5th January 1940

It’s all happened today, I barely know where to begin.  I suppose last night.  I got woken up by a sudden stop to all the clanking from the shunting yard – funny how I can’t sleep without the noise now.  Anyway when I got up Mrs F had noticed it as well and she told me that the last time it had all gone quiet like that somebody had been crushed between two coal wagons.  We went a bit quiet after that, both of us wondering what might have happened and I was quite keen to get to work.  I knew that somebody there would know if there’d been an accident.  Well, I was right.  As soon as I got there and was taking off my coat, Molly from the parcels office came flying in to tell me.  Apparently, Gordon Leon has tried – and failed – to finish himself off by jumping off a gantry in the shunting yard.  Molly said that because he was scared of heights he didn’t climb up far enough and only broke an arm and a leg – and he might have an injury to his back as well, they’re not sure.  Molly fell about laughing and I must admit that I had a smile at him for being so useless that he can’t even kill himself properly.  But I do feel a bit worried now as to why he did it.