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To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45
To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45
To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45
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To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45

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Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly, kept a diary all her life. To War with Whitaker is an account of the most adventurous, most defiant and most valiant of those years.

Hermione and Dan Ranfurly married only months before the Second World War erupted. So when Dan was posted to the Middle East, taking their faithful butler Whitaker with him, Hermione resolved to join them there. This memoir offers astounding displays of commitment and independence. After vowing not to go home without her husband, Hermione travelled alone from Cape Town to Cairo, and remained in the Middle East and North Africa for the two and a half years he was imprisoned by the Germans – meeting many notable characters along the way.

With wit and exuberance, Hermione’s diary entries take us To War with Whitaker and back again, providing sharp insight into the strong and outspoken woman she was. This Pan Heritage Classics edition features the original black and white plate sections.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherPan Macmillan
Release dateMay 22, 2014
ISBN9781447259411
To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45
Author

Hermione Ranfurly

Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly, OBE, was the British author of To War With Whitaker: The Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-1945. In 1957, Lady Ranfurly extended the Ranfurly Library Service project to other developing countries short on English books; the organization later changed its name to Book Aid International. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1970 New Year Honours. She enjoyed her old age, noting "you have so many more memories than when you are young". She died at her home in Buckinghamshire on 11 February 2001 at the age of 87.

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Rating: 4.44594614054054 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Find it and read it.If you have no interest in war, then it's a travelogue, a tale of derring-do by a plucky young lady, a tale of love and/or a historical snapshot of time, place and class.If you know anything at all about WWII and particularly the North African, Middle-Eastern, Italian, Greek, Yugoslav or just Mediterranean theatres, then be prepared to read it open-mouthed with your phone in hand to check that the person she's just mentioned is who you think they are - on every page.And it's an eminently readable story to boot.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very unique, warm, and personal view of WWII from a perspective that you won't find anywhere else. The Countess sounds like someone who would have been delightful to have known. Very much recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It is difficult to hold down my enthusiasm and superlatives in reviewing this book. The author is not only an excellent writer and editor of her diaries, but also modestly understates her tremendous courage and her willingness to endure hardship for the sake of working near her active-duty husband. Born aristocratic and married to Lord Ranfurly, Countess Ranfurly chronicles in this book her life from 1939-1945 spent mostly in the middle east working as secretary to a Brithish general. She met in the course of her duties many interesting people of note and gives insight into the characters of each. She was a woman of immense charm and determination. When all wives were ordered back to England, she jumped ship in South Africa and made her way up the coast of Africa with the help of her connections, to arrive as an outlaw in Cairo. Her husband, Lord Ranfurly, with the same finely honed character as his wife, was captured by the Germans in North Africa and imprisoned for almost three years before he escaped and made his way back to Allied lines. Hermione Ranfurly vowed to stay in the middle east until his release despite often harsh working conditions. Besides her stenographic duties, she entertained visiting VIPs, took Gen. Patton shopping, smoothed ruffled feathers with her tact and amazingly with her social position was unfailingly courteous and mindful of military rank. Whitaker was Lord Ranfurly's valet and followed and cared for Lord or Lady as circumstances permitted, but played a minor role in the diaries. A fascinating account of one highly exceptional person's role in WWII.

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To War with Whitaker - Hermione Ranfurly

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