The Ds

Dorothea and Dick lean out of their train window in the BBC adaptation Swallows and Amazons Forever!

The Ds are Dick Callum and Dorothea Callum. As a pair they are usually listed in that (alphabetical) order, Dick and Dorothea, often abbreviated to Dick and Dot in speech. Other terms for the pair include the D's, the Picts and the Scarabs (PM).

Dorothea is older than Dick: In matters like these (signalling), though she was the elder of the two, she always felt that Dick knew best (WH2). The Japanese translations of the books say that Dorothea is older than Dick.

Dorothea thinks that Peggy can not be much older than herself despite being one of the four elders (WH4), though later she is one of the brats with Dick, Titty and Roger (WH12). Sammy the policeman finds Dorothea's sandshoe prints under the trees, and that that Peggy's sandshoes are the same size as Dot's got biggish hoofs for her size. He concludes that the Beckfoot burglary was the Amazons up to some game (PM21).

Dick's recommendations however carry the weight of expert 'scientific' opinion and are often deferred to by Dot. When they are Signalling to Mars from the barn, Dorothea always felt that Dick knew best as he could think out things like this better than anybody although he could not make up stories about people. But Dorothea's instructions to Dick are delivered with some authority and usually complied with, eg (like Susan with Titty and Roger) telling Dick not to stand in the middle of the road (WH8). But when the cautious Dorothea was on the point of saying that Dick had better not go (on the sailing sledge) she stopped herself in time. She knew Dick's face very well, and one glance at it showed that at that moment it would not be any use to try to keep him back (WH16).

Dorothea lives in London as she had been seen off by her mother at Euston. Dick, coming straight from school, had joined the train at Crewe. For Dot: London last night, and now Beckfoot. (PM2)

In Winter Holiday the Ds are accompanied on the train north by Mrs Dixon as she says that Mrs Callum gave them (the return tickets etc.) to me just as we were catching the train (WH9). In Coot Club they travel unaccompanied on the train (CC1); and also in The Picts and the Martyrs, when Dot is seen off by her mother at Euston .... and Dick.... had joined the train at Crewe {PM2}.

The D’s are referred to as "town children" in Winter Holiday:

• Good for those two town children thinks Nancy (WH20).
• Susan says People oughtn’t to be allowed to be brought up in towns (WH27).
• John thinks of Dorothea, a little town girl (WH27).
• When Dorothea hears the noise of sawing and hammering for the new sledge she says to Dick that the sheep’s died after all, and I can hear them making the coffin (WH13).

The Ds are a very loyal partnership, and cooperate to solve problems.