all the usual Wed.
shopping, also to Merton meat shop. Cousin Maud came; she will stay over the
holiday. Warning from 7.53 to 7.58 a.m. no incident.
27 March 2015
27 March 1945: oranges and lemons...
27 Tues. Mild, dull morning, some gentle sun
later. To post office, to take and get accumulators. To Merton to buy fish. To
butchers. Got some grapefruit from Joe Wheeler: we have also had oranges and
lemons from him recently. Put in another fence post. Maud will stay here over
the holiday and Chas. brought a bedstead here and fitted it up. At 12.30 a.m.
two loud rockets or one with a double explosion – about four seconds between
the bangs. Warning from 2.45 to 2.52 a.m. no incident. Also from 5.20 to 5.30
a.m. two flying bombs in SSE. Loud rocket ENE at 7.19 a.m.
26 March 2015
26 March 1945: Mr Akhurst stands in for a 'man'
26 Mon. Cool, dull all day, rain all morning. To Wimbledon in
afternoon to buy fish and a paper. To Slate Club in evening; had a talk to Mr.
Akhurst, he is acting as church-keeper until they can get a man. Warning from
2.30 to 2.36 a.m. one flying bomb down very distant in S.
25 March 2015
25 Mar 1945: train full of American soldiers... buds & blooms
25 Sun. Mild, overcast all day; calm. Warning from 7.50 to 8.0 a.m.
one flying bomb distant in SE. Short walk along rail path in afternoon; saw a
Pacific loco. also a special train full of American soldiers. The white
magnolia is out, the mauve nearly so. The chestnuts are showing the tiny spikes
of bloom buds already: hawthorn hedges are open: even the buds on the beeches
are breaking. Mrs Akroyd to tea. Rocket with single report at 10.33 p.m. in NE
I think. This rocket fell in Theobalds Rd. Holborn.
Continued: Very distant rocket in NE at 11.0 p.m.
Another in N with double explosion at 11.43 p.m.
24 March 2015
24 Mar 1945: lovely girl... and raspberry cake
24 Sat. Mild, much soft sunshine, rather freshening wind. Cycled to
Cheam to buy cats’ meat; some for Tibby Veale. Stood in a long queue beside a
dear girl: I felt so proud and happy: she was so nicely dressed and so lovely.
In afternoon to Morden to buy several things including a raspberry cake.
Disconnected gas fire in my bedroom. Laid oilcloth in scullery. Warning from
7.6 to 7.27 a.m. no incident. Also from 7.52 to 80 a.m. no incident.
23 March 2015
23 Mar 1945: pork... yum, yum
23 Fri. Very mild to rather warm; glorious sunshine all day:
perfect. Very loud rocket with double explosion at 1.40 a.m. Very loud rocket
at 4.30 a.m. Got nice piece of pork this week; also did other shopping locally.
Put in another fence post and put up more palings; the majority of the fence is
now repaired: only about 12 ft. near the house remains to be done. Addie
brought in the washing.
22 March 2015
22 Mar 1945: midnight owl
22 Thur. Mild; a perfectly lovely sunny day.
Bought sausage meat and cakes locally and to Merton to buy fish. To Post Office
and to take accumulators. Put in a fence post and fitted twenty-two palings:
beginning to look tidy. Rocket distant in SE at 11.23 p.m. Heard an owl hooting
in the moonlight at the time just mentioned. The rocket at 9.36 a.m. on Wed.
last was at Brentford.
21 March 2015
21 Mar 1945: bomb on munitions work
21 Wed. Rather mild day after a morning frost; lovely sunshine all
day. Very loud rocket with double explosion at 9.36 a.m. it fell on a munitions
works on western outskirts of London with great damage and loss of life. Saw
the column of smoke in NNW. Loud rocket at 11.35 a.m. Loud rocket with double
explosion at 2.44 p.m. the column of smoke rose in the same place as that from
the one at 9.36 a.m. but further off. Repaired another section of the fence.
