14 Aug 1945, Barbara Anslow's diary

Lovely First Communion Service for Barbara Willey and Ronnie Harris - both looked very nice in white.

Lazing out on grass, I heard a plane in distance; it cruised along so long, then suddenly became much louder; it was a huge thing, dark and old-looking like a great evil bird swooping down sharply over the American Block, machine-gunning - it sounded like that but no one was hurt so perhaps it wasn't.

I flew into Block 2's front entrance. Children in the road started to shriek, gardeners popped out of their gardens, and every one flew for safety. Mabel arrived back from the workshop.

While we were (sheltering) in our corridor, back came the plane again, and the Japs up the hill began pot-shooting at it with rifles, which made an awful frightening crack-crack. Lots of children and adults were at the beach. Four times the plane came, then it was all over and we saw the wreckage of a naval patrol boat (presumably Jap) to the left of the island in front of the hospital; and some saw - they said - survivors kicking about, poor souls. Tim Fortescue said a second boat was also sunk, all of which shows that the rumour that our war is over isn't true.

To 'Co-operative' talk by Mr. A. J. C. Taylor in grotto.