Olave's diary for 1945                              Index

January 1945

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Transcribed by  Lisa Dunnington 

Mon 1 Jan 1 1945              Hampton Court Palace  “Home”

And now we embark on what – please God – is - or will be? the last year of this hateful war.

Lunch with Mrs. Kennedy, here in the Palace, to meet old Miss Grant, the ex-head of [word omitted] at St. Andrew’s – a charming person.

Annie & Scofield[1] return from their holiday in Devon.

Tue 2 Jan 2 1945             London

To speak at the Cadet Guiders Conference at H.Q.

Eve Muttens [?] Guide Treasurer in Kenya, who I knew there so well, came to lunch

Wed 3 Jan 3 1945

French lesson again[2], and I feel I am now getting on better.

Miss Sneath [Smith?] to do letters

[ different pen ] She does help. But she is very slow, and is really too expensive for me, as I pay her 30/- [£1.50] a week [= £54 in 2023] and some weeks she doesn’t even get through 30 letters for me. So actually I am not sorry that she now says she cannot go on working for me as her other M.P. employer needs more of her time.

Thu 4 Jan 4 1945

Violet Clay[3], & her sister Katty Sergeaunt & Bertram [ditto] to lunch & Dora Little too – dear little friend she is.

(different pen) Her mother is sister of Millicent Knight-Bruce, first divorced wife of my god-father. She died suddenly after being run into by a car last year, a week after coming to lunch with me here. I knew Dora first in 1900 when I was 11 at Cranborne[4]

Fri 5 Jan 5 1945

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Sat 6 Jan  1945   London

To play “ It depends what you mean” with Clare[5] at the Westminster Theatre. Extremely funny and clever skit on the “Brains Trust” – and a bit like Shaw’s plays & a bit like Barrie.

We both enjoyed it a lot. Stayed the night with her in her tiny flat.

Sun 7 Jan 1945

Home again.

Annie & Scofield returned too from spending the night & day at Wokingham for Beryl[6] Court’s coming of age family party. She [Annie] is at times terribly petulant and up against everything and everybody – including her husband and me!

It is rather trying!

Mon  8 Jan  1945

To Queensberry Place and have the most loving talk with my own Darling[7]. He spoke specially of his great happiness in his work now “over there” for the Scouts who are so surprised and pleased when they “wake up” there and see him awaiting them. Also he . . .

Tue 9 Jan 9 1945

. . . . again stressed  how thankful he is to God for allowing him to have such a lovely life here with me  – how good I had been to him, and “Darling I love you” he said – over and over again, and that I was to go on working for Guides because it was so needed.

Wed 10 Jan 10 1945       London

H.Q. Committee.

Hether [?] Kay stayed the night –  ( different pen) most intelligent fine girl, full of the best ideas of guiding,  and doing awfully well as Chief commissioner for Wales

Thu 11 Jan 11 1945      Woking

To Woking. Lunch with Peggy Barne and her nice children – five of them – Patricia the second girl is my god-daughter.

Tea with the Banhams and then to their Guide Pantomime got up and very well done by all the Guides and Guiders, raising funds for the Y.W.C.A.

Fri 12 Jan 12 1945

Bitterly and horribly cold with snow thick on the ground.

Sat 13 Jan 13  1945            London

To London. Renie Crook , who I knew well in Kenya, to lunch, just arrived back here.

Also Enid Cantrell and her girl Joanna – at the Goring.

To Scouters party at Scout H.Q. for overseas and foreign Scout men – a very good nice lot of all kinds, from U.S.A , Canada, West Africa, Poles living in London, Belgian and French ditto.

Sun 14 Jan 14 1945

Dear Babe MacGregor  to lunch. She and I were such friends as children at Bradfield 1905-06 and she’s just the same pleasant thing now.

Mon 15 Jan 15 1945

French lesson again.

Tea with little old Mrs Adam Scott- a very kindly soul- in her flat just outside the Palace gates. She met my Beloved Darling on his trip to South America in 1909.

