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Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly #1
To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45
Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly, kept a diary all her life. To War with Whitaker is an account of the most adventurous, most defiant and most valiant of those years. Hermione and Dan Ranfurly married only months before the Second World War erupted. So when Dan was posted to the Middle East, taking their faithful butler Whitaker with him, Hermione resolved to join them there. This memoir offers astounding displays of commitment and independence. After vowing not to go home without her husband, Hermione travelled alone from Cape Town to Cairo, and remained in the Middle East and North Africa for the two and a half years he was imprisoned by the Germans – meeting many notable characters along the way.With wit and exuberance, Hermione’s diary entries take us To War with Whitaker and back again, providing sharp insight into the strong and outspoken woman she was. This Pan Heritage Classics edition features the original black and white plate sections.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
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593 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 - 30 of 69 reviews
June 20, 2022
Very readable war diary. The writer was 25 at the start of WW2 and a bride of a few months (she married Dan, 6th Earl of Ranfurly [Irish-Scots] ). Her husband was a serving officer in the Middle East and she fought, tooth and nail against protocol, to join him there. Their portly and endearingly loyal butler, Whitaker came too!
A fascinating view of the war through her eyes. From her work alongside the military elite she had contact with the great, the good and the not so good. She writes well - intelligent, witty and compassionate. My attention never wandered. Some snippets that lodged:
Reflecting on the Polish situation in 1944 and especially the horrors of Warsaw:
“It is comforting to remember that though Catherine the Great of Russia used the throne of Poland
as a lavatory seat – she died on it”.
“The death of Field Marshal Rommel has been announced. Strangely, we are all sorry to hear this. He was a great soldier and a gentleman. Most of us admired him..and respected him”.
Her husband was a prisoner of war in Italy for over 3 years. Late in 1944 when they were together again she writes: “We visited St Peter’s (Rome) and dined with Dan’s ex-gaoler, Gussie Richardo”.
A fascinating view of the war through her eyes. From her work alongside the military elite she had contact with the great, the good and the not so good. She writes well - intelligent, witty and compassionate. My attention never wandered. Some snippets that lodged:
Reflecting on the Polish situation in 1944 and especially the horrors of Warsaw:
“It is comforting to remember that though Catherine the Great of Russia used the throne of Poland
as a lavatory seat – she died on it”.
“The death of Field Marshal Rommel has been announced. Strangely, we are all sorry to hear this. He was a great soldier and a gentleman. Most of us admired him..and respected him”.
Her husband was a prisoner of war in Italy for over 3 years. Late in 1944 when they were together again she writes: “We visited St Peter’s (Rome) and dined with Dan’s ex-gaoler, Gussie Richardo”.
November 25, 2022
Fascinating diaries by a formidable woman.
February 17, 2017
Sometimes I think about people who keep diaries, and the way most of them say 'I have kept a diary nearly every day since I was eight, and now I'm a hundred and eight and I don't intend on stopping!' It makes me wonder - briefly - why I'm not keeping a diary.
But then I read a diary like this one and I remember. Diaries are far more interesting when the people keeping them lead fascinating, varied lives. My diary would be variations on 'Got up. Worked out. Went to work. Came home. Cooked dinner. Watched TV. Went to bed.' Hermione Ranfurly, in addition to leading an extraordinarily adventurous and character-filled life (at least, during the war), was also blessed with an utterly delightful, disarming, warm-hearted writing style, reminiscent of Nancy Mitford, with the bubbling wit of Georgette Heyer, and the occasional bite of Evelyn Waugh. She knew seemingly everyone worth knowing, went out to dinner with most of them even though she had barely two crusts to rub together, and watched them all troop off to war, many never to return.
Throughout her hectic life there runs the thread of horror at the war that is grinding on around her. She and everyone she knows are always desperate for war news, snatching glances at newspapers whenever they can, despairing at ever keeping up with the number of fronts, battles, attacks and allegiances, but her continual refrain is how appalling the news is: how can we do this, she writes, yet how can we not? She is stunned at the speed with which men she has known for years turn up, spend their money and their time with abandon, and leave again to be killed in the desert or the skies. In fact, the whole diary is an intimate, heartbreaking portrayal of the numbing shock of war, the ways in which normal people pushed themselves through unbearable times on little sleep and less food, when the news was almost always bad and you might spend a pleasant afternoon with someone, only to hear that they were dead the next day.
The other thing that shines through her effervescent writing is the immense sense of duty she feels to be part of the war effort. Her husband was in one of the earliest regiments to be mobilised to the Middle East, and at first it's clear that she finds the idea of being separated from him to be unbearable, so much so that she risks a good deal to sneak out of the country after him - though not, as the blurb and some reviewers insist, without precedent. The wives and families of many soldiers followed them to their postings as a matter of course, and only an arbitrary military difference prevented her from doing the same. But once she was there, and once she had escaped the wrath of the military organisation, and most particularly once Dan had been taken prisoner, she stayed out of a need to be doing something. She, just as much as any soldier, dedicated herself to the war body and soul. Towards the end of it all she finds herself rather suddenly jobless and returns to England. When someone asks her what she intends to do, she replies 'Well, first I must get back to the war!'.
Though some of her attitudes and remarks date poorly, and she is very clearly experiencing a vastly different war than the wives of common soldiers without connections and friends to call upon, this is an absolutely fascinating, charming, engaging and heartwrenching book. It takes the reader on an intense emotional journey - the same, in fact, that many who lived through those trying times must have experienced. I loved it, and her, and I would recommend it to anyone.
But then I read a diary like this one and I remember. Diaries are far more interesting when the people keeping them lead fascinating, varied lives. My diary would be variations on 'Got up. Worked out. Went to work. Came home. Cooked dinner. Watched TV. Went to bed.' Hermione Ranfurly, in addition to leading an extraordinarily adventurous and character-filled life (at least, during the war), was also blessed with an utterly delightful, disarming, warm-hearted writing style, reminiscent of Nancy Mitford, with the bubbling wit of Georgette Heyer, and the occasional bite of Evelyn Waugh. She knew seemingly everyone worth knowing, went out to dinner with most of them even though she had barely two crusts to rub together, and watched them all troop off to war, many never to return.
