Visitor's Book

Edith Elizabeth Appleton O.B.E. R.R.C.

Edie's website visitors' book

Extracts from Edie's diaries were serialised on the BBC Radio 4 programme Afternoon Readings
at 3.30pm on Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 November 2009.
They are no longer available on BBC iPlayer but you can still listen again. More information here.

Click here to write in the Visitors' Book
All messages will be responded to by email.

Thanks so much to all of you for writing in the Visitors Book. Getting feedback like yours has really made all the hard work worthwhile. I have only included parts of a few of my replies below; for example, when someone raises a general point which needs an explanation or response.

Regarding a possible book, which many people have asked about, we are still trying to get a publisher interested. We do have have one or two irons in the fire and maybe now the readings have gone out one will be keen and get in touch with us. If there’s any significant news on this I shall post it on Edie’s website.

If you are a publisher out there reading this, have a look below at how many people are asking for a book and then please contact me via the Visitors Book! Dick Robinson

name: Robin Cochrane
country: England
Date: August 23, 2010
Time: 14:41:13

I will shortly be visiting Ypres where my great grandfather was killed in 1917 so I was interested when Dick Robinson (who lives in the same village) suggested I look at the Edie Appleton website. I've been fascinated – the diaries are depressingly factual about the sights and sounds of the horrific war yet Edie was still able to go walking and shopping, and enthuse about the countryside. It's remarkable that anyone could stay sane when exposed to such appalling conditions for so long. I shall certainly be thinking of Edie as well as my great grandfather during my visit. Thank you Dick for giving me the chance to read about a remarkable woman.

name:    Graham Evans
website: www.irishgreatwarsociety.com
country: u.k. and ireland
Date:    June 28, 2010
Time:    09:19:50

We are living history society that are dedicated to perpetuate the memory of all men and women who served and fought in ww1. We have a field dressing station/casualty clearing station with casualty simulation. We have found these diaries invaluable in our research. The nurses in the society have learnt so much. Many many thanks for this site.

Graham Evans hon sec Irish Great War Society.

name:    Paul
country: United Kingdom of Hebdonia
Date:    December 05, 2009
Time:    23:04:55

Took me a while, but finally listened to the third episode thanks to this wonderful website. I've enjoyed them immensely. They are at times funny, poignant, and very enlightening about what is largely an unknown time. Well done to all involved, and I hope these diaries find a publisher to do them the service they deserve.

name:    Christine
website: www.lilbitbrit.blogspot.com
country: USA PA
Date:    December 02, 2009
Time:    20:21:15

I very much enjoyed listening to the audio of the BBC broadcasts. Ever since I read and watched Testament to Youth, by Vera Britain, one can come closer to a picture of The Great War. The war to end all wars! All branches of my family lost members in WWI, one cousin dying a week after the war ended. He's buried in Sible Hedingham church yard in Essex. And my great grandfather ill for four years after the war from gas poisoning, until he died. Yes I would like to see Edie's diaries as a book.

name:    Sally Weeks
country: Devon England
Date:    November 27, 2009
Time:    16:17:46

I very much enjoyed the Radio 4 readings from Edith Appleton's diary and was hoping to purchase them for my mother for Christmas.
Her mother, my grandmother, was an army nurse during WW1 and was in northern France like Ms Appleton (indeed I think their service would have been very similar) and subsequently she served in India. My grandmother talked very little about her work and my mother would love to learn more about the lives of the nurses at that time.
Is it possible to get a hard copy of the diaries and/or is there any particular route you would suggest for us as a followup?
Many thanks for your help, Sally Weeks

[You don't say which branch of nursing your grandmother was in, Sally. There are lots of helpful websites about now; try googling british nurses ww1. Here are a few I've found helpful:

DR]

Hello,

I have been doing family history research and discovered that a Great, Grand Uncle, Richard, died from wounds in WW1. He is buried at Bailleul and surely must have been in one of the CCS's at Bailleul before he died. Otherwise his record would say Killed in Action. I came across Edith's diary of her time at Bailleul and she does refer to the death of a patient on the same day Richard died. Perhaps it was him.
Many thanks for sharing this diary on the internet. I believe that Edith's diary is the real history that ought to be taught in schools. What happens at a political and military level is only one aspect of our history. Edith brings it all to life and shows the real consequences. I look forward to reading the entire diary in more depth. Best Wishes, Clare