Tue 16 Jan 16 1945

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Wed 17 Jan 17 1945

Eve Mertthews and husband and two children ( Peter and June – about 14 and 1) to lunch.

Katheen Davies-Cooke to stay the night – C.C. for West Riding South of Yorks, where I toured with her last June. She is one of our nicest and best I think, and quite charming to look at too.

Thu 18 Jan 18  1945                           London

E.A.W.L Committee meeting at Xander Faucus flat in Sloane Street to settle plans for election and Annual Meeting to be held March 1^st.

Mis Hall – Muriel – head of Lones came to stay – dear rather pathetic soul and loves Guides so.

Lives at Parkstone and terribly tied to aged invalid mother.

Fri 19 Jan 19 1945

Josephine Pollock ( nee Reddie) to lunch with her two wee children. The baby - May – is my god-daughter. The husband was Vicar of Dunblane in Scotland and has now just come to Esher.

To a very good film “This happy breed” at Tolworth.

Sat 20 Jan 20 1945                                 Ashford ( Middlesex)

Frightfully wickedly cold!

Had a bit of a chill.

To talk to Local Association at Ashford – the Guide Division about 10 miles away. Rather a dull audience & not well run meeting. Saw a few guides but the Com. had not arranged it very well. Got away quickly and popped into bed at 6.0 to get warm!

Sun 21 Jan 21 1945

Hubert Howard to tea – Diplomatic son of old Lady H. He is just back for a short spell from Italy where he had seen a lot of the new renaissance there of Scouting & also the new beginnings of Guides in Rome. Such a nice young man and most interesting hearing about Italy.

Mon 22 Jan 22 1945   

Absolutely arctic day, my apartment is fearfully cold & draughty & the “Office of Works” has chosen this very moment to remove the bad ugly useless old stove from the corridor, & will put in a smaller better useful one.

Tue 23 Jan 23 1945

French lesson & then on up to London. Have feet done at Harrods ( Mrs. Hogarth)

To “Sherry Party” here at the Palace of Mrs Cecil Brooke, for her nice sailor son, Henry, who is home on leave & has done so well in a “ naval action” lately. All of “us” of the Palace there.

Wed 24 Jan 24 1945

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Thu 25 Jan 25 1945                                       London

To London, & have talk at the World Bureau with Arethusa, and she lunches with me at Gorringes.

Overseas Guide Committee at H.Q. Verena Clarendon in the Chair & she is going on as “ overseas” Commissioner though she has now given up being C.C. for London

Fri 26 Jan 26 1945

Bitterly & bitingly cold & quite deep snow!

I sat swathed in four layers of wool, rugs, foot muff & electric fires in each room – but even so could not keep warm.

And our W.C. water froze!! But the “Office of Works” coped with it successfully!

Sat 27 Jan 27 1945

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Sun 28 Jan 1945

[Missing ]

Mon  29 Jan 1945

[Missing ]

Tue 30 Jan 1945

Little Margaret Collard, who I took under my wing in Kenya in Feb 1942 has come on leave from Lui, In the Southern Sudan, & so came here to stay.

She needs taking care of.

The stove now complete and fixed and Lit, and looks & is much nicer.

Wed 31 Jan 1945

General Lafour [?] , Chief Scout for France, and M. Delour[?], the International Commissioner for the Scouts of France, came down to lunch and talk.

Edna and Clifford Banham & Dora Little came to help me entertain them. A bit of practice in talking French! They were so nice and most interesting about France in the war years.

February 1945

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Transcribed by Amanda Duckett

Thu 1 Feb 1945

Dr Tichlin [?] came to see Annie; and also to advise me about my far too great weight. I have put on a lot and feel so horrid & hideous 

11 stone 11 ½!

So he prescribes pills and diet; knocking off bread, potatoes, porridge etc.

Fri 2 Feb 1945

A dressmaker – Miss Standley – collected through an advertisement in the “Surrey Comet” came along and will do alterations and mendings.             

