Reading War Diaries - 306 HAA Battery & 75 HAA Regiment, RA

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by Lee1983, Oct 23, 2022.

  1. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    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
     
  2. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    What would be an estimate on the number of pages that need translation? What unit was your grandfather a part of?
     
  3. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    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.
     
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  4. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    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.
     
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  5. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    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.
     

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    Last edited: Oct 26, 2022
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  6. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

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  7. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

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  8. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    WO166/2366 more pages.
     

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  9. JDKR

    JDKR Member

    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....
     
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  10. JDKR

    JDKR Member

    Are you still needing help? I have ‘translated’ one page easily but perhaps it was the easiest!
     
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  11. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    I would be grateful for your help
     
  12. JDKR

    JDKR Member

    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
     

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  13. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    Thank you ever so much for taking the time to do this. It is very much appreciated.
     
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  14. JDKR

    JDKR Member

    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
     

    Attached Files:

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  15. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    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.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2023
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