Throughout her hectic life there runs the thread of horror at the war that is grinding on around her. She and everyone she knows are always desperate for war news, snatching glances at newspapers whenever they can, despairing at ever keeping up with the number of fronts, battles, attacks and allegiances, but her continual refrain is how appalling the news is: how can we do this, she writes, yet how can we not? She is stunned at the speed with which men she has known for years turn up, spend their money and their time with abandon, and leave again to be killed in the desert or the skies. In fact, the whole diary is an intimate, heartbreaking portrayal of the numbing shock of war, the ways in which normal people pushed themselves through unbearable times on little sleep and less food, when the news was almost always bad and you might spend a pleasant afternoon with someone, only to hear that they were dead the next day.
The other thing that shines through her effervescent writing is the immense sense of duty she feels to be part of the war effort. Her husband was in one of the earliest regiments to be mobilised to the Middle East, and at first it's clear that she finds the idea of being separated from him to be unbearable, so much so that she risks a good deal to sneak out of the country after him - though not, as the blurb and some reviewers insist, without precedent. The wives and families of many soldiers followed them to their postings as a matter of course, and only an arbitrary military difference prevented her from doing the same. But once she was there, and once she had escaped the wrath of the military organisation, and most particularly once Dan had been taken prisoner, she stayed out of a need to be doing something. She, just as much as any soldier, dedicated herself to the war body and soul. Towards the end of it all she finds herself rather suddenly jobless and returns to England. When someone asks her what she intends to do, she replies 'Well, first I must get back to the war!'.
Though some of her attitudes and remarks date poorly, and she is very clearly experiencing a vastly different war than the wives of common soldiers without connections and friends to call upon, this is an absolutely fascinating, charming, engaging and heartwrenching book. It takes the reader on an intense emotional journey - the same, in fact, that many who lived through those trying times must have experienced. I loved it, and her, and I would recommend it to anyone.
May 26, 2024
An engrossing read based entirely on diary entries from Englishwoman Hermione Ranfurly's experiences during WWII. She and her husband Dan married shortly before the war began, and they ended up being separated for most of the war. He was a prisoner of war for some years, and the rest of the time was on active service.
Hermione had followed Dan to North Africa, and she ended up spending most of the war in this area and various spots around the Mediterranean, including Palestine, Cairo, Italy and others. In her role as secretary and PA to various highly placed military officers, Hermione met many famous and influential people, including Churchill, Eisenhower, Hollywood actors etc. She worked hard at her job, with many 12-hour days or longer, and billets ranging from good to terrible. Her separation from Dan, especially when he was a POW, was difficult and at times full of fear for him. Her story was quite moving at times.
It was a very interesting personal viewpoint on those chaotic, unpredictable and difficult years. Luckily for Hermione, both she and her husband survived and, in her own words, had their happily ever after. She always tried to make a diary entry before she went to bed, even if the hour was late. The diary entries ranged from a few sentences to several pages, and made the book easy to read, as the information came in small bites.
Overall, well worth reading.
Hermione had followed Dan to North Africa, and she ended up spending most of the war in this area and various spots around the Mediterranean, including Palestine, Cairo, Italy and others. In her role as secretary and PA to various highly placed military officers, Hermione met many famous and influential people, including Churchill, Eisenhower, Hollywood actors etc. She worked hard at her job, with many 12-hour days or longer, and billets ranging from good to terrible. Her separation from Dan, especially when he was a POW, was difficult and at times full of fear for him. Her story was quite moving at times.
It was a very interesting personal viewpoint on those chaotic, unpredictable and difficult years. Luckily for Hermione, both she and her husband survived and, in her own words, had their happily ever after. She always tried to make a diary entry before she went to bed, even if the hour was late. The diary entries ranged from a few sentences to several pages, and made the book easy to read, as the information came in small bites.
Overall, well worth reading.
June 12, 2016
My mentor passed this gem on to me noting my life-long disappointment in not being a member of any royal family. I am so taken with this book. In 1994, at the age of 80, Lady Ranfurly published the diary she kept for six years during World War II, a first person account of the war fought in North Africa. Her observations are perceptive, intelligent, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, and always compassionate.
The back story: Hermione and Dan Ranfurly were married in London on January 17, 1939; both were twenty five years old. In August of that year, while on vacation in Scotland, he is notified that his regiment, the Notts Sherwood Rangers, the “only horsed formation in the British Army,” is being deployed. His faithful valet, Whitaker is asked to accompany him and is later assigned to another company, connecting with Hermione a number of times during the long years in service. Wives are not allowed to follow their husbands, but she, undaunted, finds a way to follow Dan, defying orders to return home to England, finding work in dangerous areas close to the fighting, remaining even after he is taken prisoner of war in Italy.
The diary passages are filled with details of developing news from the war fronts, often dismal and discouraging and of establishing small outposts of civility when rations and luxuries are limited or non-existent. Serving as a personal secretary to important generals, a myriad of complex problems with supplies and shipping fall to her as do issues of diplomacy and etiquette with heads of state visiting. The loss of life is appalling, and she shares information about the war being fought in North Africa, the part of WW II I was woefully uninformed about...Baghdad, Cairo, Algiers...”Always we followed the tracks of the war...” Her footnotes and index provided an effective guide, and I frequently sought my own research to ensure I understood.
The passages are filled with stories of meeting the VIP's of the war: Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Randolph Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harold MacMillan, and Marshall Tito as well as other famous people such as Evelyn Waugh and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. who find their way to the front. Her interest is in getting to know them personally, not dazzled by their position; she approached all with the same curiosity and even handedness.
Her sense of humor resonates in passages like this one from September 29, 1943: “I told her (Madame Maisky) that, like a great many other people in England, I had earned my own living since the age of seventeen. I refrained with difficulty, from adding that I thought it a good deal more surprising that she should live like a capitalist and talk communism.”
