December. Chinese invade Korea. Prize Day, Mrs Hichens. Miss Hunter. Lady Morris. Coronation Stone. Not a good year.
A bad week. Chinese troops came swarming down the mountain valleys in the central part of the from their unbombed base in Manchuria, routed the Korean forces and cut off our armies north west and north east of the break through.
We have been destroying our dumps in the area and trying the best we can to extricate ourselves, but the enemy with up to half a million men in Korea are threatening us with disaster and reported near Pyongyang, the northern capital, in the west and Wonsan in the east. This is a new war declared on us by China, while we are still not at war with her. It looks as if the Chinese may be able to drive us out of Korea altogether..... It looks as though the U.S.A. might get involved in a full scale war with China and there is talk of using atom bomb.
Following a debate in the Commons, Mr Attlee is flying to Washington to try to prevent a war with China and get to maintain sound working relations with America. Our agreement to disagree over China have now reached breaking point….. By destroying Germany and Japan and then disarming ourselves we have exposed the Far East and Europe to China and Russia, but it is Europe that is vital, our last line of defence….
Thursday, Dec 7th
Prize Day yesterday, and very heavy going. Found impossible to get any response from the deadpans to my jokes, but the children sang well and we had a small orchestra. Not many governors turned up. Prize giver the grande dame, Mrs Hichens, a pleasant voice, but subject matter not so good, and then the Vicar of Wargrave proposing a vote of thanks, incredibly awful, a slow bellow.
We don’t know what has been decided in Korea. Washington is talking of evacuation and clearly if troops in N. E. can be got out at all it will have to be by sea. The western forces are falling back and I wonder if the Chinese can be held for long anywhere by four tired American divisions.
Meanwhile on wireless a correspondent gave an excellent talk on W. Europe. A vicious circle – munitions no good without morale, so rearmament not the real crux, but the will to fight. The French have lost their old élan, the Italians are not a military race anyway, the Germans now pacifist and frightened; only people who have the will to fight are the Jugoslavs and that old, stubborn and resolute race, the British! Not a reassuring picture.
Saturday, Dec 9th
Had Miss Hunter to tea, purple with cold. After that went over to Mary by 6.30 bus and stayed the night and slept on safari bed. Fortunately the heating was on, so reasonably warm, but not enough underneath.
Sunday, Dec 10th
Up early and into bed with Mary. Then got up and made the breakfast, which we had in bed. Stayed in bed until twelve o’clock. Read paper in afternoon and read part of South Riding to Mary.
Tuesday, Dec 12th
Went to Messiah with Hilary at Reading Town Hall. Packed, boiling hot, so that tie I had persuaded Hilary to wear had to be removed and collar undone. Isobel Baillie sang like an angel. Hilary followed his score intently and intelligently. Wednesday, Dec 13th
Mary came to supper and we went, all family, to see Ibsen’s Doll’s House. It was well done but there were hardly any people there and theatre was very cold. Ibsen must have made a terrible dint with “Nora” in the Victorian ‘60s. I think it was one of Mrs Patrick Campbell’s parts. Advised any sixth formers interested in drama to go and see it.
[There was a delay of over 20 years before Ibsen’s plays arrived from Norway to be performed in London. The first performance of The Doll’s House was in London was in 1889, according to the Oxford Companion to Literature]
Thursday, Dec 14th
The men cut off in the mountains of N. E. Korea by a magnificent feat of arms have fought their way through to the coast down the frozen valleys. The armies in the main theatre of the war have lost touch with the Chinese and efforts are being made to produce a ceasefire by a group of Asian members of the Assembly.
A very nice letter from ex-governor Lady Morris, congratulating me on my report on Prize Day and mentioning the carping criticism that I have had to face.
Friday, Dec 15th
Snow. Much sliding by boys. A power cut at 4.30 to 6. Prefects’ Party. This originated by H.M. before me in 1932, I think. Since about 1942 tradition grew up that prefects and staff should give an entertainment. This year the prefects adapted Maurice Baring’s The Rehearsal to an American setting, which was quite amusing, and the staff did a wireless play adapted from a fairy story (I was the king) and the children enjoyed identifying the actors’ voices. Miss Hunter came, and horrifying to see her trying to struggle up for Auld Lang Syne.
Sunday, Dec 17th
Bitterly cold and snow trampled hard. Went into Reading after lunch and had tea with Mary. Looked at Golden Cockerel Garden of Caresses with woodcuts of men and women in various positions of the sexual act. This presented to Mary by an elderly and respectable little man who had first given her Lady Chatterley's Lover, a very odd gift.
[The little man was a retired judge who had once invited her to his home to see his considerable collection of erotica]
Monday, Dec 18th
Drive and roads very icy so children and buses late. Carol service, then plays, scenes from Julius Caesar and School for Scandal, not very good.
Atlantic foreign ministers meeting in Brussels to discuss rearming of Germany
Hilary and George arrived on bicycles. The snow is beginning to thaw. Carol singers from school came over after tea and then Nora, who was exhausted by cold and snow, went off carol singing herself. Can’t say I like George; he is so conceited and patronising and his manners are, I consider, pretty poor. However at the moment he is Hilary’s buddy and so, says Nora, must be put up with.
