To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-1945

To war with Whitaker

In August 2009 I read a childhood memoir by Hermione, Countess Ranfurly, called the ‘Ugly One”, a book I came across by chance. Having finished it I wanted to read about the next stage of her life, in her war time diaries published as To War with Whitaker. I bought a copy of it some time ago – and I am stunned it has taken me quite so long to read it.

In January 1939 Hermione Llewellyn became Countess Ranfurly when she married her Dan, that is Daniel Knox the 6th Earl of Ranfurly. Their lives together were beginning at a particularly tumultuous time in European history, and soon the happy young couple were thrust right into the fray. In September 1939 Dan reported to his yeomanry in Nottinghamshire. The show more Ranfurly’s cook/butler Whitaker went too. Hermione followed after them.

Dan Ranfurly was then posted to the Middle East, unlike regular army wives, yeomanry wives were forbidden from joining their husbands in the Middle East, however Hermione had no intention of listening. Coming up against many very grumpy old generals, and miles of red tape Countess Ranfurly was determined not to return to England without her husband. Travelling between Cairo, Jerusalem Beirut, via South Africa the young Countess eventually manages to secure her place in the Middle East as a secretary – working first for the SOE Cairo office and later as a civil servant in Jerusalem.
In April 1941 Dan Ranfurly is among a group of men captured in the dessert by the Italians. Hermione is devastated by his disappearance, but she is powerless to do anything but wait for news. The Countess and the ever faithful Whitaker decide to wait it out in the Middle East, and not to return home without him. Eventually Dan’s letters start to come through to her – although they often take weeks and even months to reach her, and he is allowed only a few lines to write on.

Later the countess and her husband are reunited, and after a brief spell in London they are back working separately but in the same country – this time Italy. Throughout the years of World War II the Countess Ranfurly worked hard, often enduring long hours – earning the respect of many soldiers and civilians, among them “General Jumbo” for whom she worked for over 2 years in both the Middle East and Italy.
The dairies that Hermione kept are remarkably detailed and well written. Enormously atmospheric, they are also hugely readable and provide a marvellous history of the war in the Middle East particularly. During these years the Countess met some incredible people including Churchill, Eisenhower and Marshal Tito, and became the proud owner of a parrot called Coco – who was often given bananas by the Countess’s guests. As I read, I was continually impressed by this aristocratic young woman’s way of dealing with what the war threw at her. The Countess’s love for her young husband never wavers, she is absolutely devoted to him, but not in an over emotional way, she sheds the occasional tear but then just gets on with what she has to do – works hard, is sensible intelligent and brilliantly unstoppable. show less

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.

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 show more 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. show less

An unusual and probably unique experience of WWII, this was fun to read if a bit boring at times because of all the names and places that I found hard to keep up with. I found it curious that of all the places she visited and lived in -- some that could probably be described as hell-holes -- Jerusalem was the only one she disliked. If you are reading this to know more about Whitaker, be warned. He makes for a snappy title, but makes only a few brief appearances in the book.

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.

Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly worked as a secretary for a series of British generals stationed in North Africa (Cairo, Tripoli, etc.) during World War II. For much of the same time, her husband was a prisoner of war in Italy. This book is her diary (edited for length) for the years 1939 to 1945. The entries are an interesting cross section of her day-to-day life and world events. A unique point of view, which makes for fascinating reading.

14/03/13 1 of 19 books for $10