Out of the Hitler Time trilogy by Judith Kerr

Author:Judith Kerr [Judith Kerr]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007375721
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2015-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

As the weather grew warmer the fear of invasion also grew again – until one day in June, soon after Anna’s seventeenth birthday, when there was an announcement on the radio which staggered everyone. The Germans had attacked Russia.

“But I thought the Russians and the Germans were allies!” cried Anna.

Papa raised one eyebrow. “So did the Russians,” he said.

It was clear that if the Germans had opened up a new Russian front they could not at the same time invade England, and there was great rejoicing in the office. The Bovril session was extended to nearly an hour while Mrs Hammond quoted a general who had told her that the Germans could not last a month against Stalin. Miss Clinton-Brown thanked God; Miss Potter said she had taught her budgie to say, “Down with Stalin,” and was worried whether this might now be misunderstood; and Mrs Riley rose suddenly from her chair, grabbed a pole used for putting up the blackout and demonstrated how she had posed as Britannia at the Old Bedford Music Hall in 1918.

After this Anna and Mrs Hammond retired to her office, but they had scarcely got through half a dozen letters when they were again interrupted. This time it was Dickie, on unexpected leave, wearing a brand-new officer’s uniform.

“P-passed all my exams, Ma,” he said. “Second from the b-bottom, but I p-passed. F-fully f-fledged navigating Officer Hammond!”

At this Mrs Hammond was so delighted that she gave up all thoughts of further work and invited Anna to join them for lunch.

“We’ll go home,” she said, which meant Claridge’s.

Anna had only been there once before, to deliver some letters which Mrs Hammond had forgotten at the office, and then she had only got as far as the hall porter. Now she was swept along in Mrs Hammond’s wake, across the heavily carpeted foyer, through the swing doors and into the pillared dining room, where they were met by the head waiter (“Good morning, Mrs Hammond, good morning, Mr Richard”) and escorted to their table. All round them were people in uniform, mostly very grand ones, talking, eating and drinking, and the hum of their conversation filled the room.

“Drinkies!” cried Mrs Hammond, and a glass of what Anna decided must be gin appeared in front of her. She did not like it much, but she drank it, and then the waiter brought the food and as she worked her way through a large piece of chicken she began to feel very happy. There was no need for her to say anything, for Mrs Hammond and Dickie were talking about the estate and about a dog of Dickie’s in particular (“Are you sure,” he was asking, “that W-Wilson has w-wormed him?”), so she looked around the room and was the first to notice a thin man in Air Force uniform bearing down on them. There was a great deal of gold braid about him and as soon as Dickie saw him he leapt from his chair and saluted. The man nodded and smiled briefly, but his attention was on Mrs Hammond.

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