[It is always particularly poignant when I hear from someone whose relative was cared for by Edie, as perhaps was your relative, Richard. In November 2008 I was contacted by the great grand-daughter of a Sergeant who died in Edie’s care and whose name she mentioned. More information here: http://www.edithappleton.co.uk/Vol4/JamesPartlin/James_Partlin.asp. You’ll see that we met earlier this year. DR]

name:    Lynley Povey
country: New Zealand
Date:    November 22, 2009
Time:    21:11:48

Hello and thank you for making this diary available. I would love to read this in book form one day. Congratulations on your efforts in making the diary available for us all to read. You are right, women's stories are often harder to come by, and nurses in many ways saw the worst of the war. I arrived here via your link in your comment on http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1568761/Soldiers-diary-of-the-First-World-War.html. I am a little surprised the flu epidemic does not appear to have been a factor, but I will download and read the whole diary. Maybe I missed it or perhaps it is in the missing sections. Keep up your search! Thanks . Lynley

[Thanks for mentioning where you came across Edie’s website; I’m always intrigued to know how people spotted it.
You mention the flu epidemic. Edie does refer to it Here’s a extract from 30 June 1918 (in Volume 4): “There is a very virulent form of influenza spreading like wild fire among the hosps & our hospital is nearly full up with them - Temperatures anything up to 104° or 105°. The good thing is, it is usually over in a week - but if everyone is going to get it! We shall have a long time with it.” She makes a number of other references to the flu, including wondering if she herself had it. I guess, after 4 years of nursing the sick, wounded and dying, most of the nurses had built up strong immune systems but not, perhaps, strong enough to withstand the flu virus. I was reading about it just now on Wikipedia and saw the astonishing statistic that “It is estimated that anywhere from 50 to 100 million people were killed worldwide which is from three to seven times the casualties of the First World War (15 million).” DR]

name:    William Horwood
country: UK
Date:    November 21, 2009
Time:    09:44:18

So interested to read your information about 9 Golden Street. I lived next door from 1954 to 1963 and my book The Boy With No Shoes is all about life there and in the North End of Deal in that period. The only occupant of No 9 I remember - and that very well indeed - was Mrs Simms and her daughter Peggy who occupied the ground floor at the back and who from time to time I went in to help - she got locked out once and I had to climb over our wall to be able to let her in. Maybe you'd like a copy of my memoir? Do get in touch! William Horwood

[William - I have tried emailing you on the address you gave but it has bounced back. I wanted to respond to the comments you made. Please write in the Visitor's Book again with an alternative email address. DR]

name:    Tony Mullord
country: England Essex
Date:    November 19, 2009
Time:    18:45:55

My father was posted to No 2 Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul in September 1915, which is about the same time as Edith at the No 3 CCS. I am very pleased to have more idea of the town and particularly of military operations in the area at that time and sources of the casualties - thanks to her diaries!

name: Lucinda Davis
country: England
Date: November 16, 2009
Time: 20:06:50

Hi. My mother-in-law has asked for a copy of Edith Appleton's Diaries, having heard them on Radio 4. I told my mother in law this morning there was no book yet and she was most disappointed and also hoped very much that you succeed in finding a publisher. If you do succeed I hope you will be able to let me know about it.

name:    Martyn Bassey
country: wales
Date:    November 15, 2009
Time:    13:16:07

Came across this programme quite by chance and i thought it was wonderful. The voices of the women left behind and the nurses in France and Belgium are seldom heard. Really hope Edith's diaries are published. Many thanks to you and the BBC.

name:    Nicky Whiting
country: UK, Suffolk
Date:    November 15, 2009
Time:    19:55:43

Hi. I heard some of the readings on Radio 4. Are Edith's diaries published as books? If so, where can I get them? Thanks

Nicky

Is it possible to buy a book of the diaries? The broadcast extracts were very good, and I've read scraps from the pages on the web, using my laptop in bed, but would welcome the opportunity to "read the book".