Got the groceries and other articles locally. A pleasant talk with Addie in the
garden: she brought me a cup of tea and some biscuits.
20 March 2015
20 Mar 1945: salvaged wood... no newspapers
20 Tues. Rather mild, lovely sunshine nearly all
day. Did quite a lot of work on the fence between this house and No. 64. Had to
use salvaged wood of course and there is not too much of that: but the fence is
going up. Cycled about to get a paper but none to be had. Addie called to take
the washing; she has done it since Ciss hand has been bad. Warning from 9.15
p.m. to 9.55 p.m. no incident.
19 March 2015
19 Mar 1945: Fred French's French-polishing
19 Mon. Rather cold, very cloudy, very rough. Cleaned the upstairs
front room windows. Cycled to Merton and Wimbledon in afternoon; bought two
pairs of socks at Rego, having bought cats meat and sprats – elsewhere, of
course. Put finishing touches to french-polished top of Addie’s “tall-boy”, she
had already put on foundation coats. Loud rocket with double report at 1.35
a.m. in SE I think. Warning from 8.15 to 8.21 a.m. no incident. Warning from
9.15 to 9.25 a.m. no incident.
18 March 2015
18 Mar 1945: plums are wonderfully floriferous
18 Sun. Very cool, very strong SW breeze but sunshine nearly all
day. Always very busy preparing dinner on Sunday morning. A very leisurely
cycle ride about the roads of Malden in afternoon; saw the house where dear
Winifred Bishop used to live. The various forms of flowering plums are
wonderfully floriferous this year.
17 March 2015
17th Mar 1945: first time I have seen British jet planes
17 Sat. Rather milder than yesterday, cloudy; not
much wind. Made a wooden box, filled it with rich soil and sowed seeds of
Russell lupins. Bought fish at shop in Martin Way. Bought a chocolate cake in
Morden and other things locally. Starting repairs to fence on other side of
garden to that which I started on previously. Heavy rocket with double
explosion at 5.15 a.m. In morning saw two British jet-propelled planes. They
make a very loud rushing noise, are very fast but seemed to be swaying a lot:
saw another in afternoon: these are the first British jet-planes I have seen.
16 March 2015
16th Mar 1945: French polishers
16 Fri. Rather chilly, dull morning; some slight rain: alternate
sunny and clouds in afternoon. Got all the usual Friday morning shopping
locally. To Merton in afternoon to buy a few things also some nice heart and
liver because Mrs Veale has fed her cat on fish till he will eat no more, so
the meat will make a change – he enjoyed it. Addie brought in the two remaining
drawers of her “tall boy”, she polished one under my instruction and I the
other: good. Warning from 5.30 a.m. to 5.37 a.m. no incident. The rocket at
9.13 a.m. on Thursday this week fell in Richmond Park: no casualties.
15 March 2015
15 Mar 1945: bomb jolted house
15 Thur. Cold, dull morning, sunny afternoon but
not so warm as yesterday afternoon. Very heavy rocket with an earsplitting
double-crack at 9.13 a.m. it jolted the house. Have heard it fell on Putney
Heath but no confirmation as yet. Put a new wheel and a gun on Laurie’s toy
tank he had found. Put in a heavy post in end fence and filled in the gap
completely with palings. Gwennie and Laurie called morning and afternoon.
Rocket with double explosion at 11.0 p.m.
14 March 2015
14th Mar 1945: heart for cat; shine for Addie
14 Wed. Less cold; bright sunny day; the sunshine
being quite powerful in afternoon. Got the groceries in morning, also to the
butchers, thence to Morden meat shop where I bought some good heart for Dinky.
In afternoon I put up some more fence at end of garden and the sun made my face
to glow while I was doing it. Bought Russell lupin seeds and gave Addie a
packet. Addie brought two drawers of her walnut “tall boy” in for me to show
her how to do french polishing - got a lovely shine on them: I love her. Rocket
at 12.45 a.m. Warning at 9.15 a.m. one flying bomb flew from E to distant SW
where it came down all clear at 9.25 a.m. Rocket distant at 11.40 p.m.
