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World War II London Blitz Diary

by Ruby Side Thompson, Victoria Aldridge Washuk (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 123 ratings · 41 reviews

This Diary was written during the World War two London Blitz years by a woman experiencing the nightly terrifying bombings. The diary reveals what the average Londoner experienced during that time; events that today have been forgotten or lost to younger generations. The diary was not written for publication but as an outlet for the author's thoughts and feelings that coul...more

ebook, 214 pages

Published August 27th 2011 by https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/vxwashuk (first published August 12th 2011)

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The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

Women's Journals and Diaries in History

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Sep 22, 2011 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: world-war, women-s-history, british-history

“Friday, September 1
War started today. After another week of lies and duplicity, Hitler launched into actual warfare early this morning. At five thirty this morning he announced the enclosure of Danzig in the Reich, and at five forty five he bombed his first Polish town . . .

The BBC has just announced that King George held a Privy Council this noon, and has signed papers completing the mobilization of our Army, Navy, and Air Forces. Further news to be broadcast at four p.m.”

So begins diary of Ru...more “Friday, September 1
War started today. After another week of lies and duplicity, Hitler launched into actual warfare early this morning. At five thirty this morning he announced the enclosure of Danzig in the Reich, and at five forty five he bombed his first Polish town . . .

The BBC has just announced that King George held a Privy Council this noon, and has signed papers completing the mobilization of our Army, Navy, and Air Forces. Further news to be broadcast at four p.m.”

So begins diary of Ruby Side Thompson, a middle-aged Londoner in a highly unsatisfying marriage who lived through the Blitz and who recorded with ink and pen whatever was utmost on her mind. Generally, her writing served as therapy for her bad marriage – and she chronicles her husband’s faulty behavior in great detail -- but when cataclysmic world events crash into her consciousness, they gain top priority and she writes fluidly as they unfold before her:

“Wednesday, May 15
At seven a.m. we heard that the Dutch have laid down their arms. After the Germans re-captured Rotterdam yesterday, the Netherlands Commander-in Chief issued an order to his troops concerned, to cease fighting. To continue resistance was hopeless.

“Now the struggle for Belgium proceeds . . .”

“Saturday, June 22
. . . The French Cabinet has been sitting most of today, and no armistice has been signed up till now, eight-fifteen p.m. Winston Churchill broadcast on Tuesday night, saying we would fight on “till the curse of Hitler was lifted from the brows of men.”

Such writing blasts history out of the realm of dry, dusty names and dates and nearly places the reader in the midst of events as they unfolded, very heady stuff for history buffs.

Her reaction to the Blitz is fascinating and reminded me very much of the personal testimony found within the pages of Osprey’s recent pictorial title, “The Blitz”:

“Sunday, September 1.
The raids at one p.m. and five-thirty are the worst Romford has yet experienced. At mid day fifteen bombs were dropped in the very center of town. The first one fell in Victoria Road, only missing the railway bridge by a half block. Then in a straight line across all those little roads towards Hornchurch and the Romeo, fourteen others were dropped, demolishing shops and houses and killing many people. Rumor gave the estimate dead as fifty, but we do not know the actual number yet. Perhaps it was more. I sat alone here in the most awful terror I have ever known. The noise was devilish, the house shook so much I expected it to fall upon me, and the suction in this air is indescribable. Machines were dwelling right over the house, and each bomb as it fell sounded as though it might be in the back garden.”

This is very important documentation and will have tremendous appeal to those who have an avid interest in the effect of the war on ordinary Britons.(less)

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May 11, 2012 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography, cultural-history, favorites, world-war-ii-memoir

This is volume 1 and a very down to earth, honest diary about the London Blitz in World War II. It is also the same thing about Ruby Thompson's private life and her feelings about her family and husband.
As the bombs drop, she tells of the fear and then the numbness of the experience. She also hates all men for perpetrating the war and destruction of her country, city and personal life.
Ruby's husband leaves her alone much of the time and, when the air raids come, she is terror stricken. This i...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Lisa Hayes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Got sick of her whining about her husband, but as the editor/grand daughter pointed out she did only do this in her personal diary--not to his face and she did not write this for publication, but as an emotional release. Also that she really didn't have the option of divorce socially. Since this volume was very early in the war the blitz was the overall hardship (life and death--pretty darned important!). If other volumes are available I will likely read them. I am fascinated by the cooking of t...more

