This week marked the end of a fascinating, long-term volunteer led project to transcribe the diaries of a Staffordshire man who recorded life during the First World War.

Diaries and other documents dating from 1914 – 1919 on display

Sir Clifford F. Gothard from Burton-on-Trent kept the diaries as a young man during the early 20th Century. Volunteer Ray, with support from volunteer David, has painstakingly transcribed diaries covering the period from 1914 to 1919. The transcription will now be bound and made available to visitors to the reading room of the Staffordshire History Centre when it opens next year.

The diaries record both ordinary everyday life and momentous world events and the transcription will be an incredible resources for researchers and historians in the future. They record the life of a young university graduate and his experiences on both the home and western fronts. You can read more about the early days of the project in this newspaper article from 2018 here: The Derbyshire Telegraph.

As part of volunteer events programme Ray and David devised a talk to both celebrate the project and share the vast amount of research that has been undertaken. The talk highlighted key passages from the diaries set alongside the context of important political and military events from the early 20th Century. The talk also movingly included research on those mentioned in the diary, and other Staffordshire men, that did not survive the war.

Volunteer Ray with his presentation speaking to invited guests about his project

We were very pleased to be able to welcome volunteers from The National Memorial Arboretum to the talk so they could learn about the diaries and our volunteer projects.

We thank Ray and David for their commitment to the project and the time they have given to the service as volunteers.

Sarah English – Engagement & Access Manager

I would like to thank the past and present members of staff in the Staffordshire Record Office (SRO), William Salt Library and Stafford Library who have given me support and encouragement when I was struggling to read the pocket diaries to transcribe the entries over the last nine years .  The presentation was a big joint effort so well done to you all and Thank You.

Ray Wilson – Staffordshire Archives & Heritage Volunteer