And, yes, the Good Friday buns are still distributed at the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great - next door to the hospital and St Bartholomew the Less!

[Thanks for the tip about the buns to which Edie refers on August 22 1918 in Volume 4. DR]

I stumbled on the BBC programmes covering Edie's diary on iPlayer and have just enjoyed listening to all three of them back-to-back.

What stood out for me most was her great humanity and the immediacy of her voice. Reaching out to us over a century's divide, she pulls us into the middle of her world - and her unflinching eye shows us everything: the tragic, the mundane and the ridiculous.

Thank you for making such a vivid and remarkable document available - and I do hope you find a publisher soon. Edie definitely deserves it!

[Thanks so much for writing in the Visitors Book, Lucinda. Your comments have really summed up so well what makes Edie’s so powerful and relevant to us nearly 100 years later. DR]

name:    Margaret Vick
country: England
Date:    November 13, 2009
Time:    17:36:19

I only managed to catch part of one of the programmes as I was driving to work but I will enjoy reading the diaries via the website - however I would really like to see them in print - remember Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady - I feel sure these would be just as popular. One thing I would like to ask is that I thought I heard she took her lace pillow to sit beside a patient - is that so - was she a lacemaker?

Keep trying for a publisher - and good luck

Margaret

[Yes, Edie did make lace, although I'm sure she would be quick to say she was just a beginner. There are lots of references in the diaries to lacemaking, particularly in Volume Two Part One (see 5 Sept 1915 for a sketch of her lace) and in Volume Two Part Two (sketch again on 28 January 1916). DR]

name:    Edna Branthwaite
country: England, Cumbria
Date:    November 13, 2009
Time:    14:54:47

I only managed to hear the last part of Edith's Diaries on my car radio as I was driving home from Cockermouth. I was fascinated by it and hope the diaries are going to be published in book form

Just to say thank you so much for the chance to hear the writings of Edith on the radio. I must admit it did make me cry it was so moving. She must have been a lovely and caring person, I have been a historian for many years (British involvement Zulu wars 1879), so this was just up my street. A VERY BIG THANK YOU. If you get her letters published please let me know. I would be so pleased to buy her book,

Christian.

Caught the Radio 4 broadcast (12 November) by chance. Wonderful to hear the views and insights of a one of the remarkable women who nursed during the Great War. Thanks for the website and to the BBC for its excellent choice and treatment.

Hello, I stumbled across this site by accident, after listening to Radio 4 this afternoon. Will you be publishing the diaries by any chance? Just so, so moving and interesting. Thank you, best wishes Jackie

name:    John Thwaite
country: United Kingdom
Date:    November 11, 2009
Time:    19:26:52

I happened to come across the readings of Edie's diaries on Tuesday the 10th Nov. and was really touched by the experiences that Edith went through, I would love to have a copy of the diaries and hope one day a publisher will see sense and produce these wonderful memories of such a special, brave and kind person. It is people like Edith that make me proud to be English, she and all other nurses and people who served in the First World War should especially be remembered at this time. God Bless

Tom here in NY Thanks for sharing all this. It's great to know that some history hasn't been forgotten. There are so many little known stories such as this, that the importance to bring it to light grows stronger with each passing year. I am currently retired from military service. The gray overcast sky fits the solemnity of today's Armistice & Remembrance Day God Bless...

name:    Meriel Bottle
country: United Kingdom
Date:    November 11, 2009
Time:    16:25:09

I have just listened to the second extract of Edith's diaries broadcast on BBC radio 4. I was deeply moved by her words and her description of caring for the wounded and dying. Her warmth and humanity shone out. I do hope you find a publisher.

Meriel

Rosa, Paul and I (Edie's great niece) listened last night to the first radio extract of her diaries. We turned the lights down low and could almost imagine the relentless sounds of the bombing and artillery through her thoughts. We found it very moving; almost too difficult to be transported into her world, one so very different from our own.

The story of the Matron laughing hysterically upon hearing that officers are screwed down, the rest are nailed down, is the one that stays with me most. The absurdity of it all. The odd little (and very British) procedures some one ordered when faced with uncontrollable circumstances. Still needing a sense of hierarchy even then. This is wonderful stuff and I feel proud to be linked to Edie and her selflessness.