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May 24, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Even more than the London blitz, this journal provides insight into how married women were viewed by their husbands in the first half of the Twentieth century. The granddaughter, who edits the journal, warns the reader that her Grandmother's words may be offensive--so I didn't know if I would be able to finish the book. However, when it came to it, many of her venting entries were on the status of the married woman, treatment by men, and men and religion. (However, there is one entry where she u...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Caroline Pointer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Telling Stories from the Grave
Consider this quote:

"I want them [the author's children] to be able to look into the mirror of a book, and find me." [Nook Tablet, p.398]

If that's not not talking from the grave, I don't know what is. Ruby Alice Side Thompson is the author of the diary entries contained in the books, World War II London Blitz Diary, Volumes 1-4. Only volumes one through three have been published, and I'm in the middle of volume two. However, I wanted to share what a great read this...more Telling Stories from the Grave
Consider this quote:

"I want them [the author's children] to be able to look into the mirror of a book, and find me." [Nook Tablet, p.398]

If that's not not talking from the grave, I don't know what is. Ruby Alice Side Thompson is the author of the diary entries contained in the books, World War II London Blitz Diary, Volumes 1-4. Only volumes one through three have been published, and I'm in the middle of volume two. However, I wanted to share what a great read this book is.

Towards the end of this first volume Ruby mentions why she is wanting to write a book about her life. Though these diary entries are now what has been published via Vickie Aldridge Washuk, Ruby's great-granddaughter. They are the brutally honest accounts of Ruby's life as she saw things as they happened. They are her innermost thoughts, feelings, jubilations, and frustrations.

And I found her quote listed above as being a huge eye-opener for me as well as touching. I'm always writing about and, at times, casting judgement on my ancestors through my sarcasm, and I hardly ever think about what my descendants will think about me and my decisions. Will they be able to look at me ~ ugly parts and all ~ and see who I truly was? Without too much derision or sarcasm? [They definitely won't be getting it in diary form as I've not written in one since I was 14 years old, and I've not seen it since then either. Unfortunately.]

While I don't always see eye-to-eye with Ruby, I can see that I wish I'd known her in person. I wish that I could have been the one to ask her over for tea and listen to her joyous descriptions of her sewing projects, her opinions of the very progressive books for her time that she read, and her thoughts on religion and politics. She truly was born too early for her time, but because of when she was born and because of the awful situations she found herself in, we are allowed have a small peek into the past from which we can see a family trying to survive the London Blitz during World War II. Luckily for the reader, Ruby has a tight grasp of the goings-on of the war, and she isn't afraid to add her opinions to the mix.

Every up and down in her moods and in her life is documented, and her candidness is what makes this book a page-turner. If you have ancestors who were alive during World War II, especially in the UK, then this book is a good place to find how towns, households, and family members lived and what life was like during WW2 during the London Blitz. Though she didn't have the toughest row to hoe during World War II, so to speak, her life ~ understandably ~ was forever affected by it. And these diary entries afford us a trip through time looking at life through Ruby's eyes.(less)

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Mar 20, 2012 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

