The first person they knew that came home on leave was Bill Monroe from Emerald Street and he was followed by a boy from Park Grove Street and one from over Eldon Terrace, which seemed unfair as Albert had joined up before any of them. There was a big to-do one day because Bill Monroe hadn’t gone back when he should have done and they sent in military policemen to take him back. His mother barred the front door with a broom handle and had to be lifted out of the way by the military policeman, one at each elbow, and Nell, who happened to be walking home from work a long Emerald Street at the time, was reminded of Percy’s funeral.

She had a further shock when an ordinary, civilian policeman appeared from nowhere and for a second Nell thought it was Percy. For a ridiculous moment she wondered if he’d come back to ask her why there was a little pearl and garnet ring on her engagement finger instead of the sapphire chips he’d given her which were now wrapped in tissue paper and put at the back of her drawer.

Bill Monroe was hauled off eventually and Nell didn’t linger on the street. She felt embarrassed for him because she’d seen the look of terror on his face and thought how awful it must be to be such a coward and how unpatriotic as well - and she was surprised how many women came up to Mrs Monroe, who has raging and shouting and crying on her doorstep, and told her that she’d done the right thing.

Frank came home after the second battle of Ypres¹; he’d been in hospital in Southport with a septic foot and was given a few days’ leave before going back to the Front. It was odd because before the war they’d hardly known him yet now he seemed like an old friend and when he came knocking at the back door they both hugged him and made him stay for tea. Nell ran out and got herrings and Lillian cut bread and put out jam and even Rachel asked how he was doing. But when they were all sat round the table, drinking their tea from the best service, the one that had gold rims and little blue forget-me-nots, Frank found himself unexpectedly tongue-tied. He had thought there were a lot of things about the war he wanted to tell them but was surprised to discover that the neat triangles of bread and jam and the prettiness of the little blue forget-me-nots somehow precluded him from talking about trench foot and rats, let alone the many different ways of dying he had witnessed. The smell of death clearly had no place in the parlour of Lowther Street, with the snowy cloth on the table and the glass-bead fringed lamp and the two sisters who had such soft, lovely hair that Frank ached to bury his face in it. He was thinking all these things while chewing his bread and casing around desperately for conversation, until with a nervous gulp from the gold and forget-me-nots he said, “That’s a grand cup, you should taste the tea we get” and told them about the chlorinated water in the trenches. When he saw the look of horror on their faces he felt ashamed that he’d ever wanted to talk about death.

They, in turn, told him about Billy Monroe and he tut-tutted² in the right places although secretly he wished he had a mother who could somehow –anyhow- prevent him having to return to the Front because Franck knew he was going to die if he went back to the war. He listened politely while they told him about all the things they were doing – they showed him their knitting – they’d stopped knitting for the Belgians and now they were knitting socks for soldiers, and Nell told him about her new job, making uniforms, where she’d just been made a forewoman because of her experience with hats, and Lillian was working as a conductress on the trams and Franck raised both eyebrows and said, ‘Never!’ because he couldn’t imagine a woman conductress and Lillian giggled. The two sisters were so full of life that in the end the war was left more or less unspoken of, except, of course, to say that Jack was well and sent his love and that he hadn’t seen Albert at all but he was a lot safer behind the big guns in the artillery than he would be in the trenches.

And Rachel, the toad in the corner, unexpectedly spoke up and said, “It must be dreadful in those trenches” and Franck shrugged and smiled and said, “Oh, it’s not too bad really, Mrs Barker” and took another drink from his forget-me-not cup.

Kate Atkinson, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, 1995.

¹ the second battle of Ypres: 1915
² he tut-tutted: he made a sound to show his disapproval

1) What is the historical event referred to ?

2) what do the following male characters have in common : Albert, Jack, Frank and Bill ?

3) Focus on Bill.

a. who did he visit when he “came home on leave” (l.1) and what happened during this visit ? (30 words)

b. One character witnessed this episode. What did he or she think about it ? (20-30 words)

c. What about the other neighbours attitude towards this ? (20 words)

4) Put the following events in chronological order :

a. (l.4) : “… Bill Monroe hadn’t gone back when he should have done…”

b. (l.22): “… they made him stay to tea.”

c. (l.3): “… Albert had joined up before any of them.”

d. (l.19) : “Frank came home after the second battle of Ypres…”

e. (l.5) : “His mother barred the front door…”

f. (l.1) : “The first person they knew that came home on leave was Bill Monroe…”

5) Focus on Frank.

a. Why has he come back ? (20 words)

b. Where and with whom does he spend one of his days’ leave ? give full names whenever possible.

c. How is he considered by these characters ? Illustrate your answer with two quotes from the text. (30-40 words)

6) Explain how the war has changed the lives of the female characters. Give examples from the text to illustrate your answer. (60 words)

7) What does Frank really think about what happened to Bill ? (30 words)

8) Explain why “… Frank found himself unexpectedly tongue-tied.” (l.25) ? (50 words)

Comprehension

1. It refers to World War I.

2. They are all soldiers in the trenches and they live in the same town.

3. a) He visited his mother while on leave not wanting to return to the front. He was dragged out of his house despite his mother’s desperate attempt to protect him against the military policemen.
   
   b) Nell found Bill’s behaviour unpatriotic and pathetic. She clearly didn’t understand his cowardice and fear.
   
   c) Contrary to Nell, the other neighbours relate to Mrs. Monroe’s sorrow and misfortune. They understand her outburst of rage and offer their full support.

4. c, f, a, e, d, b

5. a) Frank was granted sick leave because he had been sent to hospital and treated for a septic foot.
   
   b) He paid Mrs Rachel Barker and her daughters Nell and Lillian a visit in their home.
   
   c) The Barkers are delighted to see Frank: “they both hugged him and made him stay to tea” (l.22). They are eager to make him feel comfortable and at home. They want this moment to be remembered: “Nell ran out and got herrings and Lillian cut bread and put out jam…” (l.22-23); “[…] drinking their tea from their best service” (l.24).

6. These women who must have spent most of their time doing household chores have gradually been drawn into the war effort. First, their main activity consisted in knitting socks for the Belgians, a feminine occupation, but now Nell is making uniforms and has been promoted as a forewoman in her factory while Lillian is a tram conductress to Frank’s disbelief.

7. Although he pretends to share their opinion about Bill’s cowardly and unpatriotic attitude, Franck thinks Bill is lucky to have such a mother who would protect him so fiercely. He does not wish to go back to the Front as he knows he is bound to die.

8. When Franck finds himself in this gleaming, perfect setting where he is welcomed as a war hero, he cannot bring himself to shatter their candid and idealized vision of war with a vivid description of the atrocities he witnesses daily in the trenches. This afternoon is a soothing moment where a sense of normality takes over. He wishes he could remain in this dreamlike moment forever.