My paternal grandfather was with the Royal Field Artillery in Ypres in 1915. He was killed there in August of that year, he had been married only 6 months and left my grandmother expecting their child who was born in the November. Reading Edith's diaries which were written at the time he was there is very moving and terribly sad.

[Thanks for listening to the first programme today, Pam, and for getting in touch. How tragic about your grandfather and leaving a wife and child. So many families must have had to struggle in ways we can hardly imagine.

One of the most poignant aspects of setting up the website has been having contact from people who lost relatives. I don’t know if you have seen it, but this page - http://www.edithappleton.org.uk/Vol4/JamesPartlin/James_Partlin.asp - records the contact I had from the great granddaughter of a man Edie mentions by name and whom she nursed until he died.

Again, thank you for getting in touch. I am just so glad to be able to share with others the perspective of my great aunt, a nurse who did her best to look after all those men. It doesn’t feel like almost 100 years ago, does it. DR]

name: John Cahill
country: london england
private:
Date: November 10, 2009
Time: 16:03:52

Hello I was wondering if the diaries written by Edith have been put into print , and if so how can I obtain one?

[Thanks for listening to the first programme today, John. We are still trying to get a publisher interested. Maybe now the readings are going out one will be keen and get in touch with us!

PS. If you are a publisher out there reading this, please contact me via the Visitors Book! Dick Robinson]

name: Lisa Robinson
country: UK/Glos
Date: November 05, 2009
Time: 12:12:44

DO LISTEN, EVERYONE! - to the extracts of Edie's amazing diaries next wk - on 10th, 11th and 12th November!

They promise to be so poignant - and yet wonderful. They will really bring to life moments that Edie wanted us to know at the time - and we will be able to feel a bit more of what she - and so many others - went through during that terrible, terrible war. They will also illustrate so vividly little moments of beauty or bliss that even during such dark times, were noticed and valued so greatly, by this remarkable lady.

name:    Martin Wagner
country: United States + Barbour County
Date:    November 03, 2009
Time:    00:46:47

What a fantastic effort to keep Edie's writings and memory alive....I find it unbelievable.

I happened upon your pages while researching another lady who was with the BRCS and QAIMNS, and her service and stations almost run parallel to Edie's.

I am in the process of writing a biography of my lady based solely on her records from birth to her death in 1952, and now am compelled to read every word of the 4 volumes in order to get a better feeling of what my lady went through.

A quick glance at my writings to date show many places where their paths may have crossed during the war, even up to their dates of demobilzation.

Thank you for your superb effort.

Martin Wagner

[Thanks Martin. If you have any information about your lady which will help to illuminate Edie’s writings I would be very happy to add it in – as appropriate. What was her name? Maybe Edie mentions her somewhere. DR]

name:    Brian Dunlop
website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41334526@N02/sets/72157622541497978/
country: France
Date:    October 08, 2009
Time:    13:16:23

Hello,

I was in Etretat last weekend and it reminded me that I had some old Photo Albums with pictures of my Great Aunt who was stationed in Etretat N°1 General Hospital in 1914. Her family name was Barrett from Dublin, but sadly, I cannot find out her first name. I have no information on how long she stayed but from the dates on the photos it would appear if she was there on the Hospital Ship Asturias in August 1914, before moving on to Etretat. Who knows if she stayed long enough to know Edith? Edith does mention an Irish girl winning some parlour games in her diary. In any case there is a photo of "Col" Martyn, whom Edith mentions announcing "that he wished to visit her family in England". There is also a very faded photo of Matron Hodgins, whom the Matron in Chief Maud McCarthy mentiones very favorably in her diaries.

