24th August 1940

Came back from Lawford today. Molly went worse than usual, and to crown all one tyre came off when I got to Ardleigh, so I had to lead her the rest of the way. This afternoon there was raid at 3 o’clock, so I went straight back to the Castle. There was an enormous crowd in the Vaults, so it was lucky I did. A lot of German planes were chased over the town, and we could hear the rattle of machine guns, and then the awful screaming of a plane coming down out of control. It crashed in flames at Abberton, somewhere near the Roman River. Molly Darrell was in the Vaults with her little baby. Her husband is a musketry instructor, and she was with him at Hythe, in Kent, but all women and children “on the strength” have been evacuated from there. This evening had supper at Rose’s. It was nice to be back again.

For more detail on events in the Battle of Britain for 24th August 1940 see the Battle of Britain Diary Day by Day and the Battle of Britain Memorial website. CP