Read Online Under the Apple Tree by Lilian Harry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lilian Harry
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killed. They say there were over a hundred and fifty. They’re going to be buried all together at Kingston Cemetery, and the Mayor and all
the Corporation are going. I don’t know how many of their
robes they’ll be able to wear; a lot of them were burned in
the Guildhall.’
There was a moment of sadness, then Polly said, ‘Talking
of uniforms, I’ll be getting the WVS one. It’s quite nice green with a sort of grey thread running through it. We’ve
got to pay for them ourselves, though.’
‘I’m having one too,’ Judy told her. ‘I don’t mind paying
for it - I’d have to get some more clothes for work anyway.
Did you manage to get much at the Centre, Mum?’
They went on talking as they cleared the table, made tea
and put the kettle on the fire yet again for washing up, and
then settled down with their knitting. All the women were
making something. Judy and Polly had started balaclavas for
the Navy, Cissie was unravelling one of Dick’s old cardigans
to make gloves, and Alice was making squares from scraps of
leftover wool, to be sewn together to make blankets. Polly lit
an extra candle, to give them more light.
‘I’m getting a bit worried about this coal supply,’ Cissie
said, rolling wool into a ball. ‘With all this cooking, and
needing water for washing and scrubbing the floors, you’ve
got to keep the fire going but what we’ve got in the shed’s
going down really quick, even with those few loads we
managed to bring here from home.’
‘Well, once the gas is back on we can sit in our coats
during the day and just keep the fire for evenings,’ Dick
said. ‘One thing about making rag rugs, they do keep your
knees warm while you’re working on them!’ He glanced at
the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘Let’s put the wireless on - it’s nearly time for the nine o’clock news.’
‘Good thing I had the accumulator charged last week,’
Alice remarked, doing as he asked. ‘At least we can still find
out what’s going on.’
The news, read by Alvar Liddell, was as gloomy and
frightening as usual. There had been more Luftwaffe attacks
on British warships in the Mediterranean; a destroyer had
been damaged, the aircraft-carrier Illustrious crippled and
another ship, unnamed so far, sunk. In the Netherlands, all
Jews had been ordered to register with the authorities. Mr
Churchill had insisted to Parliament that assistance to
Greece must be given top priority.
‘The trouble is, everywhere needs to be top priority,’
Dick said, switching it off again. ‘We can’t be in all those
places at once. It’s like a disease, breaking out everywhere,
and as fast as you try to stop the bleeding in one place it
starts somewhere else.’
Cissie shuddered. ‘That’s horrible, Dick.’
‘Well,’ he said quietly, ‘war is horrible.’ He looked down
at the fire and then pulled his cardigan close around his thin
chest. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m for bed. I dunno,
ever since Friday night I seem to feel so tired I can hardly
keep my eyes open. I reckon I’ll be a bit warmer there, too.
Did you put the bottle in, Cis?’
His wife nodded. ‘Half an hour ago. You go up, Dick,
and get comfortable. I won’t be long.’ She waited as he went
outside to pay a last visit to the lavatory and then had a
quick wash at the scullery sink before climbing slowly
upstairs. ‘It’s the shock,’ she said to the others. ‘It’s knocked him sideways, and I’m not surprised. It’s not right, men like
him having to go through this all over again.’
‘What happened to him in the Great War, Mum?’ Judy
asked. ‘I know he was gassed, but there was more to it than
that, wasn’t there?’
Cissie looked at her and sighed. ‘Well, I suppose it’s only
right you should know. Not that I know all the ins and outs
of it myself, mind - a lot of it, I just had to pick up from
what Dick said and what other people have told me. And
Dick’s never
the Corporation are going. I don’t know how many of their
robes they’ll be able to wear; a lot of them were burned in
the Guildhall.’
There was a moment of sadness, then Polly said, ‘Talking
of uniforms, I’ll be getting the WVS one. It’s quite nice green with a sort of grey thread running through it. We’ve
got to pay for them ourselves, though.’
‘I’m having one too,’ Judy told her. ‘I don’t mind paying
for it - I’d have to get some more clothes for work anyway.
Did you manage to get much at the Centre, Mum?’
They went on talking as they cleared the table, made tea
and put the kettle on the fire yet again for washing up, and
then settled down with their knitting. All the women were
making something. Judy and Polly had started balaclavas for
the Navy, Cissie was unravelling one of Dick’s old cardigans
to make gloves, and Alice was making squares from scraps of
leftover wool, to be sewn together to make blankets. Polly lit
an extra candle, to give them more light.
‘I’m getting a bit worried about this coal supply,’ Cissie
said, rolling wool into a ball. ‘With all this cooking, and
needing water for washing and scrubbing the floors, you’ve
got to keep the fire going but what we’ve got in the shed’s
going down really quick, even with those few loads we
managed to bring here from home.’
‘Well, once the gas is back on we can sit in our coats
during the day and just keep the fire for evenings,’ Dick
said. ‘One thing about making rag rugs, they do keep your
knees warm while you’re working on them!’ He glanced at
the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘Let’s put the wireless on - it’s nearly time for the nine o’clock news.’
‘Good thing I had the accumulator charged last week,’
Alice remarked, doing as he asked. ‘At least we can still find
out what’s going on.’
The news, read by Alvar Liddell, was as gloomy and
frightening as usual. There had been more Luftwaffe attacks
on British warships in the Mediterranean; a destroyer had
been damaged, the aircraft-carrier Illustrious crippled and
another ship, unnamed so far, sunk. In the Netherlands, all
Jews had been ordered to register with the authorities. Mr
Churchill had insisted to Parliament that assistance to
Greece must be given top priority.
‘The trouble is, everywhere needs to be top priority,’
Dick said, switching it off again. ‘We can’t be in all those
places at once. It’s like a disease, breaking out everywhere,
and as fast as you try to stop the bleeding in one place it
starts somewhere else.’
Cissie shuddered. ‘That’s horrible, Dick.’
‘Well,’ he said quietly, ‘war is horrible.’ He looked down
at the fire and then pulled his cardigan close around his thin
chest. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m for bed. I dunno,
ever since Friday night I seem to feel so tired I can hardly
keep my eyes open. I reckon I’ll be a bit warmer there, too.
Did you put the bottle in, Cis?’
His wife nodded. ‘Half an hour ago. You go up, Dick,
and get comfortable. I won’t be long.’ She waited as he went
outside to pay a last visit to the lavatory and then had a
quick wash at the scullery sink before climbing slowly
upstairs. ‘It’s the shock,’ she said to the others. ‘It’s knocked him sideways, and I’m not surprised. It’s not right, men like
him having to go through this all over again.’
‘What happened to him in the Great War, Mum?’ Judy
asked. ‘I know he was gassed, but there was more to it than
that, wasn’t there?’
Cissie looked at her and sighed. ‘Well, I suppose it’s only
right you should know. Not that I know all the ins and outs
of it myself, mind - a lot of it, I just had to pick up from
what Dick said and what other people have told me. And
Dick’s never
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