A quick study, she understands the challenges of a war being fought on many fronts, which is reflected throughout the diary such as on November 17, 1943: “This is a global war and planes and ships and men are dispersed where they are most needed...Public opinion in a war must of necessity be ignorant so fame is a phoney...” From November 24, 1943: “We did not start this war but now we have to win it. Our target is peace on earth but we must do ghastly things to achieve this...Now, once again, we have all become murderers – in one way or another.” Often in a nonjudgmental way she offers an observation, indicating some prejudice or ignorance on the part of her colleagues or visitors...”The French have taught me that behind the gayest faces lie the deepest tragedies...and the English are the worst for judging.”
Never complaining about her circumstances, she could get frustrated while revealing her sense of humor such as on August 9, 1944: “This was typical of my job, I thought, as I dusted angrily. Apart from office work, you might be sent anywhere at any moment, be asked to meet aeroplanes, do hostess at official dinner parties, comfort lonely officers, give tea to Partisan dictators when you don't even own a teapot...” Twelve hour days, sometimes performing trivial, boring tasks, Lady Ranfurly loved being “in the know” about the war and maintained her compassion about the suffering and atrocities she saw and heard about as she traveled around the war...”I feel there is no hope for humanity.”
The story of her evolution continues with her husband's escape to safety, her promotion to “Senior Civil Servant,” and a job offer in America that is rescinded due to her boss' wife's jealousy. The details of the last months and days of the war are filled with tension and strategy meetings and official dinners, Hermione, always conscious of the human toll. Her accounts make history come alive: Roosevelt's death in the US, the German concentration camps, Mussolini's capture, Marshal Petain's arrest on the Swiss Frontier, Hitler's death, the Labour Party's election victory in England, the formation of the United Nations, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 10, 1945, she wrote, “...but what we have done to defend ourselves and to win the war – is too frightful for words.”
Because I was so intrigued with Hermione, I did some additional research, discovering she and her husband took a post in the Bahamas after the war, and she continued to commit herself to assisting the underprivileged. Her intelligence, humor, wisdom, and empathy are reflected on every page of the diary, a wonderful story of love and loyalty and a window into the war.
The back story: Hermione and Dan Ranfurly were married in London on January 17, 1939; both were twenty five years old. In August of that year, while on vacation in Scotland, he is notified that his regiment, the Notts Sherwood Rangers, the “only horsed formation in the British Army,” is being deployed. His faithful valet, Whitaker is asked to accompany him and is later assigned to another company, connecting with Hermione a number of times during the long years in service. Wives are not allowed to follow their husbands, but she, undaunted, finds a way to follow Dan, defying orders to return home to England, finding work in dangerous areas close to the fighting, remaining even after he is taken prisoner of war in Italy.
The diary passages are filled with details of developing news from the war fronts, often dismal and discouraging and of establishing small outposts of civility when rations and luxuries are limited or non-existent. Serving as a personal secretary to important generals, a myriad of complex problems with supplies and shipping fall to her as do issues of diplomacy and etiquette with heads of state visiting. The loss of life is appalling, and she shares information about the war being fought in North Africa, the part of WW II I was woefully uninformed about...Baghdad, Cairo, Algiers...”Always we followed the tracks of the war...” Her footnotes and index provided an effective guide, and I frequently sought my own research to ensure I understood.
The passages are filled with stories of meeting the VIP's of the war: Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Randolph Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harold MacMillan, and Marshall Tito as well as other famous people such as Evelyn Waugh and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. who find their way to the front. Her interest is in getting to know them personally, not dazzled by their position; she approached all with the same curiosity and even handedness.
Her sense of humor resonates in passages like this one from September 29, 1943: “I told her (Madame Maisky) that, like a great many other people in England, I had earned my own living since the age of seventeen. I refrained with difficulty, from adding that I thought it a good deal more surprising that she should live like a capitalist and talk communism.”
A quick study, she understands the challenges of a war being fought on many fronts, which is reflected throughout the diary such as on November 17, 1943: “This is a global war and planes and ships and men are dispersed where they are most needed...Public opinion in a war must of necessity be ignorant so fame is a phoney...” From November 24, 1943: “We did not start this war but now we have to win it. Our target is peace on earth but we must do ghastly things to achieve this...Now, once again, we have all become murderers – in one way or another.” Often in a nonjudgmental way she offers an observation, indicating some prejudice or ignorance on the part of her colleagues or visitors...”The French have taught me that behind the gayest faces lie the deepest tragedies...and the English are the worst for judging.”
Never complaining about her circumstances, she could get frustrated while revealing her sense of humor such as on August 9, 1944: “This was typical of my job, I thought, as I dusted angrily. Apart from office work, you might be sent anywhere at any moment, be asked to meet aeroplanes, do hostess at official dinner parties, comfort lonely officers, give tea to Partisan dictators when you don't even own a teapot...” Twelve hour days, sometimes performing trivial, boring tasks, Lady Ranfurly loved being “in the know” about the war and maintained her compassion about the suffering and atrocities she saw and heard about as she traveled around the war...”I feel there is no hope for humanity.”
The story of her evolution continues with her husband's escape to safety, her promotion to “Senior Civil Servant,” and a job offer in America that is rescinded due to her boss' wife's jealousy. The details of the last months and days of the war are filled with tension and strategy meetings and official dinners, Hermione, always conscious of the human toll. Her accounts make history come alive: Roosevelt's death in the US, the German concentration camps, Mussolini's capture, Marshal Petain's arrest on the Swiss Frontier, Hitler's death, the Labour Party's election victory in England, the formation of the United Nations, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 10, 1945, she wrote, “...but what we have done to defend ourselves and to win the war – is too frightful for words.”
Because I was so intrigued with Hermione, I did some additional research, discovering she and her husband took a post in the Bahamas after the war, and she continued to commit herself to assisting the underprivileged. Her intelligence, humor, wisdom, and empathy are reflected on every page of the diary, a wonderful story of love and loyalty and a window into the war.
January 14, 2025
Some books are meant to be savoured, and this was one of them.
Written by Hermione Ranfurly during WW2, it describes her adventures, tears, and laughter in a rather unusual place - the Middle East, well, mostly. Without a doubt, one of the more defiant journals I've read, seeing this area of the world through her eyes was a fantastic journey. Her descriptions of Jerusalem (smells like cockroaches), Iraq (tranquil), Egypt, and even her post-war trek into Switzerland are beautifully described.
