War Diaries.

The diary kept by Anne Frank whilst in hiding from the Nazi's in Amsterdam is the most difficult 'book' I have ever read. The day to day content of her diary is quite mundane, but the context is mind blowing. The fact that one knows what happens to Anne makes all her comments carry so much more resonance.

I recalled the feelings I had reading the Anne Frank Diary this evening when I opened a folder I had received from a family that had read my Caerwys History. They family had strong connections with Caerwys; they had been a prominent family in the town in during the first half of the 20th century. During the First World War two members of that family had kept diaries. One of the diaries was written by a young man aged 16 and still at school. He described his day to day life in Caerwys; along with his school days at the Alun County School, Mold. However, this young scholar was to reach his 18th birthday before the war ended and (with millions of others) was called up to the army.

This young man was soon at the front and met the fate of countless others in that dreadful conflict. He met his death just four week prior to the war ending. His name is on the war memorial in Caerwys and in the school. The folder that the family gave me to read contains a transcript of the diary; they would like the modern day community to know the story of their relative from Caerwys that died in battle aged just 19. I must work out a way that this remarkable diary can be made accessible to as many readers as possible.