July 23 M Fixing pipe boxes & wheels Fire drill The weather is great and Im in the pink what more do I desire only M[y].W[ife]. & I would be contented I rec’ two letters from [Janie] yesterday Am reading [Shakespeare’s Midsummer] night dream Air raid on London yesterday. P.F.T.
What a mix this entry is —
His work is tedious and technical. A pipe box is the part of a wheel into which the axle fits; friction and foreign material such as grit will cause wear and damage to the parts, impeding their function. I’m pretty sure that fixing pipe boxes and wheels means taking everything apart, scrupulous cleaning, and careful reassembly.
He is in good spirits and in love — “what more do I desire only My Wife”– a contentedness fueled by letters from Janie and by a reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. By contrast to the lovers in that play, he must be feeling that the course of true love does sometimes run smooth, if, alas, at a distance.
The Germans continue their daylight bombing raids. A score of planes hit Harwich and Felixstowe (on either side of the mouth of the River Stour, northeast of London) killing 11 and injuring 26 before retreating “hastily” in the face of a “hot reception” by much improved anti-aircraft defences, or so said The Globe. (1)
(1) The Globe (1844-1936). July 224, 1917. 2. Archive available from ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
The image of anti-aircraft gunners is one of a series published to support the sale of War Bonds.
Copyright 2017. See “More about this project.”
Percy's War 