My Mum's dad Joe Tommy Warren here went away to war and I have a pencil written notebook of his diary thoughts. The intention is to get it onto the computer but really I need to decipher his lovely hand and dictate to a willing typist, to allow some flow.
These are a few of the things I photographed last night.. he was in East Africa / Mombasa and Dar es Salaam..
Joe was a local school teacher, I sometimes think of him a bit like the character in Private Ryan, who had to be in charge but didn't want the guys to know he was 'just' a teacher...but it is so interesting to read his thoughts on war and the people he encountered abroad..
''Declaration of war may have been accompanied with the ringing of bells and expressions of hilarity but deep in the hearts of thousands there was the greatest anxiety.'' August 1914
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| Christmas Card from the Desert |
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| January 1916 from Mombasa to his wife-to-be They married in July 1916 |
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| Staged note to say he was still alive |
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| Christmas message with hint of who would know where he was.. |
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| Birthday note 22-march-1915 .. No recognition of it being a special day. see the note above this date.. Fighting 12 miles from here.. One attempt to round up about 4 to 6 thousand of the enemy. |
Wow, how wonderful that you have this diary and notes from so far back and in such excellent condition. These are all so very interesting. I like history a lot more now than I did when I was in school. These are great for family memories and history. Thank you for sharing.
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