13 March 2015
13th Mar 1945: no more repairs of landlord's house by council
13 Tues. Sharp white morning frost, soon
dispelled by the sun which shone all day, gaining some comforting warmth in
afternoon. Took accumulator. Bought french nails and muriate of potash which I
applied to bed where I intend to grow beetroots. Two workmen called saying they
had come to clear up the mess. It appears that the local council are not
providing them with any more materials so they are leaving the road after
having been here since the end of August. The foreman says we may not get any
more repairs done for two years. Repaired part of end fence with Gwennie’s help
in afternoon.
12 March 2015
12th Mar 1945: onions and bombs
12 Mon. White morning frost, chilly day save
during sunny periods in afternoon. To Morden in afternoon to buy fish and a
cycle pump connection. Took accumulator. Sowed two rows of James’ Keeping onions.
Rocket at 12.10 a.m. also at 7.0 a.m. Rocket in distance at 9.23 p.m. Rocket at
11.50 p.m.
11 March 2015
11th |Mar 1945: glider fun on the Common
11 Sun. Rather cold, dismal, calm. To Wimbledon Common in
afternoon. Saw a young fellow there with a nice glider; helped him launch it
with good results.
10 March 2015
10th Mar 1945: many hands... and blossoms out
10 Sat. Rather cold, very dull, calm. Ten workmen came to tape the
joins in the plaster-board and to skim the brick inner walls that have had an
undercoat of mortar. Only a very small job but every little helps. To Merton to
buy cats’ meat. Small amount of gardening. The rocket at 8.38 last Wed. fell
beside an S.R. engineering works at Woolwich. Loud rocket at 12.15 a.m. The
almond blossom is out lovely also the plums, forsythias; daphne has been out
for weeks.
9 March 2015
9th Mar 1945: routine shopping, repairs & bombs
9 Fri. Very sharp, white, morning frost: cold misty day: some
sunshine in afternoon. Did all the usual Fri morning shopping without going out
of Raynes Park. Workman did some pointing to brickwork round the windows. Aunt
Hannah called. Rocket at 12.45 a.m. Heavy rocket at 4.30 a.m. Another at 12.53
p.m. between S and SE. Rocket in E at 11.0 p.m.
8 March 2015
8th Mar 1945: a bob for Peter Child - and aeroplanes
8 Thur. Rather cold, very dull all day. Laurie called in morning.
To Morden in afternoon to buy fish. Called at Mrs. Child’s on way back to give
Peter a shilling as it is his birthday. Mrs. Child’s mother was there; she
brought him a box of small model aeroplanes. Mrs. Veale called in evening|:
gave her a cup of tea. Put a new spring in lock of back door: a good job.
Rocket at 5.0 a.m. Rocket at 11.0 a.m: it fell in Farringdon Road, near
Smithfield market. Rocket SE 6.45 p.m. One distant in SE 7.58 p.m. another very
distant SE at 8.23 p.m.
7 March 2015
7 Mar 1945: shop - garden - bake - more flying-bombs
7 Wed. Very cool, very dull all day. Got the groceries including
pineapple jam and chocolate biscuits: also to butcher’s. Dug up and divided
another rhubarb root. Made sausage rolls and lemon curd tarts in evening.
Rocket in E at 8.38 a.m. Heavy rocket in E at 10.35 a.m. Another in E at 12.48
p.m. also 5.0 p.m. and 10.0 p.m. Rocket at 11.35 p.m.
6 March 2015
6th Mar 1945: 2 hours queuing; schoolgirls cut in bombing
6 Tues. Rather cold, very dull; rain in morning. To Cheam in
morning: stood in a queue for two hours but got some cats’ meat eventually.
Small amount of work in garden. Did shopping locally including buying onion and
beetroot seed. Very loud rocket at 12.58 p.m. Tooting district, I think.
