Diary Entry: Went to Catherington for day. Diary notes: Catherington, Hampshire was the home of Cecil & Eve Evershed, KPD’s first cousin and his wife, and later their son Bill and his wife Penny. KPD was close to Cecil, one of her Mother’s nephews, and frequently visited there. Catherington is about 32 miles from Seale, …
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Diary Date: 21st February [1941]
Diary Entry: Went to Godalming & then Guildford. Diary notes: This is roughly a 20 mile round trip, so a long bike ride if KPD used her new bicycle.
Diary Date: 14th February [1941]
Diary Entry: Home for day. Miss Humber to tea. Diary notes: The Humbers were the next door neighbours, and friends, of KPD and her Mother in Broxbourne Road, Orpington. ‘Miss Humber’ refers to Catherine Lucy Violet Humber (c.1889-1975); she remained a friend of KPD until her death and is often referred to in KPD’s diaries.
Diary Date: 12th February [1941]
Diary Entry: Dr immunized boys from diphtheria. Diary notes: The importance of immunization in boarding schools can be seen by the number of times throughout her diaries KPD mentions illness amongst the pupils. The diphtheria vaccine was first widely used in the 1930s, so Cumnor House School was up to date in ensuring pupils were …
Diary Date: 11th February [1941]
Diary Entry: Nurse & I biked round Elstead. Mrs G [Gulland] started pleurisy. Diary notes: Elstead is about 3 miles from Seale. ‘Pleurisy’, an infection of the membrane separating the lungs from the chest cavity, was a serious illness, especially in the days before antibiotics (now the normal treatment for the condition).
Diary Date: 7th February [1941]
Diary Entry: Went to Farnham. Bought bike. Saw “The New Moon” Diary notes: KPD was a keen cyclist for most of her life and owned a number of bikes until her 70s at least. “New Moon” (not ‘the’) was an American musical starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Moon_(1940_film) By Employee(s) of Tooker Litho …
Diary Date: 1st February [1941]
Diary Entry: Went to Farnham for tea. Diary notes: Seale is about 5 miles from Farnham. As this is the first new diary entry for 2 weeks, it is fair to assume that KPD had been kept busy ‘learning the ropes’ in her new school.
Diary Date: 18th January [1941]
Diary Entry: Robin started measles. Diary notes: Robin and Nicky were the children of the Gullands at Cumnor House School. Not surprisngly when one caught measles, the other did!
Diary Date: 17th January [1941]
Diary Entry: Nicky started measles. Boys arrived. Diary notes: Measles was, of course, a serious disease most children caught in childhood. There were 857 deaths from measles in 1940: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-deaths-by-age-group-from-1980-to-2013-ons-data/measles-notifications-and-deaths-in-england-and-wales-1940-to-2013
Diary Date: 13th January [1941]
Diary Entry: Nurse returned ill & I bathed Nicky. Diary notes: Robin and Nicky [‘Nicholas’] were the children of the Gullands at Cumnor House School. More information on Nicky’s life and accomplishments can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/08/nicholas-milner-gulland-obituary [See yesterday’s diary entry for more information on Cumnor House School and Robin].
Aunt Pamela's War 