I have read about Pauline Aikman’s diaries with much interest, and can identify with many of her experiences.

 I began writing diaries during the war in 1942.  Mine are definitely not as interesting! As a child of 8, I didn’t fully understand the war, and accepted that it was a normal way of life to spend hundreds of nights in our air-raid shelter. My diary entries seem to be mostly about food! Perhaps our strict rationing in England was the reason for my obsession about what we ate each day!  Other entries were about playing with friends or about school. There is little mention of the war.

 Looking back over the years, I too remember the sound of planes in the night, air-raid sirens, carrying gas masks at all times, coming out of the shelter and looking towards the city center, and seeing the sky a vivid red, reflecting the fires burning from the bombed-out buildings.

 One night, before the sirens went off, we heard the loudest, ear-deafening noises and thought the sound was from dozens of bombs exploding all around.  But then we found out, it was the anti-aircraft guns going off.  They had installed them in the field behind our row of houses!  After that night, we got used to them, but that first time really shook us up.

 Like Pauline Aikman, I remember the “flying bombs” as we called them, and the silence when the engine cut off, while we waited to hear the explosion. Then we knew we were safe – at least for this time.

 I still have those childhood diaries – not very enlightening to be sure, but a reflection of how children can adapt to conditions that are very different from normal. I had a very happy childhood, in spite of the war, with a loving family, friends, safety, fun – and yes, food!  I think I remember seeing one entry that reads “I had a tomato for tea today.” Hmmm!

Margaret E. Fowler

Kennebunk