Interestingly enough, she meets some rather famous people: Eisenhower (who snubs her and she snubs in return), Patton (who sends her silk stockings), and various European royalty, military leaders of all types, and she describes them all delightfully well. Her work ethic was superb, and she was able to stay close to her husband through much of the war by sheer defiance. Their reunion was extremely sweet, but his escape story and time as a POW were a difficult read.
5/5 stars. Pleased to be starting 2025 off with an excellent book!
Written by Hermione Ranfurly during WW2, it describes her adventures, tears, and laughter in a rather unusual place - the Middle East, well, mostly. Without a doubt, one of the more defiant journals I've read, seeing this area of the world through her eyes was a fantastic journey. Her descriptions of Jerusalem (smells like cockroaches), Iraq (tranquil), Egypt, and even her post-war trek into Switzerland are beautifully described.
Interestingly enough, she meets some rather famous people: Eisenhower (who snubs her and she snubs in return), Patton (who sends her silk stockings), and various European royalty, military leaders of all types, and she describes them all delightfully well. Her work ethic was superb, and she was able to stay close to her husband through much of the war by sheer defiance. Their reunion was extremely sweet, but his escape story and time as a POW were a difficult read.
5/5 stars. Pleased to be starting 2025 off with an excellent book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2016
A quite extraordinarily riveting, heroic, humbling, and memorable read.
“Kippers for breakfast and the Invasion’s on."
Hello Teeth
Hello Gums
Look out stomach
Here it comes.
(Don't worry. You'll understand that if you read this book).
To begin again ...
Love, duty, honour, World War, separation, secret intelligence, the untimely death of a much loved mouse, a parrot whose favourite food is bananas, dinner with HRH The Princess Royal at the Ritz, ….
This 'story' had already begun when in September 1940 the manager of Barclays Bank in Cape Town said to the Countess of Ranfurly “I know you will pay me back, so I need no security [payment]. I just love rebels – and romance and adventure,”
If you want to find out about the sinking of the SS Empress of Britain off Ireland in September 1940; what working for SOE [Special Operations Executive] was like; having Freya Stark as a friend; an epic journey from Baghdad to Tehran in January 1943; the inside-story of the Conference of Cairo (Churchill, Roosevelt, Chiang Kai Chek) in November 1943; visiting Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill in hospital in Bari (Italy); and dinner with David Stirling (who later founded the SAS); and more, much more, then do read this book.
In places the gift of second sight appears prescient. On 2 January 1942 Lady Ranfurly records Mr Bonner Fellows, the US Military Attaché ‘prophesy’ that “… Russia will take the lead in tomorrow’s world. You people are so busy with tradition and mine so stuck on making money that I guess it will serve us right if they do. Hmm. BRICs anyone? Then on 30 July 1945, Lady Ranfurly writes “A Mitchell plane has crashed into the Empire State Building. Three lifts dropped about 1000 feet. The plane stuck half in, half out of the skyscraper. How can they get it out?”
Why did Lady Ranfurly buy yards of silk for General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart to have made up into pyjamas in India? Read this book. Why did General Patton buy silk stockings for Lady Ranfurly? Read this book. Why did Lady Ranfurly empty the contents of five wastepaper baskets containing the more boring papers of Air Marshall Slessor out of the window and onto the London street below on 8 May 1945? Read this book, and your curiosity will be assuaged.
At the root of all, there is, as that bank manager in Cape Town correctly spotted, a remarkably special love story.
Unmissable.
“Kippers for breakfast and the Invasion’s on."
Hello Teeth
Hello Gums
Look out stomach
Here it comes.
(Don't worry. You'll understand that if you read this book).
To begin again ...
Love, duty, honour, World War, separation, secret intelligence, the untimely death of a much loved mouse, a parrot whose favourite food is bananas, dinner with HRH The Princess Royal at the Ritz, ….
This 'story' had already begun when in September 1940 the manager of Barclays Bank in Cape Town said to the Countess of Ranfurly “I know you will pay me back, so I need no security [payment]. I just love rebels – and romance and adventure,”
If you want to find out about the sinking of the SS Empress of Britain off Ireland in September 1940; what working for SOE [Special Operations Executive] was like; having Freya Stark as a friend; an epic journey from Baghdad to Tehran in January 1943; the inside-story of the Conference of Cairo (Churchill, Roosevelt, Chiang Kai Chek) in November 1943; visiting Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill in hospital in Bari (Italy); and dinner with David Stirling (who later founded the SAS); and more, much more, then do read this book.
In places the gift of second sight appears prescient. On 2 January 1942 Lady Ranfurly records Mr Bonner Fellows, the US Military Attaché ‘prophesy’ that “… Russia will take the lead in tomorrow’s world. You people are so busy with tradition and mine so stuck on making money that I guess it will serve us right if they do. Hmm. BRICs anyone? Then on 30 July 1945, Lady Ranfurly writes “A Mitchell plane has crashed into the Empire State Building. Three lifts dropped about 1000 feet. The plane stuck half in, half out of the skyscraper. How can they get it out?”
Why did Lady Ranfurly buy yards of silk for General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart to have made up into pyjamas in India? Read this book. Why did General Patton buy silk stockings for Lady Ranfurly? Read this book. Why did Lady Ranfurly empty the contents of five wastepaper baskets containing the more boring papers of Air Marshall Slessor out of the window and onto the London street below on 8 May 1945? Read this book, and your curiosity will be assuaged.
At the root of all, there is, as that bank manager in Cape Town correctly spotted, a remarkably special love story.
Unmissable.
August 18, 2014
Utterly charming account of the adventures of Lady Ranfurly, who sought against great adversity to be near her husband. She ended up as secretary/personal assistant to many in high position, including General "Jumbo" Wilson, cIC Mideast/Mediterannean. VERY good. Lots of synergy with other WW II memoirs re: Mediterranean I was reading at the same time, including Brit Harold MacMillan and American Robert Murphy
August 9, 2022
Extremely readable and fascinating insight in to a civilian working for the military forces in Egypt and Italy during WWII. And that’s not talking about the fact that she should never have been in Egypt in the first place and plenty of army bureaucrats tried to get her send home to England.