Sat 3 Feb 1945

To a most interesting lecture in French by a Mlle Elizabeth Casset just over from France,

And arranged at Richmond by the “Circle Francais” telling of the conditions over there and how

They lived and did “resistance” through all through the German occupation

Sun 4 Feb 1945

Sir Philip and Gwen Game came over from West Ham to lunch – a dear couple.

We stayed with them in Sydney twice when he was Governor of New South Wales. He is now

Still head of the London Police & will be helpful – we hope? – for Geoffrey when the war is over.

Mon 5 Feb 1945                           London

To London and have a film made of the second  G.I.S team, shortly going off to do “relief work” in Holland. “ acted” for the films at St.James’ Palace & at H.Q. & have tea with them

With speeches of farewell to them – about 27- and their fine leader Dr. Meredith Ross from Australia.

Tue 6 Feb 1945                         London

Cynthia Hill ( Penholder) to stay. She is so sweet. She “wrote” in the evening for my Darling- such a wonderful letter telling of how he is helping to comfort the Scouts who have been killed in Poland, & brings their spirits to be refreshed here in my room!

Wed 7 Feb 1945              Eastbourne

To Eastbourne. Stay with nice Kathleen Bowen, the Div. Com. & her old mother. Excellent Meeting in the Town Hall for public and parents etc. Lady Mayor presiding ( Miss Hudson) & Duchess of Devonshire as Div President did the “ vote of thanks”. Tea with local Assoc.

Rally of about 500 guides with Singalong and a talk from me; & then meet all the Guiders for supper afterwards. Eastbourne was terribly badly bombed – both in the Battle of Britain & with the flying bombs and most of the people who could went away.

They are now returning, and this is the re-starting of Guides again more or less & they have been splendid in carrying on even as well as they have.

Thu 8 Feb 1945          London

To London. See Marshall about my Will , now made up to date. Call at East African Dependencies Office. Stay at the Grosvenor Hotel with Penholder, and she takes me to a wonderful play “Tomorrow the World” all about a German Nazi boy – a most telling play & a marvellous boy actor called David O’Brien

Fri 9 Feb 1945

Home again with Penholder, and I have asked her to go to France with me – when we can go across soon..

Her friend, Lord Dowding, came from Wimbledon to lunch and talked to me – mainly about life after death, which he has written books about. Awfully interesting.

Penholder went away.

Sat 10 Feb 1945                    London

To lunch at Hyde Park Hotel with Ida Copeland, ( different pen) as she suddenly telephoned & wanted to see me –( original pen) not for any special reason really!

Sun 11 Feb 1945                           London

Wrote letters literally from 7.0 a.m. to 5.0.p.m. and got through 23.

Two Dutch boys, who met Annie’s Geoffrey in Holland, to tea and most interesting about their life there under the Germans.

Mon 12 Feb 1945

French lesson – and got on a bit better.

Tea with Edith Bertram – the dear sweet. She is 82, and we always get on like a house on fire together.

She has always been a cripple but is so amusing and had a happy life with her “judge” who fell in love with her on first sight.

Tue 13  Feb 1945                  London

To London. World Committee meeting.

Margaret Collard and M. [?] Renou[?] to lunch at the Goring.

He has just got back from his visit to Scouts in France and Switzerland, and says they are eagerly awaiting my coming over to see them. I have “ cold feet” rather about this trip I am to make, and wonder how I can be of real use.

Wed 14 Feb 1945             London

Guide H.Q. Committee

Got back via Kingston which is almost as quick as the usual way to Hampton Court Station.

Got things a bit ready for my tea party ( tomorrow) for all my fellow “ Palace Ladies”. Two ( Mrs Robert Keith and Lady Gough) died last month.

Thu 15 Feb 1945

Tea Party – and the following came.

Lord and Lady Birdwood; Edith Bertram; Mrs Baynes and Mrs Cecil Brooke; Mr and Mrs Cory; Mr. Boston; Enid Clayton; Miss Connolly; Col. Davidson-Houghton; Mrs Karri-Davies[?] ;Mrs Jennings Bramley; Olga Manning; the two Mances[?]; Mr Grant; Mrs Glendy Grant [?] ;Lady Harcourt -Smith; Mrs Brown; Dulcie Arbuthnott; Lady Twining; Mrs Offley-Shore; Mrs Sefton-Jones; Mr [Mrs?]and Miss Seymour – Barrow; Mr (Rev) and Miss Veney; Sir Stewart Hare; Lady Scott; Mrs Pashe[?] ;Mrs O’Rorke. . . .