I include a link to the photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41334526@N02/sets/72157622541497978/

Best Regards

Brian Dunlop

[Great photos. Thanks. I've added a page, including some of them, here: http://www.edithappleton.org.uk/Etretat/Dunlop/Barrett.asp. DR]

name: David Willis
country: UK
Date: September 09, 2009
Time: 21:20:47

Hi
My mother has just told me that my Grandfather was in No 3 hospital, Le Treport in 1917. He was bombed from an aircraft near Ypres in 1917. My mother "has fotos"! My grandmother visited Grandad at No 3 ( from the Bristol area) as he wasn't expected to live! I am so sorry that I will miss the November exhibition.
Yours sincerely.

name: Patricia Woodford
website: www.buddlebrookguesthouse.co.uk
country: Isle of Wight UK
Date: June 09, 2009
Time: 19:42:55

Just noticed.....it is the anniversary of your birthday. I imagine there were many happy days here at Buddlebrook.

[Note: Buddlebrook was the Appleton family home from 1923. Click here to see some photos of the house...and its Appleton occupants.]

name:    Deanna Duff
country: Ontario Canada
Date:    December 03, 2008
Time:    03:09:13

Thank you so very kindly for your hard work and generosity in bringing Edith's fascinating diary to the public. Edith's diary with its daily entries that switched between the horrors of war and her adventures travelling the French countryside contributed more information about World War 1 and war nurses in particular, than any other material I have encountered. Due to her faithful diary keeping, I learned much more than just the "big events" of the War, but rather I gained a feel for what the time period would have been like to experience personally. I am very interested in the underreported roles played in war. My great-grandfather was a Canadian Presbyterian Chaplain during the Great War, who served in France and locating information on the role of Chaplains is challenging and limited to a small number of sources. I would love to know what he or the other padres experienced during the War. Tragically, letters written home, while he was in the service were destroyed by a well-meaning, but very misguided aunt of mine. She came upon them in the proverbial trunk in the attic and found them too sad and musty to keep.

We all are very fortunate that your great-aunt's diary came to light and that you have graciously shared it with us. Edith's diary is priceless in the contribution it has made to the information available about this important role in the War.

[Thanks for those comments, Deanna. Anyone interested in the role of Canadian nurses in particular should see the diaries of Alice Isaacson. They have much in common with Edie's diaries but the real treasure is her wonderful and comprehensive photograph album. DR]

Click here to see a charming sketch of Father Irwin enjoying a glass of calvados with a local fisherman.

name:    Karen Hrabec
country: England
Date:    November 21, 2008
Time:    19:48:00

I have been doing some family research and came across Edith Appleton diaries. In Volume 4 (21 June to 27th December 1918) August 22. 1918 she quotes she had been nursing a spine case who died on the 21 August. Also says his wife was with him. This is my great grandma May and great grandfather Sgt James Partlin. She also stated that all of Accrington would know.

I have the paper cutting from this event stating my grandfather had died. Accrington Observer and Times September 1918. It shows a photo of him. But I do not have a photo of my great grandma, so will never know what she looked like. Karen

[I have now produced a page on Sgt James Partlin; click here to read this poignant story. DR]

name:    Richard Feltham
country: NZ
Date:    November 13, 2008
Time:    04:14:46

Great to see a photo of my grandfather - Guy.

name:    Jayne Hyslop
country: Ontario Canada
Date:    November 12, 2008
Time:    22:23:53

Every family has a thread back to the Great War, whether it be through a nursing sister like Edie or a young soldier. Thankfully diaries, biographies, published stories and blogs allow us to read first hand the accounts of those tragic days and the heroic actions of many. The BBC should be commended for a marvellous interview, beautifully presented. Well done Dick, Edie would be proud.

name:    Jill Stainforth
country: Victoria BC Canada
Date:    November 11, 2008
Time:    19:18:27

This morning my mother, Anne Stainforth (91) and I listened to Aunt Edie's diaries online. Edie was my mum's favourite Aunt and for the 50 years they knew one another, Edie's work in Belgium and France was never mentioned. What a generation! It has been a privilege for my brother, Piers, and me to work with Dick on these diaries and to enter Edie's life through them. Day after day we would transcribe the pages and be transported back to the grisly world of a nurse in that hellish war: what shone through was Edie's resilience, calm, capability and sparkle. Thank you Edie - getting reacquainted was lovely.

name:    Roger W Harris
country: Kent, England
Date:    November 11, 2008
Time:    19:30:24

You are to be congratulated and should feel really proud to have worked so hard perpetrating the memories of your Aunts heroic W.W.1. service and sharing her life story.