I thought some of her observations were fascinating - talking about the uncomfortable atmosphere in Jerusalem (in what was Palestine then) and wondering how the problem there could ever be resolved.
She may have been a countess but she worked damn hard for the 5/6 years of the war and, it seems to me, was clearly an excellent conversationalist and a considerate and compassionate friend to those around her, including to those her cleaned & cooked in some of her billets. (Of course I strongly suspect she got some of those rather lovely sounding villas to stay in because of who she was). Would definitely recommend this.
I thought some of her observations were fascinating - talking about the uncomfortable atmosphere in Jerusalem (in what was Palestine then) and wondering how the problem there could ever be resolved.
She may have been a countess but she worked damn hard for the 5/6 years of the war and, it seems to me, was clearly an excellent conversationalist and a considerate and compassionate friend to those around her, including to those her cleaned & cooked in some of her billets. (Of course I strongly suspect she got some of those rather lovely sounding villas to stay in because of who she was). Would definitely recommend this.
April 18, 2020
An extraordinary story. A fascinating glimpse into the eccentric life of an aristocrat during the war years. Her experiences were so interesting and exciting.
July 21, 2020
I love first-hand accounts, and this is an incredibly interesting one of a woman who followed her husband to the Mediterranean Theater during the war and found jobs there, crossing paths with many influential people of the time period.
April 15, 2012
To war with Whitaker
In August 2009 I read a childhood memoir by Hermione, Countess Ranfurly, called the ‘Ugly One”, a book I came across by chance. Having finished it I wanted to read about the next stage of her life, in her war time diaries published as To War with Whitaker. I bought a copy of it some time ago – and I am stunned it has taken me quite so long to read it.
In January 1939 Hermione Llewellyn became Countess Ranfurly when she married her Dan, that is Daniel Knox the 6th Earl of Ranfurly. Their lives together were beginning at a particularly tumultuous time in European history, and soon the happy young couple were thrust right into the fray. In September 1939 Dan reported to his yeomanry in Nottinghamshire. The Ranfurly’s cook/butler Whitaker went too. Hermione followed after them.
Dan Ranfurly was then posted to the Middle East, unlike regular army wives, yeomanry wives were forbidden from joining their husbands in the Middle East, however Hermione had no intention of listening. Coming up against many very grumpy old generals, and miles of red tape Countess Ranfurly was determined not to return to England without her husband. Travelling between Cairo, Jerusalem Beirut, via South Africa the young Countess eventually manages to secure her place in the Middle East as a secretary – working first for the SOE Cairo office and later as a civil servant in Jerusalem.
In April 1941 Dan Ranfurly is among a group of men captured in the dessert by the Italians. Hermione is devastated by his disappearance, but she is powerless to do anything but wait for news. The Countess and the ever faithful Whitaker decide to wait it out in the Middle East, and not to return home without him. Eventually Dan’s letters start to come through to her – although they often take weeks and even months to reach her, and he is allowed only a few lines to write on.
Later the countess and her husband are reunited, and after a brief spell in London they are back working separately but in the same country – this time Italy. Throughout the years of World War II the Countess Ranfurly worked hard, often enduring long hours – earning the respect of many soldiers and civilians, among them “General Jumbo” for whom she worked for over 2 years in both the Middle East and Italy.
The dairies that Hermione kept are remarkably detailed and well written. Enormously atmospheric, they are also hugely readable and provide a marvellous history of the war in the Middle East particularly. During these years the Countess met some incredible people including Churchill, Eisenhower and Marshal Tito, and became the proud owner of a parrot called Coco – who was often given bananas by the Countess’s guests. As I read, I was continually impressed by this aristocratic young woman’s way of dealing with what the war threw at her. The Countess’s love for her young husband never wavers, she is absolutely devoted to him, but not in an over emotional way, she sheds the occasional tear but then just gets on with what she has to do – works hard, is sensible intelligent and brilliantly unstoppable.
November 21, 2017
I really enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. One is that it is a unique first-hand account by an insider of events which rank with the most important in history. Unique in that it is a the diary of an Upper-class Englishwoman (Baroness) who finds herself working as a vital but still blue-collar secretary job by day at Army Headquarters and by night presides as a Lady Hostess for the steady stream of visiting dignitaries and soldiers. I imagined it like Lady Mary from Downton Abbey…”More tea Mr. Prime Minister?”
It is the diary of a remarkable and likable woman, who against orders, clandestinely followed her husband and his valet to Palestine at the outbreak of World War II. Along the way she is aided by all sorts through France and the Med, later after she is bundled onto a ship to be transported home she jumps ship in South Africa...more adventure follows. Eventually "that nuisance of a woman" finds a way to stay close to her husband, that is before he gets captured by Rommel. Since English speaking stenographers were non-existent in the North African and Mideastern Theaters at the time she finds a way to stay and became an insider eyewitness to the war serving on the Headquarters Staff for the commanding British Generals in Cairo, Jerusalem and in Italy. Doubling as Headquarters Hostess she entertained a Who’s Who of Allied leaders and personalities. Evidently a young, attractive and energetic English Baroness was in demand in a theater of war far from home. Even here social duties and standards needed to be upheld and so after a full day’s work she finds herself dining with the likes of Eisenhower, Tito and Churchill
The other reason I liked this book was what it revealed between the lines. The Author was a Baroness and part of the English upper class in what proved to be its swan song. The British Empire had been administered by members of an elite club, that society of privileged, gifted amateurs who felt the thrill of adventure and the responsibility of blood to rule. As a member of the Club which included all the Generals, Politicians and Diplomats, the author moved in the Circles of the high and mighty as well has the intimate social circles where hospitality is unquestioningly extended to any member of the club from Gibraltar to Cape Town and across the world. They rallied round for each other.
The events the author records in her diary rank with the most momentous of history, but unfortunately the author has little gift for anecdote or sketching characters (a limitation which made the book a little bit of a chore to finish for me). There is also little suspense since we know who wins the war and that the author and her husband survive. Because of that I am going to put this on my “Don’t really need to finish” shelf. I would recommend this book to general readers and history buffs alike.
