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Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly #2
HERMIONE After To War With Whitaker: The Continuing Diaries of Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly 1945-2001
Extract from Lady Caroline Simmonds’ “Introduction”:
“This book covers Hermione setting up home in England in the aftermath of World War 2, firstly in London and then in her two beloved county homes, Little and Great Pednor. The years of struggling to conceive, only one child, me, and not a boy. The grappling with all that was involved with the Governorship of the Bahamas in the 1950s and the struggle to allow black people a fair say in their own Government. The faithful animals and the family, like any other, ridden with politics and drama. Accompanying my father on his many gruelling world-wide business trips which involved months away from home. The sagas, upstairs and downstairs, of the cooks, carers, gardeners, nannies and nurses, most importantly the very Spanish and beloved Luis & Maria. Single-handedly deciding to educate the Third World by establishing the phenomenon that started as the Ranfurly Library Service and became Book Aid International. Bringing me up through the 1960s, supporting me in my marriage to Johnny and then turning into the naughtiest and most fun grandmother for Lucy, Zara & Rose. Losing my father, who she adored, becoming an Authoress in her 80s and dealing with old age and all that it brings.
Through all this Hermione never lost her sense of humour or grit.”
Illustrated by 64 b/w photographs.
Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the charities set up by Hermione Ranfurly during her lifetime: The Ranfurly Library for Children, Nassau, Bahamas; The Ranfurly Library Service, Sydney; and Book Aid International.
Copies of this book can be ordered from Amazon or by sending a cheque payable to RCS for [given in year 2013] £15 per copy (incl. UK postage) [weight of book + pkg 810g (approx.)] with your name and address to: RCS, Great Pednor, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 2SU.
“This book covers Hermione setting up home in England in the aftermath of World War 2, firstly in London and then in her two beloved county homes, Little and Great Pednor. The years of struggling to conceive, only one child, me, and not a boy. The grappling with all that was involved with the Governorship of the Bahamas in the 1950s and the struggle to allow black people a fair say in their own Government. The faithful animals and the family, like any other, ridden with politics and drama. Accompanying my father on his many gruelling world-wide business trips which involved months away from home. The sagas, upstairs and downstairs, of the cooks, carers, gardeners, nannies and nurses, most importantly the very Spanish and beloved Luis & Maria. Single-handedly deciding to educate the Third World by establishing the phenomenon that started as the Ranfurly Library Service and became Book Aid International. Bringing me up through the 1960s, supporting me in my marriage to Johnny and then turning into the naughtiest and most fun grandmother for Lucy, Zara & Rose. Losing my father, who she adored, becoming an Authoress in her 80s and dealing with old age and all that it brings.
Through all this Hermione never lost her sense of humour or grit.”
Illustrated by 64 b/w photographs.
Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the charities set up by Hermione Ranfurly during her lifetime: The Ranfurly Library for Children, Nassau, Bahamas; The Ranfurly Library Service, Sydney; and Book Aid International.
Copies of this book can be ordered from Amazon or by sending a cheque payable to RCS for [given in year 2013] £15 per copy (incl. UK postage) [weight of book + pkg 810g (approx.)] with your name and address to: RCS, Great Pednor, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 2SU.
393 pages, Paperback
First published September 19, 2012
1 person is currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Hermione Ranfurly
3 books4 followersHermione, Countess of Ranfurly, OBE, (née Llewellyn), was the British author of To War With Whitaker: The Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939–1945. Published when Lady Ranfurly was in her eighties, these highly successful diaries were widely admired for their illustration of the writer's courage, pluck and humour.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 27, 2015
This is unmissable reading for anyone who has read and enjoyed either “To War With Whitaker” and / or “The Ugly One”; also for anyone who enjoys rattling good C20th diaries, and the fascination of who knew who, how who met who & when, and thus how upper-class British society served their country in the second half of the 20th century. See https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... for how to obtain a copy; and support a very good cause at the same time.
”Hermione” is an exhausting book to read; not for its length and weight; but for the sheer extraordinary energy of a remarkable life filled to the brim with love, care, consideration, affection, a great sense of humour; and not a moment wasted. I can entirely understand why Lady Ranfurly’s only child, Lady Caroline Simmonds, took nearly ten years to prepare these later diaries (1945-2001) for publication. Emotionally, it must have been an enormous challenge to relive those years of such close and rich familial love.
