A Trip to the Distant Past!

During the War, I was attracted to the Wireless, partly because I was an only child (until much later) and the Wireless was the only form of entertainment!

I was sleeping in my bedroom, and I had a personal mains wireless, but I preferred the Marconiphone wireless in the living room because it had short waves! Only 17 meters to 50 meters, but Short waves indeed!
Medium Wave was uncluttered! The stations the dial showed were accurate too! I soon found the English stations, and the Propoganda Stations also! I was intrigued also by the foreign talking stations. I learnt French at 10+ and German as an adult - Triggered by the grounding that I got then?

I was interested to discover the dial was marked with "Amateurs!" Only a small portion about 40 meters and 20 meters though! I had to ask what "amateur's" were, and I spent many hours listening for the elusive stations - but I was unsuccesful!

In the later part ot the war...

I was 6 and 11 months, and was living in Norfolk, England, with my mother. I went to "bed" early, and was left to my own devices, with a candle as the only illumination, until my mother came to bed - much later.
We lived in a square of houses, with one semi-detatched pair at the end and four at the sides. At least theoretically! The house we lived in was separated from the next pair by a extra bedroom, a four bedroom house overlooking the approach road, and the center pair on the other side were replaced by the road.

Friends Alan and John were same as I was, wtth bed time early, and the bedroom was in the end of the house - but a special friend of theirs were in the front bedroom of the corresponding house on the other side of the square!
I began by relaying hand waves out of window to John, or his friend to say Goodnight - the night was light in any case without the Double Summer Time! Three months later the waves are invisible - so I'd show the candle briefly. One Time, three times - three pause one, it developed into a language!
Another Langauge that we tried was Morse Code.

In a baseboard in the window space, covered by the curtains, was an array of lamp, batteries, key - and a copy of the Morse Code! We discovered it was not possible to read the code in the dark - which must be remembered. We did!

After the war was over....