October 17th 1939

Tuesday Oct 17th

I am still busy on ration cards, and how my hand aches! I can do about 1 a minute.

News came in that HMS Royal Oak* was torpedoed inside Scapa Flow, by a U–boat! Such a thing would have been thought impossible – it is an amazing feat. We could do with that U–boat commander on our side. It was either an amazing fluke or seamanship that amounts to genius.

*See also the diary entry for 14th October.