War stories revealed – translated by army of volunteers
‘Code’ is cracked of a Hull soldier’s Palestine Campaign diaries, which were written in shorthand
LICE-RIDDEN BREECHES, thrilling air battles and goodlooking nurses – the hidden diaries of a Yorkshire soldier in the First World War have finally been revealed, after the shorthand they were written in was translated by an army of volunteers.
Wass Reader wrote the diaries while serving with the 1st East Riding Yeomanry C Squadron in the Palestine Campaign between 1917 and 1918.
But his thoughts on the conflict, often humorous, poignant and heart-wrenching, remained hidden for almost 100 years as they were written in shorthand.
The abbreviated, symbolic script, the traditional tool of journalists and secretaries alike, has its roots in Ancient Greece and is undecipherable to the untrained eye.
But an appeal by York Castle Museum attracted attention from all over the world, and more than 100 volunteers starting work translating the diaries in January. They now feature in York Castle Museum‘s major new exhibition on World War One, 1914: When the World Changed Forever, which was made possible thanks to a grant of more than £1.1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Philip Newton, assistant curator of history, said: “Wass’s thoughts, concerns and comments on the events going on around him are truly fascinating. Here is a down to earth young lad thrown into a world of chaos, harsh conditions and bloodshed who is describing his life in such a way that it is impossible not to warm to him.
“His matter of fact language and his accounts of football, Christmas drinks with friends and his relationship with the nurses also hits home that this is an ordinary young man not too different from young men today.”
Little is known about the man himself, other than that he
Here is a down to earth young man, thrown into a
world of chaos Philip Newton, York Castle Museum’s assistant
curator of history
was born in Hull and worked as a clerk before joining the East Riding Yeomanry.
Mr Newton said: “But we got a lot of information just from the diaries themselves. It was fantastic to read as they were being translated. Because it was a day by day account, it was quite exciting to get an insight into his mind. We would like to thank the army of volunteers who have spent many hours of their time translating the diaries, we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Wass’s accounts of the conflict include seeing thrilling air battles overhead and being shot in the shoulder while galloping on his horse to take control of a village. He also tells of getting injured playing football, being treated by “very nice” and “good looking nurses” and Christmas night drinking with friends.
But this is contrasted with accounts of lice-ridden breeches, the horrific injuries of fellow soldiers and one grim New Year’s Day at the ocean looking for bodies washed up from an unrecorded incident.
By 1917 Wass was tired of war, noting, “three years of the best part of my life wasted”.
His entry for his birthday in 1918 reads: “Here’s another birthday come round. Am I 25 or 26? Blessed if I know. What I am wondering is how many more birthdays I am going to spend in the blinking army.”
Work is still ongoing to refine the translation. Linda Bird, of York, is one of the volunteers.
She learnt Pitman shorthand, the style used by Wass, when she was 15 in the late 1960s and used it in her job as a secretary.
She said diaries really brought home the scale of what the young men went through.
“We have absolutely no idea what they went through. It’s opened up my eyes to it,” Mrs Bird said.