These Wonderful Rumours!: A Young Schoolteacher's Wartime Diaries 1939-1945

May Smith's - 'A Young Schoolteacher's Wartime Diaries' is a wonderfully fresh insight into what it was like to be a young woman during the Second World War. May lived and taught in Swadlincote in Derbyshire at this time and instead of the diary entries being filled with doom, gloom and all the panoply of war, this was a breath of fresh air. We read about her many trips to the pictures, outings to buy clothes (despite the advent of clothing coupons). She always seemed to have too much month left at the end of her money and can't wait for the next pay day. She has a complicated 'love' life dangling two young men at the end of a string, unable to decide which, if any, she prefers. School days appear to be particularly difficult as far as she is concerned, and she comes over at times as being unduly harsh on her pupils - although I don't think this was the intention. During air raids shelter at Granny's house - not that she has an Anderson shelter but they take refuge under the stairs, with sometimes hilarious results. This is a great read, especially for anyone young or old interested in how life was lived by young people during World War 2.

I adore these wartime diaries. This one has been especially entertaining, May Smith is a teacher who seems to dislike the profession and her charges and this alone is fun to read.The war is there of course, on every page, but the diarists preoccupations are less wordly; finding the right coat, going to the cinema, the size of bus queues, scarcity of chocolate and stockings are themes which arise again and again.The virtues and shortcomings her family, friends, colleagues and suitors both current and ex take up a lot of space and are a joy to read.Like or loathe her May Smith is very readable and I am so pleased that her diaries are available - I loved her!

Very enjoyable. It was an interesting learning experience (A good night's sleep is a rare thing in wartime, which inevitably leads to exhausted working days) but it was surprisingly touching and funny, too. I felt strangely sad at the end, as though in an odd kind of mourning for someone I never knew but who'd come to really like.

This book keeps your interest - not sure why, but difficult to put down. I could have done with a list of who people were & the various names they were known by as at times you feel a bit lost. I'd like to have known what happened to Dougie but perhaps that isn't known.

The period when the diarist is describing the many air raids is quite revealing as I hadn't realised how regularly sirens went off where she lived in the country. Being an ex class teacher myself I liked her honesty about finding teaching a bit of a drag at times, although I hadn't realised how little holiday schoolchildren had during wartime.I lost interest a little when she was obsessing about her clothing problems and found her attitude towards her two suitors rather annoying, but it was refreshing to hear a different viewpoint of the war.

I felt that a lot had been missed out. More detail is needed. The anxiety of war is wellness described, though. It is a personal account of an ordinary person.

It's a marvellous feat to make the everyday events of life in wartime Swadlincote so readable. The reader is taken into May Smith's world and shares her experiences. The writer has a natural style that suits her shrewd observations, and a ready wit. We totally understand her predicaments and the challenges she faces, against the background of a war that is coming closer. Her personality is likable; we are with her and on her side!

This was a good read and I found it hard to put down. Very comical in places, the diarist has a gift for wit (and sarcasm!). After the air-raids die down, the war is hardly mentioned except for the occasional momentous event, and life for May continues much as usual. Nevertheless, it gives the reader a good account of life during WWII and how people continued their every-day lives. Whilst not in the Nella Last league, it is an enjoyable read.