Thomas Graham’s Diary – 15th September 1939

In this diary entry, Thomas warns of the dangers of aerial warfare and the threat it will pose to residents of villages throughout the country.

Thomas begins by acknowledging that whilst one must ‘detest war from the air, it is reasonable to be fair about it’.

Thomas bluntly describes the rules of war and lists some of the uncomfortable truths:

  1. If a pilot has reason to believe there are troops in a village he is entitled to open fire
  2. If a hostile plane sees armed troops anywhere he is similarly entitled

The ramifications for Thomas are that if troops are seen at his house, or the building is seen to be a munitions depot, the pilots are within their right to open fire.

He coldly remarks that it must next impossible for pilots to be sure but that is the ‘price man has to pay for his so called conquest of the air’.

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