Fri 16 Feb 1945

. . . . They all seemed to enjoy themselves, and Annie managed the food and drink marvellously and I

spread out the chairs and china into the three rooms, so that they could sit and talk in twos and threes!

Tirzah [?] Barnes to stay – Diploma’s [?] Guider, formerly in India , extremely clever, and deeply religious

Sat 17 Feb 1945

Tirzah left, to return to her “house” that she is head of at Cheltenham College. ( different pen – She died in 1957)

Cough very troublesome and barked all night, and felt mouldy

Sun 18 Feb 1945                          Hampton

Guide Church service at Hampton for local Guides and Scouts and some from nearby Districts – about 600. Led Promise in Church; talk out of doors and later also at Camp Fire ( different pen) –

In the Parish Hall, run rather sketchily by some Cadets with great good humour

Mon 19 Feb 1945         

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Tue 20 Feb 1945                    Windsor Castle

Violet Synge fetches me for a visit to her Buckingham Palace company at Windsor Castle. Great fun – an ordinary “ company meeting” and I talked to them about the “ [?]”, [?] and Gides generally. Princess Margaret is a P.L. and loves it. Had tea with her after the meeting in the school-room and Miss Crawford her very nice [?] governess.

Wed 21 Feb  1945

Margaret comes again – dear little soul.

The Scouts have found and chosen their new “ chief Scout” - Lord Rowallan. He sounds ideal

And wrote me a beautiful letter in response to mine, welcoming him to his great task.

Thu 22 Feb  1945            Thinking Day

To London. To Scout H.Q. to hear Lord Rowallan elected by the Council.

Read Prayers at Guide H.Q.  at midday for the office staff. Lunched with Margaret. To Scout County Council meeting to see them welcome their new Chief Scout.

Broadcast 3 minute message for Thinking Day, at end of a Guide programme. Overseas Guide party of about 200 at H.Q. with tea and talk

Fri 23 Feb  1945

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Sat 24 Feb 1945                      Finchley

To Guides “ Birthday Party” of Finchley District – Miss Echstein’s lot, nice cheery little crowd. She is Commissioner in Middlesex and London and a friendly person and a good friend ( in different pen)-

To me and Guides and is on “The Ark” committee.

P.S. She died in March suddenly having an operation.

Sun 25 Feb 1945

Cough better at last. Good walk in Bushey Park and otherwise did letters all day and got through 53 thanks for messages.

Mon 26 Feb 1945

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Tue 27 Feb 1945

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Wed 28 Feb  1945

Arethusa Leigh-White to lunch, just got back from being in Paris for a few days seeing Guide people, and planning what I shall do over there when she and I go there together soon.

March 1945

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Transcribed by Amanda Duckett

 Thu 1 Mar 1945                          London

E.A.W.L Annual meeting. Record attendance of 107 of our 200 members. The new committee is elected by postal ballot and Xantie[?] Francis is elected chairman in my stead, as I did not want to continue longer. ( different pen) I can retire content at having put this “ England Branch”  on its feet, as a sort of “ appendix” to what I did for the League in Kenya.

Fri 2 Mar 1945                             Our Ark

Supper at “ our Ark”

( different pen)

Ran up after tea to join the “students” and “ guests” for supper.

They are a funny mixed bag, some of other nationalities and some British with a few “ G.I.S” people thrown in/

Sat 3 Mar 1945                         London

French lesson. Lunch with Joṡe Dormen[?] at Forum Club, and then go to look for the house where my Beloved was born – No.6 Stanhope Street off Bayswater Road. Find the old house is all to pieces, battered, and empty and looks as if it had been partially blitzed and is going to be pulled down. There are still three other houses – also battered – . . .

