Tue May 8th 1945
Great V E day war over
in Europe no more fighting
for all the brave men and
women who have
saved us from
untold horror
no ore sirens no more fear
and ahead no more bombing
Thank God and may
We never forget his mercy
This is the entry in Agnes Podd’s diary, held in the Norfolk records office and which sums up the relief she, and everyone else, felt at the end of war in Europe. She had kept this diary since 1st January 1938 and recorded the every day activities and thoughts of an ordinary woman living through an extraordinary time. Throughout this scary, unusual period she continued to detail the day to day activities of her life whilst also recording the falling of bombs and the wailing of sirens. This is a truly fascinating insight into the experiences, thoughts and feelings of a local woman who lived through hardship and joy, set against the backdrop of war.
Agnes was 71 when she began the diary, having been born in 1866. She was married to Frederick, was living in Doris Road, Norwich and had four children, Frederick, Sidney, Lily and Jessie, all of whom are mentioned within the diary.
She began the diary with a series of entries listing trips to see her family, the purchase of sheets, dress materials, teacloths, blankets, tablecloths and curtain material. These every day activities must have been a break for her as we are also given a glimpse of the other part of her life. She mentions Dad (her husband) spending the day in bed and the Doctor coming to see Freddie (her son), giving him some new tablets instead of his other medicine. For the whole of the period that the diary covers we come to know just how life limiting these illnesses were, not just for her husband and son but also for Agnes. At the start of the diary there was also bad news in the form of a letter informing her that ‘Mrs Gardiner caught a chill on Xmas Sunday which turned to pneumonia and was buried on the 12 of January (very sad).’
Throughout 1938 and 1939 she records family visits, trips to Sheringham, Scratby, Yarmouth and Earlham Park as well as to ‘Bacton for a little trip with L, J and baby, harvest started in some places, country lovely everywhere.’ We also have weather reports ‘nice summer day’, ‘bitter cold today’ and, on Christmas day in 1938, ‘the weather like the old time Christmas snow 12 inches deep’. These insights into a time most of us cannot remember are fascinating and bring to life the minutiae of daily life during the period. But life was also hard as she is still looking after Dad, who spends much of his time in bed resting, and Freddie, who is sometimes at home but frequently in hospital, which means she worries even more.
In January 1939 Agnes is ill in bed herself and when she gets up on Thursday 5th January she is ‘very shaky. Fred very ill great worry Doctor says something must be done as I can’t carry on any longer’. Freddie was much worse the next day and two days later he was taken into a home and she hoped he ‘will be cured soon and all will be well again’. Unfortunately, this movement from home to hospital and back again was to continue throughout the rest of Freddie’s life.
In June 1939 she reports that they had strawberries for the first time that year but it was so cold that they had a fire. On the 19th of June it was ‘wet all day’ Dad was in bed, she hadn’t been out and she ‘sat by the fire alone’. By August 1939 Agnes is praying for peace and that the ‘war clouds may pass away and we may live peaceably again God grant it’. However on Friday 1st September her diary entry is ‘they gave out on the wireless that war has started today it seems to (sic) terrible to be true’. The following day there was no more war news but still they darkened all their windows that night.
Sunday Sept 3rd – very hot today
Dad in bed all day
Lily Sid Mar to tea all the rest
of the family to see us
nothing fresh today – war declared
This entry is made more shocking by the matter of fact way that she notes the start of the war – but what else could an ordinary woman do, but carry on with her life as best she could.
Monday Sept 4th wakened at 3 o’clock
in the morning by sirens but
false alarm all very upset
Despite the declaration of war and the fear, life seemed to carry on as normal, on the surface at least. Agnes continued to take Freddie to have his treatments. Sometimes he was ill in bed, at others he was well enough to join her on trips locally, including to Dunstan Common where they picked blackberries. In October ‘Jessie Fred Mar Mary and I went blackberrying at Shotesham found a very nice place just past where we got the honey we got 6 jars of honey’. The following day she made ‘blackberry jelly for Jessie and myself. Mrs Spicer passed away today’.
Dad spent most of his time in bed, often not getting up until tea time. Most days she had one of her children visit for their tea or she visited them, but she is feeling did sometimes feel very alone. On Monday 16th October 1939 she records that she is ‘feeling very depressed as Mrs Spicer was buried today nearly all my dear old friends have gone and I miss them very much’.
She had a series of people helping her at home, there is mention of Olive, Laura and Mrs Smith. Confusingly, one of her helpers was called Lily, not to be confused with her daughter of the same name. We find out that she ‘had to tell Lily about her work, and being late, think she had better leave’, which Lily did. A new girl starts but is
‘very strange very rude to me refused to do what I wanted so I sent her off after dinner paid her 4/6 and stamped her card that was the finish of her’.
Following Jessie’s call to an agency Agnes has ‘3 girls call today none suitable’ but a day later she sees another woman who she ‘thinks will be alright… hope we shall get settled this time’. When the woman, Mrs Smith, starts Agnes thinks she is very ‘cheerful and capable’ and a few days later Agnes reports that ‘Mrs Smith getting on nicely shall be very glad if she goes on the same’. Mrs Smith cooks the Christmas Dinner and Agnes records, in early January, that she is so glad to have Mrs Smith as she is just the sort of woman she wants as she can’t do much herself. This is clearly reflected in an entry from mid-February when Mrs Smith has been away for 10 days and Agnes says she ‘got through somehow but terrible muddle’. At this point Agnes was now 73 and one can only imagine how lonely she must have felt at times, with the worry of a husband and son who were both ill, and war hanging over the city too.
Throughout 1940 and 1941 life continues. There are air raids, family visits, jam making, storms, bombs which destroy houses, weather reports and illnesses. Both Dad and Freddie continue to need care. There are diary entries which again mention collecting honey and blackberries but this time sirens also get a mention on the same day.
By 1942 life has been continuing in this war/normality vein for more than 18 months. In March Agnes goes to see Yeoman of the Guard, she received her ‘monthly allowance of a 1lb tin of Chivers Old English Marmalade and a 2lb jar of Smedlers Strawberry Jam’. Freddie is playing trombone in a band and giving lessons from home. On April 26th Agnes and Freddie (Snr) celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary. That night the bombing raids of Norwich that come to be known as the Baedekker raids begin. There are several entries which detail damage done to buildings in the area but Agnes’ house was not hit.
On the 15th August 1945 Agnes’ diary records
‘Thank God the war is over in Japan. V J Day
Went to Jessie’s to tea and heard
the King’s speech then went out
to see the fires and fireworks
went through the city and on top
of Mousehole where we could see
the whole city Mary and Janet
enjoyed it very much they had
never been out so late at night
nor seen such a sight on streets
lighted up it was all like fairy
land to them and a night they will
never forget’
The diary ends on November 22nd 1945 with
‘Freddie is home again after 8 months
in Hospital with Rheumatism in
hands and legs has had 23 gold injections
is better but still not able to walk
properly but is glad to be home again’
Agnes Podd died on 22 December 1948 in the Grove House Nursing Home in Norwich, and her son, Freddie, died in 1951.
Researched and written by Sharon Nightingale
Norfolk Record Office 