A Small Boy's Diary: Thursday 8th April 1943 - "The Streetly Soldier"
Thursday 8th April 1943.......
It's been a busy week, for me and for my big brother. It was my seventh birthday yesterday. But I'm going leave telling you about that for another time. I haven't got room here.
Instead, let's talk about the day before. That was Tuesday 6th April. It was a big day for my brother Graham and I'll tell you why in a minute. As you know I have a big sister. I was talking about her last Friday, that was 2nd April 1943. My brother is even bigger. He's five years older than her. That means he's fourteen years older than me. We all live together on the Chester Road in Streetly. Or at least we did until he was called up last year.
The picture shows Graham in the year I was born. He's even bigger now and, as I've told you before, he's a soldier in North Africa. He's 20 and so he's grown up. Because of the difference in ages I don't remember us seeing a lot of each other at home – Graham was at work and when he was at home he spent a lot of time in his bedroom. And he was in the Home Guard for two years and that took up a lot of evenings and weekends. But Graham has always been very kind to me and he used to tell me all sorts of interesting things which I didn't know anything about. We always got on ever so well with each other and I have missed him a lot since he first went away in June last year.
For example, he once sat me down in front of his big wireless set in his bedroom. (That's been put away now). It had a big sort-of-window thing on the front which lit up when you switched it on. Then you could see all the stations you could dial into with all sorts of interesting names. Like Hilversum and Oslo and Allouis and Marseilles and Brussels and Paris and a lot of other places like that. But those don't work any more. Just Hamburg. That's the only one. Apart from the BBC, of course. I don't know if Graham used to listen to Hamburg or not. It's the German radio, as you know. With Lord Haw-Haw and his silly voice. If Mum and Dad do, it hasn't been when I'm around. Dad would probably think it's not the right thing to do, even though it's not against the law. Otherwise it's just the BBC Home Service. That brings us all the news and funny programmes like ITMA and music. But when I was standing at the side of him in front of his wireless, I wasn't only looking at those strange and exciting radio station names. I was even more interested in what he was telling me. He was saying that in peacetime you could buy a wireless set just like that but instead of a glass panel there was something of about the same size which looked like it and was called a screen. And on that screen you could watch pictures which actually MOVED, just like at the flicks. This was called television. A wireless with pictures! It all sounded like a miracle to me and I'll believe it when I see it. If I ever do. But Graham wouldn't tell me any fibs and so I'm sure he's right.
Another useful thing Graham told me. You must never point a gun at anyone.....
(If you really want to read further about this Streetly soldier and what happened to him after he left us after his last visit home in February and why the day before yesterday was an important one for him, please go to: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/L8OStreetlyMemories8April1943.htm
There are a lot more pictures and it's safe to click on).
Chris (aged 7)
Here's my big brother in 1936.
