The War and Uncle Walter

by Art McCulloch, David Eccles (illustrator)

The diaries of Walter Musto were recently discovered by his great nephew in an attic. Reflected here is the opinionated, happy voice of a 60-year-old suburban businessman from Surrey who found himself living through the biggest upheaval of modern times. His logbook of political and personal musings offers a charming and colorful picture of life on the home front. When Walter began his diary on January 1st, 1939, he lived quietly with his ageing wife Alice and their even more elderly dog. As war broke out he took up service as an air-raid warden, and grew tomatoes for the war effort. From bird-watching on the Thames to delays at Waterloo due to unexploded bombs, Walter contrasts lyrically the opposing worlds of war and peace, of personal and collective loss.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book much, I speed read through most of his utterances, only reading fully the all to few war eye witness or news recollections, of interest was the way suddenly working woman appeared everywhere, on buses and trains ect , very unusual back then, the way rebuilding went on continually after bombing raids to keep everything moving, also the news recollections which I have read further

HMS Cossack and the Altmark https://www.historyhit.com/1940-altma...

Tanker Ohio and the Malta convoy ww2today.com/14th-august-1942-the-bat... and Captain Dudley Mason who had tea with Walter.

Not a book i would recommend though.

[Chris Morton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pleased I read it, but it was a real hard slog at times.

[Rose]

I enjoyed this glimpse into life during World War 2. Walter's shock at encountering innovations like female bus conductors and the cafeteria system is particularly amusing. I would have liked some photos so I could picture Walter and the people he writes about. Walter's writing is sometimes pompous, and he sometimes falls over himself with complex similes and metaphors, but this largely adds to the charm of the diary. I was however glad that, as the editor says, readers have been spared the bulk of his poetry!

[Adam]

A moving story, full of the strange detail that must have been so important to the gritty day-to-day life. So sad to see the way that some of the most important moments (I won't spoil the story) seemed to become part of life as normal.

It is well written, and gives a rare view into how things might have been for the 99% of people who were living through it.