It is the diary of a remarkable and likable woman, who against orders, clandestinely followed her husband and his valet to Palestine at the outbreak of World War II. Along the way she is aided by all sorts through France and the Med, later after she is bundled onto a ship to be transported home she jumps ship in South Africa...more adventure follows. Eventually "that nuisance of a woman" finds a way to stay close to her husband, that is before he gets captured by Rommel. Since English speaking stenographers were non-existent in the North African and Mideastern Theaters at the time she finds a way to stay and became an insider eyewitness to the war serving on the Headquarters Staff for the commanding British Generals in Cairo, Jerusalem and in Italy. Doubling as Headquarters Hostess she entertained a Who’s Who of Allied leaders and personalities. Evidently a young, attractive and energetic English Baroness was in demand in a theater of war far from home. Even here social duties and standards needed to be upheld and so after a full day’s work she finds herself dining with the likes of Eisenhower, Tito and Churchill
The other reason I liked this book was what it revealed between the lines. The Author was a Baroness and part of the English upper class in what proved to be its swan song. The British Empire had been administered by members of an elite club, that society of privileged, gifted amateurs who felt the thrill of adventure and the responsibility of blood to rule. As a member of the Club which included all the Generals, Politicians and Diplomats, the author moved in the Circles of the high and mighty as well has the intimate social circles where hospitality is unquestioningly extended to any member of the club from Gibraltar to Cape Town and across the world. They rallied round for each other.
The events the author records in her diary rank with the most momentous of history, but unfortunately the author has little gift for anecdote or sketching characters (a limitation which made the book a little bit of a chore to finish for me). There is also little suspense since we know who wins the war and that the author and her husband survive. Because of that I am going to put this on my “Don’t really need to finish” shelf. I would recommend this book to general readers and history buffs alike.
August 2, 2011
She learned how to fire a gun, drive an ambulance, type, take dictation....all so she could do something useful for the war effort and all in an effort to be near the man she loved. And what a grand adventure she had! All the travels to exotic places, all the important military and political leaders she came into contact with; and she wrote so crisply, so matter-of-factly. I didn't even get the impression at all that she realized how strong, courageous, resilient -- how heroic -- she actually was. More than this, there is a lot of history within the pages of this book. You will find important events, important people, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times. Hers is an adventure that would not have been possible without the kindness of strangers in the midst of a world turned upside down by much cruelty and senseless death. Reading her diary, I really felt transported.....and moved too, by her words, her life, and her great love for this man who was not entirely forgettable, and yet wasn't all that unforgetttable either. What a great love story.
March 23, 2021
The wartime diary of Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly is fascinating and probably nothing like you'd expect a Countess's wartime diary to be. I would have guessed they'd be about a privileged woman spending the war languishing on her country estate, possibly volunteering for the Red Cross in her spare time. Instead, Hermione was a strong willed force of nature who spent most of the war working as a PA to senior Generals in Jerusalem, Cairo, Baghdad and Italy.
Hermione grew up in a wealthy upper class family, but her father burned through all his money and she worked as a secretary before marrying. When war broke out in 1939 she had been married less than 9 months. Her husband Dan was immediately called up for military service and departed for North Africa with his valet (Whitaker) and horse. Hermione was determined to follow him and found her own way to Palestine. A few months later the army decided that Army wives must leave and she was deported on a ship bound for England. She disembarked in South Africa, persuaded a friendly bank manager to lend her enough money to get back to Egypt and despite all the odds acquired a ticket on a sea plane from Durban to Cairo (a journey that took 4 days with multiple stops). Eventually the authorities allowed her to stay in Egypt, and she became known as the woman who "outmanoeuvred all the Generals in the Middle East".
She was a descriptive and lively writer. Here's her description of Colonel "Jumbo" Wilson who became Commander in Chief of the Middle East: General Jumbo was sitting at his desk with his tin spectacles on the end of his nose; he held a fly swotter in one hand. Tall, immensely fat, with kind twinkly little eyes, he looks exactly like an elephant - an elephant standing on its hind legs...From time to time he paused to swipe a fly; though they are sleepy now he nearly always missed and uttered, "Winged it".
At another point, when she's told at short notice that a group including Marshall Tito are coming to her house: This was typical of my job, I thought, as I dusted angrily. Apart from office work you might be sent anywhere at any moment, be asked to meet aeroplanes, do hostess at official parties, comfort lonely officers, give tea to Partisan dictators when you don't even own a teapot..."
Hermione took great interest in everyone she met, whether they were important or insignificant, and seemed to like almost all of them (General Eisenhower was a notable exception). And while she's too modest to say so, it's clear that she was enormously charming and popular herself as well as extremely hard working. Throughout, the love story that is her marriage to Dan shines through and they remained happily married for many years after the war.
I read this after reading her childhood memoirs "The Ugly One" - both are quite delightful.
Hermione grew up in a wealthy upper class family, but her father burned through all his money and she worked as a secretary before marrying. When war broke out in 1939 she had been married less than 9 months. Her husband Dan was immediately called up for military service and departed for North Africa with his valet (Whitaker) and horse. Hermione was determined to follow him and found her own way to Palestine. A few months later the army decided that Army wives must leave and she was deported on a ship bound for England. She disembarked in South Africa, persuaded a friendly bank manager to lend her enough money to get back to Egypt and despite all the odds acquired a ticket on a sea plane from Durban to Cairo (a journey that took 4 days with multiple stops). Eventually the authorities allowed her to stay in Egypt, and she became known as the woman who "outmanoeuvred all the Generals in the Middle East".
She was a descriptive and lively writer. Here's her description of Colonel "Jumbo" Wilson who became Commander in Chief of the Middle East: General Jumbo was sitting at his desk with his tin spectacles on the end of his nose; he held a fly swotter in one hand. Tall, immensely fat, with kind twinkly little eyes, he looks exactly like an elephant - an elephant standing on its hind legs...From time to time he paused to swipe a fly; though they are sleepy now he nearly always missed and uttered, "Winged it".
