On the train I heard that M [a fellow pupil] had killed himself with explosives [making fireworks] in the holiday—I was not really surprised, but rather shocked. One can only be sorry for the parents. It will act as a deterrent to other similar experiments. … zac zop
I’m in the same room, with AWW, and I’m captain of the Juniors. zsr zfr zsp
Saturday 23rd
Today school life continued with all its monotony and pettiness, and I felt more homesick than before this term. zem zsr
The news was good, Salsk and Tripoli both taken—Rommel, however, has been very successful in extricating his forces. … zru zwg zlb
Tried Stravinsky, but one side was enough. Weighing and measuring—6′ ¾”, 10.8. 10 weeks before I live properly again. zmu zpa zem
Sunday 24th
It dawned with promise, light blue sky with a few pink trailers and dark blue on the horizon. … zwr zds
Another mealtime argument with Mullins, I being assisted by Wood—Wood’s philosophy has changed somewhat—from a once orthodox Christian he has become an agnostic. There may be more in him than meets the eye. … zag zrl zpy zop
Tuesday 26th
… I had my first music lesson [flute with Mr. Taylor]—learning (a) how to make the noise and (b) how to read music. The flute is OK but one stop needed a pad, and later in the day the handle [lever] broke, which is a nuisance. Taylor does not know the fingering, but a book is on the way. I hope it can be repaired. Apparently there’s lots of good music for flute and piano. zmu
JTC was a uniform check etc, then drill—I’ve been put in No.1 platoon, which means Cert. A. [a national assessment of basic military training] in March. Then a hard working 80 mins. of Physics—pretty concentrated but also illuminating. After tea I played the last part of Scheherazade—which I like a lot. Hard work in prep—also Physics—I got on well with it. zct zsw
