Tommy's War : A First World War Diary

by Thomas Cairns Livingstone

The extraordinary diaries of Thomas Cairns Livingstone represent twenty years of gorgeously idiosyncratic daily records of a middle-class Glasgow household, over a period spanning shortly before the Great War to the early 1930s.

Thomas Cairns Livingstone, a mercantile book keeper, began his diaries in 1913, when he, his wife Agnes and their son ‘wee Tommy’ set up house in the Glasgow neighbourhood of Govanhill.

For the next twenty years, Livingstone dutifully recorded each day’s events in his Collins diaries, from small domestic dramas to troop movements as news of the Great War filtered back to the anxious home front. Rescued during a house clearance, the intricate details of these journals – interspersed throughout with Livingstone’s wonderfully warm and idiosyncratic illustrations – provide a priceless record of the impression world events were making on the ordinary people at home and an extraordinary chronicle of the ups and downs of working-class life in the period immediately before, during and after the First World War.

The details of the family’s early life, notes about the (usually dreich) Glasgow weather, and comments on the carnage on the front and on the high seas, are written and illustrated with such warmth and charm that the story of this very ordinary household in the early part of the 20th century becomes completely addictive.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published September 15, 2008

Reviews

[Barbara Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Livingstone gives a wonderful look into the daily life of an average family in Glasgow during WWII. He tells his story with with and self deprecating humor, and peppers his diary with delightful cartoons. His juxtaposition of describing his days with the war news shows how people were connected to the war while also being disconnected by the need to go about their daily business.

The length of the book and repetition of some daily routines made it bog down toward the end, which I skimmed in places, but all in all, an interesting read.

[Shaun W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see it's merits as a historical document but it was a rather unsatisfying read in my opinion, it was a struggle to get through. Additionally the change in font was a poor design choice, made it all the more harder to read.

[Lghamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the Great War is of particular interest to me, I found this diary of a Glasgow clerk on the home front pretty interesting. Thomas narrates his life, how the war affects just about all aspects, the goings-on at the various fronts, and the loss of lives (almost daily) from U-boats, Zeppelin raids, and trench warfare. Of course, we know how it all ends, but is must have been frightening to catalog esp. as Germany makes its final pushes in 1918 and starts to gain ground. Thomas includes little cartoons and has a dry sense of humor.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book on the First World War told from the perspective of someone who stayed at home I’d ever read and I found the different insight interesting.

As someone who has spent many happy years visiting family in Glasgow I loved reading about tenement life and places in Glasgow I’d visited.

Take out the fact the First World War is in progress and this book would still be a fascinating insight into social history and the daily lives of ordinary people. I also really loved the illustrations and how the book looked just like the diary making it feel more personal.

[Clive Baggallay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it fascinating to be engrossed in a family’s day to day comings and goings of life whilst snippets of the war kept encroaching on their lives whether rationing, death tolls or soldiers being drafted. A poignant look at a way of life completely gone today just wistful memories. I shall be getting the follow up book.

[gkbowood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed reading this diary- his drawings were a special treat! I wish there had been more of an epilogue telling what had become of Tommy and his family in the years following the end of WWI.

[Rhys_BookDude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good! It has the diary sort of layout (days, weeks etc etc) but great info about the time it was wrote!

Great read! All the worth £20

[JA Condie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The re-discovered diaries of an ordinary man living in Glasgow during WWI. The book covers the period 1913-18. Thomas Livingstone is witty, intelligent and loves his wife and son very much. He often illustrates his diary with funny little drawings. I've been reading this book, a few entires at a time, over the last few years. Thomas is most engaging when he talks about his family - their, holidays, aches and pains or recent purchases. However - except for some really good incite into entertainments and social practices at the time - we don't learn a very great deal about how the war affected ordinary people. Thomas was not conscripted because: reasons. He read the papers and kept up to date with losses on all sides but he never really offers any opinion or commentary on events, other than rising costs. Add to that the almost entire lack of humour displayed by the editor and you're left with a fairly interesting yet ultimately unsatisfying read.

[David Meiklejohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Glasgow man's account of his life through World War 1. Tommy Livingstone didn't go to fight in the war but stayed at home in Glasgow. We get a view from an ordinary working man of what it was like living everyday life while the Great War raged on across the channel. We read about his family and their regular ill health, about visits to and by relatives and friends, of his walks around Glasgow and the surrounding area and trips doon the watter to Rothesay for holidays. Throughout it all Tommy gives us a running commentary of what he's read in the papers: the latest battle, what ships have been sunk by the German "pirates". We also get humorous glimpses into his battle with the factor, and the trials of finding some of his favourite tobacco during the rations.

A really interesting book, especially for someone who knows Glasgow.

[Millie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really fascinating book. The snippets of war facts from a civilian's point of view are interesting, but it's also a good personal diary, full of the little facts that make up someone's life.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My in-laws live in Rutherglen - the town this gentleman lived during World War I. Very interesting to read about the places he visited - and places I have also visited. Interesting to read about the living conditions during WWI in Scotland.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

we think this economic crisis is sooo bad. Check this book out. Oh to be alive at the time of WW1 - a war in which 8 Great Grandparents were killed at the somme.

[Marko Niinimäki · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting view of the great war through the eyes of a man who didn't participate in it.