At another point, when she's told at short notice that a group including Marshall Tito are coming to her house: This was typical of my job, I thought, as I dusted angrily. Apart from office work you might be sent anywhere at any moment, be asked to meet aeroplanes, do hostess at official parties, comfort lonely officers, give tea to Partisan dictators when you don't even own a teapot..."
Hermione took great interest in everyone she met, whether they were important or insignificant, and seemed to like almost all of them (General Eisenhower was a notable exception). And while she's too modest to say so, it's clear that she was enormously charming and popular herself as well as extremely hard working. Throughout, the love story that is her marriage to Dan shines through and they remained happily married for many years after the war.
I read this after reading her childhood memoirs "The Ugly One" - both are quite delightful.
May 29, 2017
Found this in a charity shop for two euro, had never heard of it or the diarist but I love diaries. Well, it was worth a whole lot more than a couple of euro. She was a newly married countess at the outbreak of WWII, determined to follow her husband to his posting in the Middle East. No slacker, she finds herself working for some of the most important men and had considerable access to military intelligence and gossip, meeting the likes of General Eisenhower, Peter Fleming and Randolph Churchill. When her husband is taken prisoner, she determines to stay put, in the face of jealous wives and stuck-up old soldiers who resent her civilian status. I suppose it's a sign of the times ... and the aristocracy ... that the reader frequently forgets the POW hubby because she wastes few words in worrying about him, sparing us from what must have been a traumatic and painful separation that lasted years. In this case, action speaks louder than words. While her indomitable spirit is inspirational, I loved this book for the unique insight into the war. One of my favourite stories concerns Stalin arriving in Malta for a meeting with Winston Churchill, announcing himself via telegram, 'Here I am. Where are you?'
June 27, 2022
The Second World War has produced a multitude of fascinating diaries and memoirs but this one has gone straight to the top of my list. Hermione Ranfurly combines the intimate and totally frank approach of a diary with a beautifully concise - and often amusing - writerly style. Most importantly she had in person the intelligence, wit and charm to remain in the Middle Eastern theatre of war (despite 'wives' being sent home) where her husband was fighting and later captured, working as secretary for a number of the top allied military command, and meeting some of the most interesting and bravest of men and women. She was at the centre of events unfolding in North Africa and the Middle East, but also conveys the sense of confusion and ignorance of events unfolding elsewhere in an age before instant communications. This makes the diaries a gripping read - the sense of joy and relief as the allies push forward is palpable, despite ourselves knowing the ultimate outcome of the war. There is also an element of romance as Hermione tries to find out what has happened to her husband and whether she will ever be reunited with him... I constantly looked forward to immersing myself in Hermione's world and was bereft when the diaries ended.
December 31, 2019
Every night, Lady Ranfurly washed her stockings and wrote in her diary. The result is this incredible book - her real-life diary spanning World War II, from the moment her Scottish holiday is interrupted when the Germans march on Poland, to the Scottish trip she took after the Japanese surrendered.
Lady Ranfurly’s diary is funny, poignant, and detailed - it is an incredible portrait of the people behind the scenes during World War II, from Baghdad to Cairo, Jerusalem to Caserta. Reading the events which feel like history now, unfolding on a daily basis, offers personal and historic insights which are as exciting as they can be entertaining. Is there a parrot from a feed store in Iraq that travels with her? Of course. Does their overweight manservant come with them to Iraq? You had better believe it. Are there dinner parties and dancing amidst blackouts and bombings?? YES AND YES AND YES. Each page is fascinating.
This is a lovely book, a book that is about war, the practical and secretive, the telegraphs and meetings, the beer rations and prisoner-of-war escapes, and the exhausting efforts and bravery which helped win that war. Glorious glorious glorious.
Lady Ranfurly’s diary is funny, poignant, and detailed - it is an incredible portrait of the people behind the scenes during World War II, from Baghdad to Cairo, Jerusalem to Caserta. Reading the events which feel like history now, unfolding on a daily basis, offers personal and historic insights which are as exciting as they can be entertaining. Is there a parrot from a feed store in Iraq that travels with her? Of course. Does their overweight manservant come with them to Iraq? You had better believe it. Are there dinner parties and dancing amidst blackouts and bombings?? YES AND YES AND YES. Each page is fascinating.
This is a lovely book, a book that is about war, the practical and secretive, the telegraphs and meetings, the beer rations and prisoner-of-war escapes, and the exhausting efforts and bravery which helped win that war. Glorious glorious glorious.
January 5, 2020
I like to read published diaries because I find them more interesting than memoirs.
To say that the author certainly had an interesting time during World War Two would be somewhat of an understatement. She worked as a personal assistant for generals that involved meeting a number of quite interesting people and traveling to a number of places which she writes about in her diary. She does not go into great detail as to what her job entailed but seeing as how she worked for generals and the Special Operations Executive there was not much she could tell. Instead she tells about her travels and the trials and tribulations of finding a job as a personal assistant or secretary so she wouldn’t be ordered (deported?) back to the UK when her husband became a POW. I believe that she handled adversity a lot better than many of us would do today. Stiff upper lip and all that.
She seemed to be an intelligent and bright individual and wrote rather well. I enjoyed reading this book and I did not want to put it down.
To say that the author certainly had an interesting time during World War Two would be somewhat of an understatement. She worked as a personal assistant for generals that involved meeting a number of quite interesting people and traveling to a number of places which she writes about in her diary. She does not go into great detail as to what her job entailed but seeing as how she worked for generals and the Special Operations Executive there was not much she could tell. Instead she tells about her travels and the trials and tribulations of finding a job as a personal assistant or secretary so she wouldn’t be ordered (deported?) back to the UK when her husband became a POW. I believe that she handled adversity a lot better than many of us would do today. Stiff upper lip and all that.
She seemed to be an intelligent and bright individual and wrote rather well. I enjoyed reading this book and I did not want to put it down.