This diary fascinates on so many levels. I barely know where to begin. National events, such as the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II are dealt with on a par with Mr Jonathan Cape (the publisher), writing to Lady Ranfurly to describe how he managed his insulin-dependent diabetes. Curious juxtapositions are noted with the interest of one for whom everything is interesting; such as during the time when her husband was Governor-General of the Bahamas, the US atomic submarine “Nautilus” dropped ‘anchor’ in 1954, at the same time that Walt Disney was there filming “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.” (p.72). In recording her private thoughts about the 1955 official visit of HRH The Princess Margaret to the Bahamas, Hermione treads a diplomatic line when not painting the princess’s entourage in the brightest of light, saying “they could have been better at their job” (p.180).
The smooth running of Government House and frequent reception of visitors, often complicated by the weather, clearly required flair, an open mind, and a heightened attention to timekeeping and detail. The starkest reminder that this diary was written as a private diary may be Hermione’s mention of “one ghastly incident in church” where she bemoans the “curious effect” of the Bahamian damp heat. “I could write four volumes on the horrors of sanitary towels”, (p.135) she writes with such an obvious shudder, that I need say no more. My own imagination entirely failed as I tried to picture how the inflexible Duchess of Windsor might have coped; during the earlier Bahamian Governor Generalship of HRH The Duke of Windsor (1940-45).
The time spent in the Bahamas (1953 – 1956) fills but only a (large) third of the book. The epithet “indefatigable” is aptly applied to Hermione, who set up the Ranfurly Library Service to increase access to books and promote literacy, education and development, and which continues it’s very good work to this very day (see http://www.bookaid.org/our-work/who-w... and consider making a donation?).
So far I haven’t so much as begun to mention the Ranfurlys’ extensive travels to Kenya, New York, Singapore, Calcutta, Borneo, Queensland, Mexico, Santiago … let alone an interesting experience of flying on Concorde, happy home life at Great Pednor (Bucks) and three wonderful granddaughters … all inexorably leading up to a clear-headed rational understanding of the benefits of planning, where and when able, for old age; yet being open to the realities and griefs which such advanced age also brings. There I found many of the most emotional passages of this Diary. Neither self-centered nor repressed emotion play any part whatsoever here; instead an intangible acceptance of and practical planning for the time when the constancy of a comfortable, practical, warm, living, shared deep love, cherished over very many years, will change forever. Yes, when the ‘end’ came for each of Lady Caroline’s parents I did cry; not for myself, but for her and her family’s considerable loss; and the heartache which she had no siblings to share with. Lady Caroline thoughtfully kindly ends this book on the extremely happy note of a wedding in the immediate family. To be deeply thankful for one’s past, but to be equally able to look with confidence to the future, is indeed a blessing. Obit. at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...
[correction made 16JAN14, to "... this diary was written as a private diary .... "]
”Hermione” is an exhausting book to read; not for its length and weight; but for the sheer extraordinary energy of a remarkable life filled to the brim with love, care, consideration, affection, a great sense of humour; and not a moment wasted. I can entirely understand why Lady Ranfurly’s only child, Lady Caroline Simmonds, took nearly ten years to prepare these later diaries (1945-2001) for publication. Emotionally, it must have been an enormous challenge to relive those years of such close and rich familial love.
This diary fascinates on so many levels. I barely know where to begin. National events, such as the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II are dealt with on a par with Mr Jonathan Cape (the publisher), writing to Lady Ranfurly to describe how he managed his insulin-dependent diabetes. Curious juxtapositions are noted with the interest of one for whom everything is interesting; such as during the time when her husband was Governor-General of the Bahamas, the US atomic submarine “Nautilus” dropped ‘anchor’ in 1954, at the same time that Walt Disney was there filming “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.” (p.72). In recording her private thoughts about the 1955 official visit of HRH The Princess Margaret to the Bahamas, Hermione treads a diplomatic line when not painting the princess’s entourage in the brightest of light, saying “they could have been better at their job” (p.180).
The smooth running of Government House and frequent reception of visitors, often complicated by the weather, clearly required flair, an open mind, and a heightened attention to timekeeping and detail. The starkest reminder that this diary was written as a private diary may be Hermione’s mention of “one ghastly incident in church” where she bemoans the “curious effect” of the Bahamian damp heat. “I could write four volumes on the horrors of sanitary towels”, (p.135) she writes with such an obvious shudder, that I need say no more. My own imagination entirely failed as I tried to picture how the inflexible Duchess of Windsor might have coped; during the earlier Bahamian Governor Generalship of HRH The Duke of Windsor (1940-45).
The time spent in the Bahamas (1953 – 1956) fills but only a (large) third of the book. The epithet “indefatigable” is aptly applied to Hermione, who set up the Ranfurly Library Service to increase access to books and promote literacy, education and development, and which continues it’s very good work to this very day (see http://www.bookaid.org/our-work/who-w... and consider making a donation?).
