War diaries reveal hardship and tea and sympathy

Doreen Wright began writing her diaries shortly after her husband Gilbert, an RAF flight officer, was reported missing in action over France in May, 1940.

Mrs Wright lived in Wootton Court, Leek Wootton, between Kenilworth and Warwick, and wrote them in the form of letters to her husband for him to read on his return, often signing off with “Goodnight darling”.

The were intended to let him know how they coped, the emotions they felt and the horror of the bomb damage she witnessed in Leamington, Lillington and Coventry and poignant references to her concerns about her husband’s welfare.

Jim Eldridge, chairman of Leek Wootton History Group, said: “The good thing about this is that the diary was put away and not touched or edited in any way. At the core of Doreen’s story is her indomitable spirit, which is not only evident in her diaries, but in her achievements throughout her life.”

In her youth Mrs Wright won a gold medal for swimming in the 1930 British Empire Games and played ice hockey for England.

Trained in textile design at the Royal College of Art, she was commercially successful and sold her designs to leading companies such as Sandersons.

Mr Eldridge said: “They were a privileged family, it was a big house and they had staff, but what comes out is how time was spent looking after the children, how ill they were and how cold it was. They took in evacuees from Coventry and she put down her thoughts on the devastation.”

Mrs Wright stopped keeping a diary in December, 1942, when she gave up hope that her husband was alive and enough official evidence was provided to convince her that he was killed in action.

The diaries were discovered in a loft at her home in Buckinghamshire after Mrs Wright’s death in 2003, aged 95.

Mr Eldridge said the diaries have been described as “quite unique”, by Robert Malcolmson, emeritus professor of history at Queen’s University, Ontario.

Prof Malcolmson said: “Doreen Wright’s diary is a diary of quality. The extracts I’ve seen inspire confidence that hers is a diary worth bringing to the attention of a wider readership. This diary also has an unusual perspective, for it is written in the form of letters to her missing husband whom she hopes is still alive - I have seen only one other wartime diary composed in this manner - and consequently has an intensity rooted in her love for him and a desperate hope that he will return to her.

Publication of the Mrs Wright’s diaries was made possible with a £36,700 grant from the Lottery Heritage Fund and partnership with Warwickshire’s county record office and the heritage education team.

Leek Wootton History Group is keen to record the thoughts of people who were bombed out of Coventry and who rook refuge in the village and surrounding area. Phone 854347.

l An introduction to Dooreen Wright, her life story and the history group’s project will be held at Leek Wootton Village Hall, Friday, July 1, at 7.30m. Tickets cost £5 and include an interval drink.