July 19, 2022
This is the diary of a redoubtable woman who refused to be left behind when her husband was sent to the Middle East as an officer in the British Army during the Second World War. The great generals tried to ban her and when that failed, they tried to send her home and when that failed, they surrendered leaving her to do a variety of secretarial type jobs among the high and mighty of the British civil and military establishment in the Mediterranean theatre of war. This surprised many people because she was the Countess of Ranfurly. However, not one to stand on ceremony, she played her role with energy and efficiency, all the while keeping this diary which is a lively, breezy account of what it was like behind the scenes. She rubbed shoulders with some of the most famous people in the world and has plenty of anecdotes and sharp observations about them. But some of her most interesting stories are about the ordinary people whose paths she crossed during these years of extreme peril and uncertainty. Among them was the Whitaker of the title, her butler.
October 1, 2021
Fascinating window into a world gone by. World War II started while Hermione Ranfurly was on her honeymoon, which had to be cut short because her new husband's Yeomanry unit (equivalent of National Guard) was called up. As an indication of how different things were in those days, her husband took his middle-aged, overweight butler, Whitaker, with him to the war zone in the middle east. While bringing your butler with you to battle Rommel wasn't exactly common at the time, more unusual still was that Hermione came along too. For the rest of the war, this plucky, resourceful woman basically talked her way into one job after another from one end of the Mediterranean Sea to the other, so that she could be near her husband. One chapter she is relating having tea with Orde Wingate (British commando legend) in Cairo, while in another she is gossiping with Eisenhower's aides in Italy. Be warned, her language and attitudes are from the last century. But this is worth a read.
August 1, 2025
Hermione Knox, Countess of Ranfurly through her marriage to Lord Dan Ranfurly, spent most of WW2 in North Africa and the Middle East. Dan was posted there in 1939; she was denied permission to go with him, so she got herself there at her own expense, travelling across France just before it was defeated and making her own way to the end of the Mediterranean. Her saving grace was that she was a very proficient shorthand typist and so could make herself useful working for a whole plethora of important people, from General Wavell onwards. And thus she spent the rest of the war, even when Dan was captured and spent the next couple of years as a POW in Italy. She travelled all over the place, from Algiers to Ankara, and was either in the room or just outside the room where all kinds of important historical things were happening, noting it all down with the eye and language of a natural born travel correspondent. A fascinating read as she captures things that went on to become history.
June 5, 2018
Well "liked it" is sort of true. This is perhaps a 2.5 star book. The events the Countess of Ranfurly witnessed first hand - WWII in the mid-east (Palestine, Egypt, Algiers)- before reuniting with her husband in Italy where he had been a POW for two years have historical significance. She had personal encounters with Eisenhower, Tito, Randolph Churchill, Noel Coward - among others-as personal secretary to General Henry Maitland Wilson, the Supreme Allied commander in the Mediterranean. Her great "pluck" is certainly much to be admired. The Countess' musings on the plight of millions of innocent civilians all around the world during the war demonstrate her genuine compassion....but, there are also passages that make the modern reader cringe based on this upper class Englishwoman's assumptions and presumptions about the Egyptians, Palestinians, Jews and others she lives among.
December 15, 2018
This is insider history. It's not storytelling. Ranfurly is a shorthand typist and diarist who kept track of such things as who sat at the dinner table when 84 generals were assembled to dine with the king of Italy as the allies made their move onto the Italian mainland towards the end of WWII. It's not a story of trench warfare but of how the more privileged eked out a living dining with the likes of Douglas Fairbanks Junior or Thornton Wilder among others who dropped by to watch the war from well behind the lines. It's about those who could, and did, take their valets along when duty called.
February 10, 2020
Fascinating account of the wartime experiences of Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly, as her efforts to be near her husband led her to spend World War II working as a secretary to British generals in Cairo and later Italy amongst other exciting adventures. She met almost everyone, knew almost everyone and gives a picture of a side of the war that isn't often dealt with - the work of men and women organising things behind the scenes. I really enjoyed reading her account of her life in the various parts of the Middle East she found herself in and her reactions to the events she had to deal with. A very absorbing read.
August 10, 2021
A fascinating look into the diary of a woman serving the Britain as a civilian aid to a British spy agency, and then to a succession of commanding generals during WWII in the Middle East and broader Mediterranean theaters of the war.
Hermione offers descriptions of famous and infamous political and military characters and actors of the world stage, politics and war, and personal insights into what it was like to live through the war as a woman of adventure.
Lady Ranfurly's musings are cheeky and hilarious at times, but at other times, heartbreakingly sad.
An excellent book for those interested in mid-twentieth century war-time history, geopolitics, and feminism.
Hermione offers descriptions of famous and infamous political and military characters and actors of the world stage, politics and war, and personal insights into what it was like to live through the war as a woman of adventure.
Lady Ranfurly's musings are cheeky and hilarious at times, but at other times, heartbreakingly sad.
An excellent book for those interested in mid-twentieth century war-time history, geopolitics, and feminism.
November 18, 2023
This is written in diary format which I don't normally enjoy. However, this shows a forgotten way of life in the Middle East, its squalor and beauty, and also what it was like to be on a war footing. Author shipped out to follow her husband and she became the highest graded, and only, woman civilian on a military base. So may famous names are mentioned that she had to meet, organise something for, provide food and accommodation, and onward travel. Many of the places mentioned are in the news today. Took me ages to read it but it is well worth spending time for a personal view, sharing the worries for her husband who was a PoW and friends travelling around and back home.
April 15, 2020
What an incredible book. This should be used in schools to show a women's POV during WWII, I say that as I wish I had it at school as we studied this era extensively. What a refreshing perspective and a real insight what happened away from the fighting. I didn't even know that wives could (or couldn't) go with their husbands abroad. The work Hermione did as well was truly fascinating and again a refreshing insight to various cultures and attitudes to the war during this time.
I will be recommending this one to lots of people.
I will be recommending this one to lots of people.
December 12, 2024
Hermione Ranfurly was clearly a remarkable woman and this is a very readable diary of her wide-ranging experiences during the Second World War. She knew and met an extraordinary number of notables and war heroes, quite apart from the Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals she worked with and for: Julian Amery, Lord Beaverbrook, Randolph Churchill, Dudley Clarke, Lady Diana and Duff Cooper, Noel Coward, Anthony Eden, George Jellicoe, Fitzroy Maclean, Freya Stark, David Stirling, Evelyn Waugh, Orde Wingate; she really only needed Patrick Leigh Fermor to collect the set.
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