Diary Entry: Break up. Diary notes: Relief for all those who work in schools – the long Summer holidays start. As this was 1940, the Battle of Britain would be well under way before school started again.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Diary Date: 25th July [1940]
Diary Entry: ” Swimming sports”. Diary notes: At the independent schools KPD worked at there was an ethos (perhaps stemming from that of the 19th Century Public Schools) of “Mens sana in corpore sano” or “a healthy mind in a healthy body” – hence the importance of sports days of all types. KPD mentions such …
Diary Date: 19th July [1940]
Diary Entry: N [Nanny] & I went to “Balalaika”. Diary notes: ”Balalaika” was a 1939 American musical comedy starring Nelson Eddy (and also the English actor, C. Aubrey Smith, who once captained England at Cricket!) See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balalaika_(film) By MGM – eBayposter, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36852013
Diary Date: 12 July [1940]
Diary Entry: N [Nanny] & I went to “Sherlock Holmes”. Diary entry: This probably refers to one of the classic American films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce – two were actually released in 1939, so it could have been either. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_(1939_film_series) Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon: The local Northampton newspaper …
Diary Date: 5th July [1940]
Diary Entry: I went to Northampton, shopped & tea. Diary notes: Northampton is about 13 miles from the school, so a bus ride. During these 5 weeks in June and July 1940 one can only assume that KPD was working so hard that she seldom had time for anything else. Friday evenings seem to have …
Diary Date: 28th June [1940]
Diary Entry: N[Nanny] & I to “Girls Dormitory” Herbert Marshall. Diary notes: ”Girls Dormitory” was a pre-war American romantic film, starring the English actor Herbert Marshall (who had lost a leg in WW1!). For more information, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls%27_Dormitory By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26065868
Diary Date: 21st June [1940]
Diary Entry: N[Nanny] & I went to “Confidential Lady” Diary notes: ‘Confidential Lady’ was a British comedy film from 1939, now regarded as a “lost film”. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidential_Lady
Diary Date: 14th June [1940]
Diary Entry: Paris taken. Lunch Orc[hard] Cot[tage]. Returned by 6.48. Diary notes: A rare mention of how the war was progressing – the fall of Paris was, of course, an important and sobering milestone for Britons. Orchard Cottage, Crofton (near Farnborough, Kent) was the home of the Lewis family, former employers of KPD who became …
Diary Date: 13th June [1940]
Diary Entry: Went home for night, Miss H[Humber] to tea. Diary notes: ‘Miss H’ refers to Catherine Lucy Violet Humber (1889-1975) who lived next door to the Dells (at 37, Broxbourne Road, Orpington); she remained a friend of KPD until her death and is often referred to in KPD’s diaries. 37, Broxbourne Road in 2014, …
Diary Date: 7th June [1940]
Diary Entry: Went to Gordon Harker in “Two’s Company” & “Cheer boys, Cheers” with Nanny. Diary notes: Clearly KPD had been busy – perhaps not surprisingly in a new and presumably more demanding post; this is her first diary entry for 3 weeks. “Two’s Company” & “Cheer boys, Cheers” – two pre-war (1936 & 1939 …
Aunt Pamela's War 