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A Woman at War - The Forgotten South African Second World War Diary: The Forgotten South African Second World War Diary
Paperback
Biographies GeneralGeneral World History
Publisher Price: $35.00
ISBN13: 9781037011184
Publisher: Frances Daphne Diary
Published: Sep 4 2026
Pages: 462
Weight: 1.35
Height: 1.03 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
South African World War II diary uncovered A significant historical find for South Africa and the world.
A forgotten World War II diary detailing the lives of a South African family inextricably linked to the war has been made into a book. Frances Daphne, the mother of four World War II combatants, kept a wartime diary detailing her family's day-to-day struggles during the war from 1939 until 1945.
The book titled A Woman at War: The Forgotten South African Second World War Diary, was a labour of love edited by Laura Taylor, who is the mother of Matthew and Daniel Daphne who are in turn the great grandchildren of Frances Daphne, the author of the diary, which went unpublished for 80 years. The late Paul Daphne, Matthew and Daniel's father, was the grandson of Frances Daphne. He took care of his old aunt Ursula, one of Frances' children, between 2009 and 2017. Ursula, herself a WWII veteran, died peacefully at the age of 95, making her the last of that generation of Daphnes to die.
Ursula's scant possessions were brought to Taylors house in Durban where she slowly sorted through them to see what was of value. There were old suitcases, a broken-down trunk, several cardboard boxes and some odd bits of furniture. Taylor threw out what was useless and kept what had value. Having a great love for history as well as an Honours degree in the subject, she was the ideal person for the job.
The surprise came when she went through the contents of the trunk and discovered three bound volumes neatly typed. She had unwittingly stumbled upon the forgotten World War II diary of Frances Daphne. She began reading them in her spare time and was immediately captivated by how well Frances wrote. The more I read, the more I grew to know her and love her. She constantly faced an incredible fear that her children would die. Her husband had fought in the First World War and went on to become part of the reserve force for the following war, while her five children (including a son-in-law) joined the fight, said Taylor.
Taylor and her sons retyped the books, a mammoth undertaking. Thereafter, it had to be proofread, corrected and edited. She selected many photos to include in the book from family albums found amongst Ursula's possessions and decided to add footnotes to keep readers abreast of context and history. She included a prologue explaining the Daphne family's roots and an epilogue to let readers know what came of each after the war. With this book, we can learn how differently the world operated 80 years ago, while also seeing how in many ways, it is much like the world today. It is a time we can all still learn a great deal from and for a change, it is a woman's story, a mother's story, said Taylor.
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