The book World War II London Blitz Diary Volume 1 edited by Victoria Aldridge Washuk is a special work that will appeal to different group of readers. For the readers that wish to read about how a woman lived during this tumultuous time in history for their personal edification will have an informative read that will be completely satisfying. These readers will obtain a new outlook on how the war prompts and stresses everyday life and how a woman struggles within life, marriage, and religion. Th...more
The book World War II London Blitz Diary Volume 1 edited by Victoria Aldridge Washuk is a special work that will appeal to different group of readers. For the readers that wish to read about how a woman lived during this tumultuous time in history for their personal edification will have an informative read that will be completely satisfying. These readers will obtain a new outlook on how the war prompts and stresses everyday life and how a woman struggles within life, marriage, and religion. This book gives these deeper insights that are not normally written about, as the writer, Ruby Side Thompson, does not focus on the well-known gritty, factual results of the bombs, or rationing. Instead the reader gains lesser-known details of her life and how these years impacted her life. For these reasons I believe that this book will be a rewarding read.
For readers that want to read this book for personal pleasure read no further, as this next part will most likely bore you and is for readers that wish to read this book as a primary source of a historical document.
Let me say here that the editor Victoria Aldridge Washuk should be given a hand for having the foresight, and courage to release this work for future scholars and interested people. She had the courage to release the work without diluting and or polishing the dairies. I feel that the importance of this work cannot be overstated as it gives us a source for the common person. We all know that many primary and secondary sources are from official, and prominent people and very few are from mostly unknown common persons. Within this work scholars can gain important insight into a woman’s struggle with religion, marriage and how stress of war affected women in general.
For students or scholars of psychology and or religion will find this work of great use to see how stresses affected a woman’s life, religion and outlook on marriage. She kept meticulous records of not only when, location, and length of raids and bombs. But she also writes of what books she was reading and why and how they effected her during that time frame. Giving the scholar a priceless work to obtain deeper knowledge of all these issues.
(less)

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Feb 15, 2013 KA N Newton rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent book that can be read by 14 +

I got this as a freebie and was overcome with the quality of the writing and the interest it kept going while I was reading.

You have to remember that this book and the others in the series were drafted from actual diaries that the lady must have written in between air raids or during the air raids if there was light.

Worrying about finding enough to eat and if she was bombed out finding clothes.

Worrying if her home would still be standing in the morning,...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This diary is a very illuminating look at what life during the London Blitz was like. Life-long diarist Ruby talks about both the external events of WWII and her personal experiences on a day-to-day basis living through the Blitz, as well as general family and society events and opinions. Being able to read something that was being written each day, without the benefit of hindsight as to what was historically significant, was very refreshing. The sheer repetitiveness with which the various air a...more This diary is a very illuminating look at what life during the London Blitz was like. Life-long diarist Ruby talks about both the external events of WWII and her personal experiences on a day-to-day basis living through the Blitz, as well as general family and society events and opinions. Being able to read something that was being written each day, without the benefit of hindsight as to what was historically significant, was very refreshing. The sheer repetitiveness with which the various air alerts each day are recorded gives you a real sense of what it might have been like - without going through the lack of sleep and shattered nerves, of course!

Ruby makes particular comment about how she fully intends her children to read the diaries some day so that they know a bit more about who she really was - the impact of various societal constraints meant she felt unable to truly be herself. This also gives the reader permission to experience her sometimes harsh comments about life and her husband without feeling that you are intruding.

The diaries have been edited by Ruby's great-granddaughter. She has let the content stand as is, and accordingly some comments will likely make modern readers cringe a bit, but thankfully there has been no editing to make the diary more dramatic, as a novelised version might have been. The copyediting could definitely be improved, for example there are a couple of sentences in two entries that were duplicates of other entries, and there are apostrophes where there shouldn't be. While Ruby's family members are listed at the beginning of the book, I felt it would have been more useful to the narrative to add these as footnotes or editorial parentheses as each new person (or place/issue of significance) was mentioned, to explain who they are and their significance in Ruby's life.

The content itself and the fact the diaries survive is a true gift to Ruby's descendants, and now to us as well. This is volume 1 of an intended 4-volume WWII set.(less)

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Mar 20, 2013 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Very disappointing. Have given up just over half way through, and that is something I almost never do (perhaps once or twice more in my whole life).

I was hoping for a real life perspective of an ordinary woman experiencing the war. What the diary actually is is a woman's personal rant against her husband, his faith, his family, living in England (she'd rather be in America), and very little mention of the war. There is far more detail given to the clothes and books she's buying than there is to...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Patricrk patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

If you read someones diary, you get to know them better than you ever would any other way. Read this book and get to know Ruby Thompson. Ruby's diary from the start of World War II is an amazing look at her inner thoughts. The sheer terror and exhaustion she felt as the bombs started falling for seemingly hours on end, day after day is hard for us to imagine. In these days of Internet and mobile phones it is difficult to grasp her isolation with most of her sons in America, her youngest two in t...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, non-fiction, memoir, ww2

Ruby Side Thompson was a lifelong diarist. She poured her heart out in her diaries, the one place she felt safe revealing her unhappiness with her life, and, primarily, her husband.

Her great-granddaughter has published the volumes from World War II. Yes, they were written during the war. Yet she writes infrequently of the effect of war, and usually, it is only to rail against men (as a sex), whom she blames for the war. Men, in fact are blamed for all of society's ills. Unhappily married, and th...more

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May 04, 2012 Tay Mueller rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

I originally gave this only 2 stars, and very nearly stopped reading it halfway through. I had been reading the Nella Last diaries, and this suffered in comparison.

Nella, although she had a tendency to go on sometimes, gave us a look at the time and place as well as her personal life. For the first half of this book, Ruby never managed to convince me she cared about anything but herself.

It did finally pick up a little, but I currently don't think I'll go on to read the other three volumes. It's...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. What a book. This book is Ruby Alice Side-Thompson's diary written during WWII in England. Ruby describes bombs falling night and day for days on end. The house rattles and shakes. It really drives home the horrible conditions experienced in England at this time. But this isn't only a diary about war. One gets to know Ruby, her family and neighbors. And her inner personal thoughts about her husband, who she despises and finds intellectually boring. Ruby is also an early feminist, expressing...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Peyton Reeser rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was just what the title promised, a diary about being a London housewife during WW2.
Not intended to be a work for sharing or something which would end up a book, these are the private thoughts from the POV of a 1940's female and as such provides the reader with an interesting look at how women of this era thought, how they navigated society, how they were treated by husbands, etc. Lots of food for thought and while some of it was clearly whining tinged with some self pity, that judgem...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Victoria Washuk rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Shelves: world-war, british-history, london-blitz, memoir, non-fiction, diary

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. -World War II London Blitz Diary- Volume I & II -Victoria Aldridge Washuk
World War II London Blitz Diary -Volume I & II
A Woman’s Revelations Enduring War and Marriage
English review. ( For the Dutch review, click here )
Author: Victoria Alderidge Washuk
Book form: paperback, illustrated
Pages: Vol.I-212; Vol.II-262
Publisher: CreateSpace
Released: 2011
ISBN: Volume I- 978-1463783693 ; Volume II- 978-1466434219
Remark: also available as e-book

Review:War is never just a matter of soldiers; many ci...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Lynne Hatter rated it 1 of 5 stars

It is not often that I fail to finish a book. This I fear will be one of the few. I am struggling to make it, but am ready to throw in the towel. I bought the book because it sounded very interesting and the reviews talked about how wonderful the book was. I have no idea whose diary they were reading, but the woman who wrote the diary I am reading is definitely not Mrs. Minivar! She is whiny, selfish, and a snob with no reason to be. I detest this woman and I cannot bring myself to care one whit...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, read-2011, non-fiction

(Disclaimer: I received this book free from goodreads.)

The first person look at WWII in London was insightful. Unless your name is Anne Frank it is probably tough to write a truly compelling diary. Some of Ruby's diary is interesting, but a good portion is repetitive in detailing the nature of relationships in Ruby's neighborhood and with that of her emotionally abusive husband. Do not get me wrong, for Ruby, her time during WWII was obviously traumatic and to a point inspiring, but as a novel i...more

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May 23, 2012 Myrna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the published dairy of a woman who lived through the London blitz. She is interesting because the life she leads is vastly different from her diary writings. She is very intelligent and writes accurate about the war and her personal feelings about it but what is interesting is the revelations of how she really feels, especially about her marriage. She is a true feminist way before it is popular to be one. I am on to volumne 2.

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Oct 18, 2011 Becki rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting look into the lives of those not on the line, but still very active players in World War 2 (the innocent people who have to live through the atrocities due to location and circumstance). I can't imagine what it would be like to live day to day not knowing who/what would be around when you woke up the next day. And with a husband who is not more attentive, I cannot image what that would be like.

Besides the day to day events, she discusses her thoughts on politics, reli...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Sarah Clark rated it 1 of 5 stars

I didn't finish this book and it must be the first time I've ever done that. I wouldn't class this as a world War 2 Blitz Diary: the parts that I read barely mentioned the war. Some parts which were included (i.e. mentions of what poiticians had said at the time, for me, appeared to be too word perfect to be a personal recollection. Some of the text uses American syntax and spelling which leads me to quesiotns the authenticity of the book (the perpetrator is supposed to be English and in the dia...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first of four volumes of a diary that was written by Ruby Side Thompson. Volume one spans 1939-1940. In it is details about her marriage and the beginnings of World War II. She gives vivid descriptions of the bombing of London by the Germans. I could actually feel the terror she felt and at times I thought I was actually there with her. It was a very interesting read.

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Mar 11, 2013 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nook-owned

I actually purchased this e-book, thinking it would enhance my understanding of everyday life during the London Blitz. In many ways, it did. I do not regret having read it, right after finishing Connie Willis' "Blackout" and "All Clear". But--since this is a diary, there were a lot of comments that were personal in nature. I could have done without the nonstop bitching that Ruby did about her husband!

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Jul 01, 2012 Sue rated it 1 of 5 stars

This had the potential for a great read.... but Ruby just couldn't get over her husbands interest in theology and her view that his faith was all consuming. I stopped reading at about the 5th or 6th chapter, as her rants about her unhappy life on the homefront was more the center of the story than The Blitz. The details about living in wartime London were very interesting.

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Feb 28, 2013 Gayla Dalton added it

I read through three volumes, they were interesting concerning the life of those during the Ondon Blitz during WWII. Ruby really had a hard time with her husband and was not sparing in writing about him. I wonder if he was really as bad as she thought, or was it her views of him.

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Jan 07, 2012 Deana Porretta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a great view from a woman who lived through the bombings of World War II in England. Her take on how her husband reacts to the war by imersing himself in church and duty, how her sons are invloved in the war, and the sons back in America all give you a sense on the daily life of an English house wife. I'm currently reading the second volume of these diaries.

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Nov 06, 2011 Victoria Washuk rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war, memoir, london-blitz, british-history

5.0 out of 5 stars A choice pick, not to be overlooked, November 6, 2011
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: World War II London Blitz Diary: A Woman's Revelations Enduring War and Marriage (Volume 1) (Paperback)
As war rages on all around you, it can be hard to cope with the pressures of warfare. "World War II: London Blitz Diary" is a diary of Ruby Side Thompson as she tells her story of living under the pressure that the Luftwaffe put on London durin...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Tania rated it 1 of 5 stars

I started off very interested and even sympathetic in the tales of the protagonist, but by the time the story turned to the seemingly never-ending bombings London endured during WWII, I had all but tuned out. So much of the first half of this book is dedicated to the terrible conditions she considers her life and marraige to be, constantly bouncing between "I'll stay with my husband" to "I hate his guts," that I just wanted the story to end. It's not that I think she was flippant with her compla...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Debra rated it 3 of 5 stars

The last war actually fought on American soil being the Civil War and so long ago, it was amazing reading about what was happening to ordinary people in London during WW2...how frightening it must have been...

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May 17, 2012 Gayle Hayes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading Volume 2 which covered 1941 through Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into WWII, I couldn't wait to read more of Ruby's diaries. I just downloaded the original volume so I don't miss a beat. This is the account of a singular, classy lady who endured the blitz in London and gives us another look at WWII from a civilian's perspective. Riveting reading. You will feel as if you are sharing tea with Ruby while she bares her soul. The account of daily life during the war gave me a new appr...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Adele is currently reading it

Important information about this time that is not known by people today.

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