So far I haven’t so much as begun to mention the Ranfurlys’ extensive travels to Kenya, New York, Singapore, Calcutta, Borneo, Queensland, Mexico, Santiago … let alone an interesting experience of flying on Concorde, happy home life at Great Pednor (Bucks) and three wonderful granddaughters … all inexorably leading up to a clear-headed rational understanding of the benefits of planning, where and when able, for old age; yet being open to the realities and griefs which such advanced age also brings. There I found many of the most emotional passages of this Diary. Neither self-centered nor repressed emotion play any part whatsoever here; instead an intangible acceptance of and practical planning for the time when the constancy of a comfortable, practical, warm, living, shared deep love, cherished over very many years, will change forever. Yes, when the ‘end’ came for each of Lady Caroline’s parents I did cry; not for myself, but for her and her family’s considerable loss; and the heartache which she had no siblings to share with. Lady Caroline thoughtfully kindly ends this book on the extremely happy note of a wedding in the immediate family. To be deeply thankful for one’s past, but to be equally able to look with confidence to the future, is indeed a blessing. Obit. at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...
[correction made 16JAN14, to "... this diary was written as a private diary .... "]
January 3, 2022
Not as brilliant as To War with Whitaker but a fascinating read
It is true that as occasional comment jars due to attitudes of last century but Hermione Ranfurly was a remarkable lady who used her position to do good
I agree with Lord Carrington’s remark in the forward that she does not receive enough credit for setting up her Library Service ( noe calledBook Aid International)
My main disappointment in the book was that after 1946 and the move to Pednor there is no further mention of Whitaker,not even the Ranfurly’s reaction to his death
The other needed was footnotes to give more details ofwho some of the people mentioned
But overall a wonderful book
Hermione Ranfurly was a real life Georgette Heyer heroine , just moved forward some 120 years
It is true that as occasional comment jars due to attitudes of last century but Hermione Ranfurly was a remarkable lady who used her position to do good
I agree with Lord Carrington’s remark in the forward that she does not receive enough credit for setting up her Library Service ( noe calledBook Aid International)
My main disappointment in the book was that after 1946 and the move to Pednor there is no further mention of Whitaker,not even the Ranfurly’s reaction to his death
The other needed was footnotes to give more details ofwho some of the people mentioned
But overall a wonderful book
Hermione Ranfurly was a real life Georgette Heyer heroine , just moved forward some 120 years
November 7, 2021
Loved It, but . . . .
I had just finished reading "At War with Whitaker," which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I decided to read this one--on Kindle. I also loved this one, as I now do Hermione Ranfurly, but since so many of the photographs are UPSIDE DOWN, I feel like I should get some of my money back! So now I'll order Hermione's other book, "The Ugly One," and hope for the best.
I had just finished reading "At War with Whitaker," which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I decided to read this one--on Kindle. I also loved this one, as I now do Hermione Ranfurly, but since so many of the photographs are UPSIDE DOWN, I feel like I should get some of my money back! So now I'll order Hermione's other book, "The Ugly One," and hope for the best.
August 4, 2019
A riches-to-rags-to-riches story if we include all three volumes of the diaries with this volume being the latter riches tale of the wife, variously, of the Governor General of the Bahamas where she founds what will eventually become Book Aid International, and then the traveling companion of her husband the earl in his role as director on the boards of several businesses with interests flung throughout the empire.
The Countess is a product of the empire with her opinions mostly formed, it would seem, from the two ends of her story, the "riches" ends, though with some empathy arising out her own period in less fortunate circumstances. Lines from her diary such as this one about the people of Singapore, that they "want to run everything for themselves without the British, but they are not really grown up enough to know how to take over," are telling, as is this one of the people of Borneo, "these people do not belong to the British Empire so are foreigners."
For all that, her efforts on behalf of literacy, even if the emphasis is on English language literacy ("Our language and our literature are worth much more than money; they can be the medium of love and understanding and goodwill around the world."), shines through.
The Countess is a product of the empire with her opinions mostly formed, it would seem, from the two ends of her story, the "riches" ends, though with some empathy arising out her own period in less fortunate circumstances. Lines from her diary such as this one about the people of Singapore, that they "want to run everything for themselves without the British, but they are not really grown up enough to know how to take over," are telling, as is this one of the people of Borneo, "these people do not belong to the British Empire so are foreigners."
For all that, her efforts on behalf of literacy, even if the emphasis is on English language literacy ("Our language and our literature are worth much more than money; they can be the medium of love and understanding and goodwill around the world."), shines through.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews