My mother gave me a suitcase full of my Great-Great-Aunt Kate’s diaries.
“Aunt Kate”, as she was known in our family, was a meticulous diary writer. She started writing about her day when she was 15 (1894) until her death at 82 (1961). I want to transcribe them.
Please bear with me as there are 61 years of daily diaries to write out. I may need some help with deciphering some of the words too. The writing is tiny and, as the diaries progress, there is a weather summary for each day written up the side.
This is truly a labour of love but I am also fascinated in the Aunt Kate’s life. She was a descendent of Michael Faraday’s family, (an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry). She lived through two World Wars, volunteered helping refugees in London and Belgium (received an MBE, OBE and the Queen Elisabeth Medal (Belgium WW1 medal), went to the Slade School of Fine Art (the Henry Tonks era), looked after her younger sister when her mother died very young amongst many other achievements.
I never met Aunt Kate, she died 2 years before I was born, but she has always played a huge role in our family.
Just a note, it might help you understand who everyone is, if you read our Family History first.
The Diaries of my Great-Great-Aunt Kate 