Up 8.30. Fine and sunny. Heavy ‘planes going out. Felt rotten during night, but a little better this morning.
During the morning Daven Soar
came in with his lovely little daughter.
Arranged to go out with him tonight.
Very tired. Slept after lunch. Cycling along Magdalen Street saw Rene and her
child going up the steps into the old house.
Didn't see me. Thought I heard
Brantham alarm just after.
Busy all day on the aftermath of
Committee. Capt. Folkard very sad about the Joe Percival
row. Nothing from Chairman.
Tonight called for Daven, and
cycled off, first to Layer, then to Fingringhoe, then across the ferry to
Wivenhoe, calling at pubs. All very
silly and rather amusing. Became very
fuddled and can't remember where we went or what we talked about it. Daven is now stationed at Harrogate, and is
having a very nice time indeed. How I
envy him. [Daven Soar was a Post Office Telephone Engineer and had been a school friend of Rudsdale's].
Got back to Colchester about 11
o’clock, still quite light, and left him at the top of Brook Street, with much
promising to meet again soon. He is
trying to get a job abroad, at Khartoum or somewhere like that. Sees no future in this country.
Had to be on duty at 1am so
made my way slowly in the direction of the Post. Somehow found myself at the railway crossing
at the old Brickyard and walked in a confused way into the side of an engine
which happened to be standing there.
Felt so tired and dizzy that I lay
down on the grass by the cart track, near where the firework factory used to
be, and dozed off, only to be awakened by the sirens and the noise of a ‘diver’
roaring over on the other side of the town.
Had no idea of the time, and in a panic hurried to Horkesley, only to
get there 20 minutes too early. However,
felt much better by that time, and the other men noticed nothing. About 1am a balloon came drifting over, lit
by the searchlights, and the Bromley guns fired at it as it crossed the
coast. Great flashes showed where the trailing
gable dragged across the high tension wires.
Fell asleep twice during the
watch, but we had nothing on our sector.
Bed 5.30am, exhausted. Very
hot.
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