Category Archives: Uncategorized

Diary Entry: Took Batty Reg[ent’s] Park & Curzon St Diary notes: KPD mentions both a ‘Lt Batty’ and a ‘Captain Batty’ in her diary – possibly the same person.

Diary Entry: Back Wembley 11 pm. Diary notes: A late return home. One wonders what KPD’s work had been the rest of the day! 

Diary Entry: On downs. N[orth] of Rottingdean. Diary notes: Preston barracks is near Rottingdean.  

Diary Entry: Went to Brighton. Hessy & Steve & Winnie Bushell. Slept Preston Bks [‘Barracks’] Martin there. Diary notes: ‘Martin’ is Martin Dell (1904-1958), KPD’s eldest brother. During the war he served in the Home Front with the Honourable Artillery Company, reaching the rank of Major.

Diary Entry: Drove Cmdt. District on rushes  Night Orc[hard] cot[tage]. Home after lunch Sunday. Diary notes: ‘Rushes’ refers to the raw film shot during one day. See: https://www.mediacollege.com/glossary/r/rushes.html  A busy day – driving, then to her friends the Lewis family for Saturday night before going home (nearby Orpington) the next day. 

Diary Entry: Pinner Diary notes: One of the shortest entries in KPD’s diaries (which cover over nearly 80 years in all). This refers to more work based round the film studios.  See the blog for 14th June 1944 for more details. 

Diary Entry: Ickenham Diary notes: More work based round the film studios.  See the blog for 14th June 1944 for more details. 

Diary Entry: Ickenham-Swakeleys. Slept kitchen. Diary notes: More work based round the film studios. See the blog for 14th June 1944 for more details. In the larger picture of WW2, sleeping in the kitchen probably wasn’t a great hardship – but KPD thought it unusual enough to mention it. 

Diary Entry: Tea Orc.[hard] Cot[tage]. Diary notes: Orchard Cottage, Crofton (near Farnborough, Kent) was the home of the Lewis family, former employers of KPD who became good friends.

Diary Entry: Home for night. Lot of alerts. Diary notes: Home for KPD was still her Mother’s home, 35 Broxbourne Road, Orpington, Kent; as this is south-east of central London, many V1s flying from occupied Europe would pass overhead.