Hi, Is there anyone on here good at reading hand written war diary entries as I am trying to research my grandfathers time during ww2 but large sections of the regiment war diaries are hand written and I cannot interpret them. I would be grateful for any help. Many thanks
What would be an estimate on the number of pages that need translation? What unit was your grandfather a part of?
I've transcribed a few months' worth, but the skill is only partially transferrable: if you are familiar with the jargon used by the specific kind of unit the diary comes from, and the author's handwriting wasn't woefully eccentric, it's often just a process of comparison and induction, but if you have no expectation of which terms and phrases are likely to appear, it can be a slog. I'll have a go at any infantry or field artillery diary you'd like to post here, but we'd be best to handle it collectively to break the workload up and double check one another's assumptions.
It might not be a bad idea to post a sample page of the sort of entries that you need help with. The quality of the copies (both originally and the recent scans) make a big difference.
War Diaries in general are not a good read, not for me at any rate. They are a series of notes written day by day or even weekly. If the Regiment is in action, they are often abrupt and disjointed unless written up some time later in the cool light of an RHQ office. Reports are accumulated by RHQ and often written to suit the CO's desire to put his Regiment in good Light. (See attached by a WW2 Major and Battery Commander, no doubt with a chip on his shoulder) On the whole I enjoy transcribing Service Records and on occasions War Diary pages but a whole diary is a completely different sorry. One thing that I have discovered recently whilst transcribing Service records, is the use of a Smart Phone with which I take screen shots then expand sections of the writing. I delete the pages once finished. This can however be a slow process, some Records taking days to complete. A lot of time is spent looking through files, books and websites to establish context etc. By the time I am ready to post someone has often beaten me to it. It's amazing how this stimulates one's retirement, as once you begin to concentrate, the phone begins to ring, we need to go shopping and the dog requires attention. Then of course there is the family calling Gran and Grandpa on Whats App. It's often long after midnight when I slope off to bed and log in again midmorning.
Sorry for the delay in responding to the replies on my post the first diary is WO166/2580. Some pages are very poor quality. I would be grateful for anyone who can read them or has a better quality copy. ANTI-AIRCRAFT COMMAND: HEAVY ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERIES: 306 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery... | The National Archives Reference: WO 166/2580 Description: ANTI-AIRCRAFT COMMAND: HEAVY ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERIES: 306 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery (HAA). Date: 1940 Mar.- 1941 Apr.
The other diary is WO166/2366. There are 12 pages which I am struggling to read as the hand writing is very hard to read. ANTI-AIRCRAFT COMMAND: HEAVY ANTI-AIRCRAFT REGIMENTS: 75 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment... | The National Archives Reference: WO 166/2366 Description: ANTI-AIRCRAFT COMMAND: HEAVY ANTI-AIRCRAFT REGIMENTS: 75 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment (HAA). Date: 1941 Mar.-Dec.
Funnily enough I can read the hand-written pages relatively easily. The type-written pages are slightly out of focus and much less legible. Now for the frustrating bit for which I apologise - I'm afraid at the moment I just don't have the time on my hands to give you help. Perhaps at some point in the future....
Morning Lee1983 - here are your first three WD pages. Not difficult but I have highlighted in yellow any words I cannot decipher or I'm not sure about. I will do more when time allows. Best John
Here are the remainder. I would have liked to have 'translated' your files (5) and (6) but I'm afraid they are too out of focus. Hope this helps your research. Best John
Thanks to the time spent by JDKR on transcriptions of the diaries, I can add a little from the other end of Essex. On the minor entries, I have looked at the Essex Record Office ( ERO ) website. "Hargreaves Park" is unknown, but "Hargrave Park, Stanstead" is. Think of Stansted Airport area, where all the world leaders fly to when there is a coronation, etc. ( Note that Stansted Airport is spelt without the "A". ) There is another Stanstead Hall, where the late Lord "Rab" Butler had his home. "9 June 1941 233 Battery carried out Musketry Practice at RAINHAM Rifle Range." This site has photographs Rainham Marsh Firing Ranges - Beyond the Point ERO has a couple of references.