Sun 4 Mar 1945

on each side of it and these have all been renumbered as “ Stanhope Terrace” and marked “ late Stanhope Street” and I only found it because of No.5 – crossed out – and “late 7 Stanhope Street” marked on the pillar of the one on the other side – all on a bit leading down from Sussex Square to Bayswater Road. I must get a drawing of it.

Mon 5 Mar 1945

To tea yesterday with Gwen and Sir Philip Game at Ham Common.

French lesson again, and I am improving by slow degrees and Miss Tait is so helpful and patient with me.

Tue 6 Mar 1945

Os Smyth[8] to supper – elder son of Olwen and Nevill[9] (who died in 1941) cousins in Australia.

who we stayed with in 1931 and 1934.

He is in the Welsh Guards and was damaged in Italy and is stationed for a bit at Kingston. ( different pen) A nice young fellow – quiet and intelligent.

Wed 7 Mar 1945

To London. Dora Little lunches with me at the Goring and then takes me to see “Emma” awfully well acted and most attractive.

( different pen)

N.B. Os Smyth did awfully well in the Australian Diplomatic Service later in Japan and Korea and then was drowned trying to rescue a friend when on holiday in Formosa on his way home to Australia in

( about?) 1955

Thu 8 Mar 1945

Take Annie and Scofield to see “How are they at home”[10], well acted at the Wimbledon theatre.( different pen) I had seen and enjoyed it in London, and it is quite witty, and shows the sort of things that happen in this new topsey turvey war time England.

Fri 9 Mar 1945

French lesson and then up to London. Shop and interview with Dr. Macaulay at the Middlesex County Council Office re a nurse wanting to go to Kenya.

Sat 10 Mar 1945                          [Paddington]

To “Reunion” of the Camping Club of which I am a Vice President. Crowded and noisy but a great success. Take Helen [Anderson?] Margaret etc to beautiful film of Henry V. Sleep at Great Western Hotel, Paddington. ( different pen) Poor little Margaret had sprained and almost broken her ankle, and was in pain all night there.

Sun 11 Mar 1945

Take Margaret ( who had hurt her ankle rather badly) to Worcester and dump her into Florence Heavercomb’s [?] care there. On to Malvern and stay with Alice Baines at St. James’.

Enrol Guides and Cadets of the school which now has 4 companies- and 160 girls – (different pen)

And gave them a talk. Alice just the same – but a bit aged and immobile.

Mon 12 Mar 1945                      (St. James’) Malvern

Walk don to see Mrs Harrisson at Mathon [?] Court. Jill Everett’s confirmation and I came down to be there as her godmother. Her mother (Joyce) and her grandmother ( Rita) also there. A very nice service and the Bishop of Worcester ( Cash) did it well and gave them a very nice talk. (different pen) Tea with the Everett family at their “ boarding House” along the road

Tue 13 Mar 1945

Early train, with Rita, to London.

Home.

Wed 14 Mar 1945

Guide HQ committee. Lunch with Piers [?] and Margaret Power at the Lansdowne Club.

World Committee all afternoon. (different pen) These meetings are always rather long, and a bit tedious, and we never get completely through the over-well filled agenda.

Thu 15 Mar 1945

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Fri 16 Mar   1945                             Lewes

To Lewes. Reception by Mayor and address Public Meeting in Town Hall. Nice friendly audience. A Mr. Robinson of Newick gave a site and £4000 for a local Scout and Guide H.Q. to be built. Rally of Guides in School with Sing-song and talk from me and catch train then with the Godmans and return to stay with them at South Lodge.

Sat 17 Mar 1945                             Bognor

Go over with the Els [?] by road to Bognor, picnic lunching on the way. Rally of about 700 Guides and Brownies. Very jolly lot, from surrounding villages. Tea with Guiders, and then nice meeting of local Assoc. members – all so pleasant and interested. Back to South Lodge for the night.

Sun 18 Mar 1945

Leave South Lodge and get home before lunch.

