by C L Bennett

When war breaks out in August 1914 the world changes forever. In this diary Lady Diana Ponsonby writes about her life in Oxfordshire during this momentous year in history. 

During the first half of the year Diana is gloriously happy and lives the life of an aristocrat, somewhat like the T.V series ‘Downton Abbey’, enjoying grand balls, trips to the theatres of London, fox hunting and country parties with family friends in stately homes all over the country. Then war breaks out. Diana is on holiday in Norway when the terrible news reaches her and suddenly all is chaos and panic, it is a fight for survival to get herself back home to the safety of England. 

Diana’s brothers, friends and Henry, the secret love of her life, are quick to join the army and soon have to leave England to fight in France. Her heart is broken as who knows whether she will ever see them again? So many of the young and talented young men whose names appear in this diary were fated to be killed on the battlefields. 

This diary reads much like Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’ and is an important record of  life in Oxfordshire at this important time and of the many people who lost their lives. Over the year we see the effects of the wartime changes on Diana and how she blossoms and matures from the frivolous and naïve girl she was before the war to the compassionate and spiritually strong woman she was to become.

This is a downloadable pdf file (approx. 40MB, 126 pages)