Hand Written Journal Diary Of Life In Wartime Sheffield Yorkshire Ww1 1918

[RichardB]

1 day, 4 hours left. £100, too rich for my blood, shame, sounds exactky like we should have.

eBay

A comprhensive journal with 138 manuscript pages. This is a very personal account of life in Sheffield during the last year of WW1. There is no name in the book, but having read most of it, I have pieced together details of the man who wrote it.

John Melvin Dyson lived at 13 Moor Oaks Road. He was 75 years old and had been widowed for 40 years. He lived with his 41 year old daughter Rose and their maid Maud. She had lived with them for 11 years and appears to have been treated as a member of the family. His 42 year old son Willie was in the Army. His battalion moved between camps in Rugely, Woodbridge and Westcliffe on Sea, and he made several trips home during 1918.

The family appears to have been comfortably off. They owned houses and a workshop in Weston Street with the workshop being let to a scissors manufacturer. References are made to "the office" and 2 Meeting House Lane. I believe this relates to the Solicitors Bingley & Dyson. At various times Willie is referred to as writing wills, drafting deeds etc, so I think he was probably working as a solicitor prior to the war.

Mr Dyson's journal records everyday life (home, church, relatives, friends etc) but thoughts of war are never far away. Rationing, air raids and bomb damage are mentioned, and there are numerous references to the sons of friends and fellow churchgoers who lost their lives fighting on the front. Many of these are accompanied by newspaper cuttings announcing the deaths of soldiers

Many news cuttings are included amongst the pages, recording the progress of the war and the approach of peace. Cuttings are glued into margins without obscuring the handwriting.

Reading the journal seems to bring Mr Dyson to life. He is slightly obsessed with money and the price of items and he sometimes complains about his health, but overall he appears to enjoy his life, to love his family and to be grateful for everthing he has.

The hardback album measures 202mm by 165mm. Pages numbered: all journal entries are on pages 21 to 158.

There are a few additional pages recording expenses, subscription etc. The first and last few pages have been removed but all journal entries for the year 1918 are complete from 1st Jan to 31st Dec. Original binding in good condition with just minor damage to bottom of spine. Clean interior. No loose or torn pages.

[RichardB]

One bid (not me).

1 day, 4 hours left. £100, too rich for my blood, shame, sounds exactky like we should have.

eBay

[RichardB]

£162.98 !

[Guest Trefcon]

This is now at Sheffield Archives.

[RichardB]

That is great news.

This is now at Sheffield Archives.

[Guest Trefcon]

Try this -

http://www.calmview.eu/SheffieldArchives/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=X548%2f1