The two “E”s – Eva and Edith are carrying on the farm, estate, garden, their house in Pont Street and everything exactly the same as when Dame Alice was alive. And they are now joint County Commissioners for Sussex Guides

Mon 19  Mar 11119 1945

Went down to Bentley and Percy Everett and the new Chief Scout ( Lord Rowallan) came to Pax to see it – and Hilda Hailey and Joyce Matthews also – from Guide H.Q. to “inspect” it all preparatory to starting up the place for Guides as soon as maybe.[11] Wet grey day unluckily; but it was nice to welcome the new Chief Scout in our old home.

Tue 20 Mar 1945

French lesson

Tea party here – Dora Little, Edna Banham, Lord and Lady Birdwood; Mr and Mrs Philip Powell; Mr and Mrs Knapp ( new person at Hampton) old Col. Christie Cranfield and Miss Hodge who is going out to teach at St. Andrews School at Turi ( Kenya)

Wed 21  Mar 1945

With Enid Clayton to London and she will do a drawing of the house where my Darling was born – See Mar 4^th -So we go and look at it together.

Then I go to have an hour’s lovely talk with my own Darling through Mrs Bedford. Lovely it was and so comforting. . . .

Thu 22 Mar 1945

. . . He said he was glad I was going to France, and that I would be away some time. We talked of all the happy times we had together. And he kept saying: “ I love you darling” – and now as much as ever and I am watching and waiting – as I told you I would – and he ended with “ come again soon – and before you go”.

Fri23  Mar 1945

French lesson.

To London after tea.

[Winn?] Everett to dine with me at Paddington Hotel and I sleep there very comfily.

Air raid alerts twice and a doodle-bug crashed not far away, shaking the place considerably.

Sat 24 Mar 1945                                   Gloucester

To Gloucester. Lunch with a Guide D.C. Mrs Lowry, Rally of a few Guides and Rangers outside school hall, and then do a Guiders meeting – talks and tea and camp fire. Nancy Pone (C.C.) then takes me on to Cheltenham for Rally of Guides and Brownies – about 350. Stay with Tirzah Barnes at St. Helen’s her college “house”.

Sun 25 Mar 1945

Have “Pen” and her General Browne to lunch with me at “The Plough” Hotel. They were with us going to Kenya in 1938 and at Nyeri. Rally of all the Cheltenham College Guides and Cadets ( in quarantine so they could not come to last night’s Rally) Find my cousin Audrey Hill is also a House Mistress here. See Miss Popham, the head for a few moments. She was formerly head of Westonbirt school when my Bet was there ,in

Mon 26 Mar 1945

Home. Annie’s boy, Geoffrey here (on leave from Holland) with his wife, Nan

Tue 27 Mar 1945

French lesson. I am better than I was, but it isn’t easy to learn when I have so much else to think about.

Take Annie to see nice film “The Constant Nymph”[12] at Wimbledon.

Wed 28 Mar 1945

A nice young Belgian Scout – just arrived from Brussels and now in our own Navy – called in with his Belgian Guide cousin. It is marvellous to hear how the Scouts over there have gone on Scouting hard and even increased in number – in spite of the Germans.

Thu 29 Mar 1945

To Bentalls[13] to shop and lunch.

French lesson – and made use of it by writing and correcting with Miss Tait, some letters to Guides in French, thanking some in Orange and in Brussels for their messages to me on “Thinking Day”.

Fri 30 Mar 1945

Lindis Maitland[14], formerly Island Com. for Jersey, went on the ‘Calgaric’ Guiders Cruise etc and sort of half aunt of Gervas’  to tea. Also Miss Tait.

(different pen) She has helped me so much over these French lessons and I owe her a lot for having given me a certain amount of confidence.

Sat 31 Mar 1945

Annie and Co to theatre in London.

To excellent film at Kingston “Wilson”[15] – about President Wilson and his election and his great difficulty in the U.S.A over the 1^st war and the struggle to get them – unsuccessful as it was – to join fully in the League of Nations. A stirring story.

April 1945

Sun 1 Apr 1945

To church – and sat with Edith Bertram.