Rockets at 5.0 and 5.47 p.m. Rocket in E at 7.45 p.m. which jolted the house;
could not have been far away. The rocket at 12.58 p.m. fell in Mellison St.
Tooting, near where Shirley was in school; the windows fell in and many girls
received cuts, but Shirley was all right save shock. The one at 7.45 p.m. fell
near Wandsworth prison, between Earlsfield and Clapham Junction. Rockets at
11.25 and 11.30 both p.m.
5 March 2015
5 April 1945: raging April
5 Thur. Rather chilly; the raging wind still rages: a few sunny
periods but very trying weather. Letters from Uncle Tom and Chas. Staden: Chas
is coming to London on Monday and will call here. Sent card to him saying I
will be here to receive him. Did some shopping locally also a fruitless ride to
Morden, but got some fish at Merton in afternoon. Finished pruning the roses:
also did Addie’s roses – not many of them. Had to trim edges of new oil-cloth
as it is stretching.
5 Mar 1945: stepped in after cycling accident
5 Mon. Sharp, white morning frost; very dull chilly day. Moved
back into the living room; had much difficulty in getting the table through the
door. Cycled to Morden, thence to Merton to buy fish. Saw a boy knocked off his
cycle by a lorry in Merton High St. I don’t think he was seriously hurt, but I
made the driver take him to the Nelson Hospital as he was in pain. I got the
boy’s address and told his father the news: hope he will be all right. Finished
weeding a side path of garden. Warning at 11.0 a.m. one flying bomb E, then
another not quite so loud, same direction: all clear 11.10 a.m. From 12.28 p.m.
one NE, one distant NE, all clear 12.40 p.m. Rocket at 8.15 p.m. Addie called for an accumulator.
4 March 2015
4 Mar 1945: Sunday flying bombs
4 Sun. Cold, very dull all day; rain later. Rocket at 1.40 a.m. in
SE. Warning from12.55 a.m. to 1.45 a.m.: no incident. Very loud rocket at 5.50
a.m. Warning 10.45 a.m. one flying bomb went right over from E to W making a
terrible din: it exploded very distantly westward, also another not very far to E:
all clear 11.0 a.m. Gwennie and Laurie called in afternoon.
3 March 2015
3 Mar 1945: no meat despite queue - more bombs
3 Sat. Very severe white frost, very cold clear day in spite of
the sunshine; bitter E wind. Warning at 3.0 a.m. one flying bomb down in SE:
all clear at 3.22 a.m. Cycled to Cheam but queue was so long and the meat had
not then arrived so I bought sprats there and came back to the Morden meat shop
but no meat: thence to Merton but no meat there. Cycled to Merton in afternoon
to buy sprats for Addie. While there had an all clear: did not know there was a
warning on. Started clearing a side path in garden. Loud rocket at 3.50 a.m.
Warning from 4.5 to 4.16 p.m. one flying bomb down in E. Finished mending
Addie’s key and took it in to her.
2 March 2015
2 Mar 1945: bathfuls of house debris from garden; 3 rockets
2 Fri. White morning frost, cold, bright sunny day. Did all the
usual Fri. morning shopping locally. Laurie came for a little while; gave
Pauline a sweet. Cleared several bathfuls of debris – broken glass, slate,
cement and brick rubble etc from the house end of the garden: looks much
tidier. Rockets at 4.50, 5.0 and 11.45 all a.m.
1 March 2015
1 Mar 1945: shopped & scrubbed; one rocket
1 March. Thur. Rather cold, dull morning, brighter
afternoon, but stiff N. breeze. Cycled to Morden thence to Merton to buy fish.
Re-laid the lino. in living room: scrubbed it, washed it again then polished
it. It looks quite well after all the muck and debris it has had on it. Addie
brought the washing back. Bought floor polish and a paper locally in the
afternoon. Gwennie and Laurie called. Rocket at 11.15 p.m. in ENE.
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