Henry is a hero at last, and bound to get a medal, Mrs. B. says. He downed three Nazi planes over Dunkirk! I was hoping he’d have leave, too, but they’re busy helping poor France, who are being overrun.

Sadly, the son of Mrs. Poultice, one of the Sewing Ladies, didn’t make it. He was in a small boat that was bombed by a Nazi plane. Another boat dragged him out of the water, but he was too injured and died before they reached Dover. She hasn’t spoken a word since, just slowly sews. We managed to convince her to join the choir, which might help a little.

Mr. Churchill says we’re not giving in!

Daddy’s glad that Mr. Churchill became Prime Minister, even though a lot of people say he’s wrong. They want to make a settlement with the Nazis rather than fight, as frankly our chances don’t look terribly good.

“They’re cowards!” Daddy roared. “It’s more honorable to go down fighting than to give in. We can’t just let them walk all over us.”

Mr. Churchill says this war is going to be fought in the air, and we’ve been asked to give our pots and pans to the Government so that they can be melted down and made into bombers. I found eleven in our kitchen, which surely must amount to a wing at least.

Invasion

If we don’t give in, we’re the next ones after France to be invaded. Since Chilbury is only seven miles from the coast, there’s a chance we’ll be overrun by Nazi troops before we’ve even heard about it. We’ll be woken in the middle of the night by the sound of tanks crashing down our doors.

What will happen if we get taken over by the Nazis

We’ll all starve as they’ll take our food to give to Nazi soldiers

They’ll take anyone left who can fight and send them to the front line, or get shot

They’ll force the rest of us into factories, even children like me

We’ll have to have Nazi soldiers staying at our houses, or shoving us onto the street so they can live there

We won’t be able to go anywhere except by walking or bicycle as they’ll take our motorcars and we won’t be able to get on trains

They’ll imprison or shoot anyone who doesn’t do what they say

They’ll imprison or shoot anyone they don’t like

People have started moving away. The Dunns have gone to Wales, as Lizzie is deaf and Hitler doesn’t like children like that. The synagogue where we take Silvie is looking rather empty as many Jewish people are moving away from the coast, even though the synagogue is determined to stay open for the Jewish people in the troops. We’re petrified about Silvie, of course. Mama wanted us to go and stay with a cousin in Scotland, but Daddy refused.

“I have complete confidence that we’ll always remain British, even if those Nazis try anything silly.” He looked all gruff and proud, thwacking his horsewhip against the unsuspecting leg of an armchair, and I felt at once glad to be part of such a fearless national spirit and frightened to death that it’s no help at all when you have half a dozen Nazi guns pointing at you.

Everyone’s going mad accusing people of being spies. They’ve rounded up all the Germans and Italians and sent them to camps on the Isle of Man, even Mama’s frightfully nice bridge partner, Mrs. Barone. I can’t imagine her in a camp at all—where would she store all her fur coats and fancy hats? We’ve been told to look out for spies among us, keep an eye on our neighbors and turn in anyone doing anything suspicious. I considered telling someone about Proggett, as he’s forever sneaking around—I even found him in Daddy’s study last week, leafing through a few papers, telling me he was trying to locate a lost cuff link—but Daddy would beat me if they carted off Proggett. He’s got to be the last available butler this side of London.

We’ve been told there’ll probably be Nazi planes coming over to drop bombs on us soon, and the Vicar’s taken the job of Air Raid Warden. Most people have dug great holes in their gardens to put in Anderson bomb shelters, which are little metal huts that look far too flimsy to survive a bomb. I’m glad we’ve got a cellar that’s big enough to sleep in, even though it’s thick with dust and home to a highly prolific spider community.

The Government has circulated leaflets about what to do when the Nazis invade (stay calm) and what we’re not to do (panic and run away). There are pictures of Nazi soldiers and a list of what to do if we find one (go to the police) and what not to do (try to reason with them and get shot as a result). We’ve been busy removing signposts so that when they arrive at least they won’t know where they are.

Apparently the rest of Europe was overrun easily because the people weren’t prepared and they simply panicked. I’m not entirely certain how the Government intends us to stop a cavalry of well-equipped Huns, but this is what they have told us to do.

Preparation for Invasion

Keep calm—don’t run away

Don’t believe rumors and be distrustful of orders—check that orders are from the Government

Hide all maps, food, fuel, tools, and other supplies—a parachutist will prey on you for these items

Put concrete pillboxes, land mines, or barbed wire defenses on beaches, fields, and roads

Dig anti-tank ditches on roads and tracks—a line across the country stops the Nazis from going north