Monthly Archives: September 2010

27.9.40

The News-Chronicle to-day is markedly defeatist, as well it may be after yesterday’s news about Dakar[1]. But I have a feeling that the News-Chronicle is bound to become defeatist anyway and will be promptly to the fore when plausible peace … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged bombs, Dakar, lights, new statesman, News Chronicle, Nonconformists, peace terms, Regent's Park | 20 Comments

24.9.40

Posted on 24 September by orwelldiaries

Oxford Street yesterday, from Oxford Circus up to the Marble Arch, completely empty of traffic, and only a few pedestrians, with the late afternoon sun shining straight down the empty roadway and glittering on innumerable fragments of broken glass. Outside … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged aeroplanes, Barcelona, bombs, John Lewis, marble arch, mosquito, oxford circus, oxford street, shell | 9 Comments

21.9.40

Posted on 21 September by orwelldiaries

Have been unable for some days to buy another volume to continue this diary because of the three or 4° stationers’ shops in the immediate neighbourhood, all but one are cordoned off because of the unexploded bombs. Regular features of … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged ARP, bombs, delayed-action bombs, Dorset Square, gas, London, stationers | 24 Comments

17.9.40

Posted on 17 September by orwelldiaries

Heavy bombing in this area last night till about 11 p.m……. I was talking in the hallway of this house to two young men and a girl who was with them. Psychological attitude of all 3 was interesting. They were … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged air-raids, Baker Street, barber, bombs, dogs, East End, Marx, savoy, shrapnel, St Petersburg, tube stations, unexploded bombs | 9 Comments

15.9.40

Posted on 15 September by orwelldiaries

This morning, for the first time, saw an aeroplane shot down. It fell slowly out of the clouds, nose foremost, just like a snipe that has been shot high overhead. Terrific jubilation among the people watching, punctuated every now and … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged Aeroplane, bomber, British, crash, fighter, german, shot down, snipe | 8 Comments

14.9.40

Posted on 14 September by orwelldiaries

On the first night of the barrage[1], which was the heaviest, they are said to have fired 500,000 shells, i.e. at an average cost of £5 per shell, £2½ millions worth. But well worth it, for the effect on morale. … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged bombs, morale, shells | 4 Comments

12.9.40

Posted on 12 September by orwelldiaries

As soon as the air-raids began seriously it was noticeable that people were much readier than before to talk to strangers in the street. . . . . This morning met a youth of about 20, in dirty overalls, perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged air force, air-raids, bombs, Churchill, destruction, East End, Elephant and Castle, garage hand, Hitler, homeless, invasion, Ireland, patriotism, pessimism, profit, revolution, rich, Scotland, South Coast, south London, stephen spender, war, Warsaw, West End | 9 Comments

10.9.40

Posted on 10 September by orwelldiaries

Can’t write much of the insanities of the last few days. It is not so much that the bombing is worrying in itself as that the disorganisation of traffic, frequent difficulty of telephoning, shutting of shops whenever there is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged air raid, bomb, Cheapside, cinemas, Criterion, delayed-action bomb, docks, fires, Greenwich, Holborn, homeless, Huesca, incendiary bomb, letters, London Bridge, Madame Tussaud's, Marylebone, milk, naval college, newspapers, noise, Old Kent Road, power, screaming bombs, shelter, shops, south London, Spain, telephone, Thames estuary, theatres, traffic, trams, unexploded bomb, Westminster Bridge, Woolwich | 12 Comments

7.9.40

Posted on 7 September by orwelldiaries

Air-raid alarms now frequent enough, and lasting long enough, for people habitually to forget whether the alarm is on at the moment, or whether the All Clear has sounded. Noise of bombs and gunfire, except when very close (which probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged air raid, alarm, all clear, bombs, Churchill, gunfire, newspapers, siren | 27 Comments

3.9.40

Posted on 3 September by orwelldiaries

Yesterday talking with Mrs. C., [1] who had recently come back from Cardiff. Raids there have been almost continuous, and finally it was decided that work in the docks must continue, raids or no raids. Almost immediately afterwards a German … Continue reading →

Posted in Political, War-time | Tagged air raid, bomb, Cardiff, casualties, deaths, docks, newspapers, Ramsgate, strike | 12 Comments