Had a Christmas card from George Dunn in the C.I.D, contained an appropriate quotation from Hamlet: “The world is grown honest, then is doomsday near!”
Monday, Dec 21st
Bitterly cold. First day of holidays, walked with Hilary to Greys in afternoon and went into Knollys Chapel and saw tomb and 14th century brass for first time. Tomb with 14 children similar to that at Burford.
Friday, Dec 22nd
Day even bitterer than yesterday with N.E. wind and ground hard as stone. Nora was burnt out and stayed in bed all morning. Hilary and I had lunch at the Angel. It was no weather for Christians to be out in at all. Cannot remember so cold a Christmas for some time. Power cut 8.30 – 11.30, but fortunately have oil stoves and fire.
Saturday, Dec 23rd
Alexander to tea, went to The Case of the Frightened Lady, an Edgar Wallace play, at Henley Playhouse. Hilary in difficult and unsociable mood.
Sunday, Dec 24th
Had a letter from Donald Heath. He has delivered three babies, one all by himself. Sawed wood and did chores in the morning. Still very cold although wind has dropped. Think ourselves lucky, in my opinion, if at this time next year we are still at peace. Late summer 1951 will be a tricky time. Will the Russians sit still and wait for us to rearm? That is the question!!!
Monday, Christmas Day
Cloudy and cold – snow still lying in some places. Hilary and I went for a walk in the morning, rather against his will as he was disgruntled and bored. Asked if he was bored at school and he said at school there were lessons!
We had two ducks for dinner about two o’clock with apple sauce, red currant jelly and stuffing; then Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. I had not bought any wine this year, but had a glass of Ruby Wine (Port type) to toast absent friends. By the time we had finished our dessert the King was speaking. He was far more confident and hardly hesitated at all. The speech itself was sombre and perhaps preparing us for what is coming.
Hilary has a nice cold which in spite of my throat painting he has succeeded in passing on to me! After a late tea I read extracts from my diary of previous Christmases. Hilary gave me a pair of beechwood salad servers he had made [still in use at Christmas 2008]
What a curse this cold is, the second one I have had this autumn and all through Hilary not changing his stockings when he came in wet! Felt miserable all day. Still very icy.
The Coronation Stone has been stolen from Westminster Abbey. My guess is that it is the Scottish Nationalists who are carting in back to Scone. Police very guarded and no mention of how it was got out – it weighs 30cwt.
Reading life of Florence Nightingale – what a woman – a genius and a mystic. Realized that both my mother and probably Mary’s called after this volcanic demon.
Wednesday, Dec 27th
Main interest of news still the Stone of Scone – to-night the Dean of the Abbey broadcast saying how upset the King was and asking us all to keep a look out for it and either inform him or the police. How ridiculous, couldn’t stop laughing. The act of removal, the Dean said very solemnly, was an act of sacrilege! The stone is worth about 2/6 and was pinched by Edward I from the abbey of Scone to make it impossible to crown a Scots king. It is said it is the stone used by Jacob as a pillow, but as it is Scottish sandstone that seems unlikely!
Cold very poor, stayed in all day, writing autobiography, read Hilary bits of it.
Chinese troops concentrating on 38th parallel believed with North Koreans to have about 440,000 men!
Thursday, Dec 28th
My cold was very bad and did not feel like going up to the Old Vic with Nora and Hilary to see Black Arrow, so stayed in Henley, though went over to Reading for lunch with Mary. The cold has lasted now for a month without a break and we are getting very sick of it.
Friday, Dec 29th
Cold in head very bad and very cold outside. Hope to have some fine weather at Exmouth next week. Hilary very bored and Nora worrying that he has no friends in Henley and does not seem to want any either. Says now she wishes she had sent him to a Public School.
Yesterday Nora and Hilary lunched with Phyllis Auty. She is contemplating adopting another baby, and also her sister-in-law, so I got on the telephone to her to-day and wrote to Mary’s friend Joan to see if they could work something out to their mutual advantage.
Saturday, Dec 30th
Up to London, to Stoll Opera House where got two tickets for Dolin-Markova Ballet as a surprize for Mary. Then to lunch at National Book League, where met Mary later and we went to matinée of Ring Round the Moon, a very whimsical French play full of surprizes in dress and dancing; it was called “a charade”, which well described it. Then to Green Park Hotel, more sumptuous than ever; 3 wireless programmes relayed to your room and television if you wished it. We had dinner at the Marble Halls and enjoyed the whole of The Nutcracker Suite though we were rather far away from the stage.
Sunday, Dec 31st
Got up about eleven and by 12.20 were lunching in Marble Halls. After lunch wandered down to Trafalgar Square, wet, gloomy and damp. A depressing crowd was beginning to assemble for a Communist meeting. Then we went into the National Gallery to see the Piero Nativity, which had been cleaned, and other old favourites. Coming out we listened for a time to the editor of the Daily Worker who was denouncing the rearmament of Germany. Walked back to Burlington House and saw an exhibition of Holbeins….
1950 not a good year; war and rearming, but will 1951 be worse! and the whole hateful and miserable story start again in Europe?
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