23rd September, 1940
Mrs Kenneth Penman
274 Dollis Hill Lane
Cricklewood
N.W.2
[Postmark: BIRMINGHAM 7 – PM 24 SEP 1940 A.D.O.]
34th Brigade School
Fernbank House
Alum Dock Rd.
Birmingham 8.
Sept 23rd 1940.
Darling,
I’m so sorry I didnt write last night but I was very tired by the time I got in although the journey was quite good and we all got over the wall quite safely without mishap.
Two pieces, darling, of good news first, I don’t know whether I told you when we first got here they divided the “pupils?” in two parts, those who were electric or radio engineers and enthusiastic amateurs in one part, and the remainders in the other, the former to be free from guards and all fatigues, the latter doing these duties then morning lectures at least once a week. I, as you know, was in the last class. I got 68 and was top of this section! I feel very pleased about it especially as…
…you remember, I told you it was all “Greek” to me at first.
The second piece of news is very fine, but dont take it for gospel, it is however an extremely strong rumour that we are to commence seven days leave next monday, this will mean I shall get my weekend leave on Saturday and shall not have to return until the following Sunday evening, it will be lovely if we can spend it in the cottage, that is if you feel like having me with you, will help in halving the responsibility of Jill and as, how shall I put it, shelter comfort!
Did you hear J B Priestley on the wireless on Sunday evening? I took his comments on mothers with children and women and girls generally rather to heart, he pointed out that soldiers, by virtue of their training were expected to stand up to aerial bombardment, and that therefore women who were also enduring the…
…same horrors without the training were very much more deserving of admiration. I think perhaps I may have sounded a bit superior in my attitude to raids, I realise rather more now that I had no right to be. I know you dont mind my letting you (in on) my innermost thoughts like this, its only because I love you so.
I’ll ring you up as soon as I get any definite news about leave.
With all my love.
Your own
Kenneth
Monday 23rd September, 1940
- Monday 16th September, 1940—The United States enacts the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, introducing its first peacetime conscription to bolster military readiness.
- Tuesday 17th September, 1940—Adolf Hitler indefinitely postpones Operation Sea Lion, acknowledging the Luftwaffe’s failure to secure the aerial superiority needed for a successful invasion of Britain.
- Wednesday 18th September, 1940—The Blitz continues unabated, with Germany intensifying night raids against London and other British urban centers, inflicting extensive damage and casualties.
- Thursday 19th September, 1940—The Luftwaffe expands its bombing campaign to include Britain’s industrial and port facilities in the Midlands and North of England, aiming to sever critical supply chains.
- Friday 20th September, 1940—The Royal Air Force escalates nighttime bombing operations against German invasion barges in French ports, striving to thwart any renewed amphibious threats.
- Saturday 21st September, 1940—Despite relentless bombardment, British morale remains resilient; the German High Command grows increasingly skeptical of the Luftwaffe’s capacity to force capitulation.
- Sunday 22nd September, 1940—Discreet diplomatic negotiations among Axis powers advance, setting the stage for formalized alliances that will intensify the conflict’s global scale.
- Monday 23rd September, 1940—Operation Menace commences as British and Free French forces attempt to wrest control of Dakar from Vichy French authorities; protracted resistance impedes Allied progress.