My father was Cas-evacced twice from France to England between 1915 and 1918. The first time with severe Shrapnel wounds when his No.s 1 & 2 loaders were killed by a shell that devasted his Lewis Gun Pit, and the second time after a bullet in the chest, returning twice to fight again thanks to the selfless attention to duty of the likes of Edith and her comrades. He was one of the lucky ones that survived the horrors which he never forgot, living until 1986 when he died at 90. He always spoke so highly of the care he received from nursing staff. Who knows he may well have been tended by Edith. You have my eternal thanks for sharing all the Diaries with the whole World, enlightening and drawing attention to what has been a neglected area of service for so many years.

Yours Gratefully and very Sincerely,

Roger.

name:    Lisa Robinson
country: Gloucestershire, UK
Date:    November 11, 2008
Time:    17:26:10

Having been in the background (mostly!) of all the immense amount of groundwork and loving, painstaking attention to minute detail over so many months, of Edie's diaries, it has become increasingly clear (as the 11th day of the 90th year approached), just what an unimagineable impact this war - and Edie's diaries - have had, still have and will continue to have - on so many different people who have been touched in one way or another by it, over so many years. I am proud, too, to be associated (if only by marriage) with Edie's diaries - and I hope very much that they become more widely known and their impact actually increases in unexpected ways - and that one day we will REALLY be able to say that Peace reigns in the world and never again will such a terrible, terrible loss of life in war happen.

name:    jenny turner
country: kent england
Date:    November 11, 2008
Time:    17:12:02

Thank you for sharing this very special diary of your Aunt's. I heard the radio 4 programme first then read it here. An incredible insight into her life and that of others with her. I am so moved. Both my Grandfathers were soldiers in WW1 and both my parents too in WW2. I have sent this on to my two young daughters and asked them to share it with my grandchildren. We must not forget. Ever. Do hope the missing pages turn up.

name:    Linden
country: Northern Ireland
Date:    November 11, 2008
Time:    15:50:04

I haven't yet heard the programme - looking forward to it !

I understand you are looking for missing pages . Have you asked on "The Great War Forum". If you aren't already a member there are many experts and enthusiasts. My great uncle died from meningitis at a casualty clearing station near Puchevillers and an elderly Frenchwoman was able to point out where the tents had stood. Thank you for sharing this diary .

Regards, Linden

name:   Sam Robinson
country: UK Bristol
Date:    November 11, 2008
Time:    15:40:13

How wonderful to hear excerpts from the diaries brought to life on Radio 4. I shut my eyes and turned up the volume and it all felt goose-bumpingly real. As a distant relative (great great nephew) of Edie, I look forward to learning how the airtime on Making History this afternoon will bring a new audience to the diaries. The dedication and hard work that my Dad and others have put into this website is deserving of a wide and varied audience. And on the 11th day of the 11th month, my thoughts go to all those who are in any way affected by war. Here's to Peace.

name:    Adrian Beatty
country: Florida, USA
Date:    November 11, 2008
Time:    15:29:41

I enjoyed the BBCR4 broadcast of Making History which included the fascinating article about Edie. You must be complimented on bringing these diaries to the attention of the public. Thank you so much for telling us about your great aunt. You said towards the end of the broadcast that she would have been "astonished" that you had taken the trouble to go through her diaries. I think she would also be immensely proud.

name: Bea Tilbrook
country: Wiltshire UK
Date: November 11, 2008
Time: 05:24:03

It's wonderful to read these diaries and hear the authentic voice of someone who was there. My great uncle died in a Casualty Clearing Station near Ypres in September 1917, the one the soldiers called Mendinghem. Glad to see some of that black humour is echoed by Edith at times. They must have needed it to survive. Thank you to Edith and all the others who volunteered to work in such a dreadful situation, well beyond our imagining.

[Bea. Your comment prompted me to look up 'Mendinghem' and I came across this explanation here: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t67134.html. It seems your comment about black humour is well founded! DR]

name: Sara Robinson
country: UK West Yorkshire
Date: November 10, 2008
Time: 17:11:40

Looking forward to hearing my great great Aunt Edie's remarkable story come to life on BBC radio 4 tomorrow.

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