A Private War: the diaries of Frederick George Draper 1939-1945
Carol Draper
'Like so many of his generation , my father never really spoke of his wartime experiences, particularly in the jungles of Burma. So for me, digesting his accounts, written by his hand all those decades ago, has felt like we have finally had the conversations we were never able to have while he was still alive.'
Frederick Draper was just 20 years old when he signed up to fight for his country after Britain declared war on Germany and her allies in 1939. Fred was shipped out to war from Liverpool Docks, initially to Egypt, but he saw action across the world before his final posting in the jungles of Burma as a 'Chindit' (members of the Allied forces behind the Japanese lines in Burma (Myanmar), 1943–45).
Frederick Draper's diaries chart the fortitude of a soldier fighting in the Far East during World War Two. Offering a fresh, unfettered account of the daily trials of wartime service, his record of life in Egypt, Libya, Palestine, Transjordan, Ceylon, India and Burma - taken from his original handwritten notebooks - reveals a fresh, unheard account of what it was like to serve in some of the most challenging environments of the war.
Private Draper's story is one of survival, commitment and comradery. He writes with painstaking honesty, and from the heart. Eighty years on from when it was written, A Private War tells the story of one man's life-changing Second World War.
'There are burnt out trucks by the hundred, charred bodies and skeletons still wearing tin hats...'
Watch the presentation here (two minutes in)
Report on the talk
Carol’s father was born in 1919 in a small village called Smisby in a very rural and mining area on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border. Apparently, Sir Walter Scott wrote Ivanhoe in the church there! It was a simple life and Frederick had not seen the sea until he went to war. He loved cycling, but people did not travel far then. Carol was born in Whitnash, then the family moved to Leamington and other places in Warwickshire. Carol now lives in Stratford and it took 18 months to organise her father’s diaries.
Carol showed us a photograph of his cousins, both were killed, in Crete and in Italy, during the Second World War. They were in the same battalion and Frederick was lucky not to go with them. Due to social pressure as well as conscription, many small communities sent the bulk of their young men to war together. When Frederick was six his father had died from WWI injuries, and so he grew up with his mother and three sisters.
Frederick went to Liverpool after basic training, and left for war on the SS Otranto, an ex-ocean liner. He went to Egypt, Libya, Palestine, Transjordan, Ceylon, India and Burma. He wrote eight war diaries, 660 words, in tiny handwriting, every day for five years. Strictly, this wasn't allowed for security reasons! Conditions were terrible, without even enough food and water. There are many photographs of Frederick’s mates, including one of him and Bill, who was a cook. He remained friends with Bill all their lives. However, as a general rule, it was best not to make fast friends, as life expectancy was not great. Both of them did come home though.
Frederick also brought home some souvenirs, e.g. a German helmet, and he also acquired three watches! Things were also traded, sometimes for necessities. He was in the motor transport section, which was his passion and speciality, as a driver and mechanic. He travelled to many different and interesting places, seeing historical relics and ruins, e.g. Baalbeck, in modern Lebanon and the Taj Mahal. There is also a photograph of the soldiers on kit parade, which Frederick hated. There is a picture of Vera Lynn with a truckload of troops, but Frederick preferred Gracie Fields! ENSA provided entertainment, and Frederick particularly liked the cinema shows, especially Pathé News, as they were cut off from regular news of the world. They did receive letters from home, but they often took three months to arrive. Burma was their last posting, and the war had ended by the time they came home. They were the ‘forgotten army’ and, when they arrived in Liverpool on the Strathaird, there were no crowds to meet them. The civilian passengers on that trip had the best berths. It was a sad homecoming. The diaries ceased at that point.
We were shown a photograph of Frederick earlier in his life, with his own teeth, but after the war he had to have false teeth. He was also only seven stone in weight when he came home. He had had malaria and dysentery and was taken to Warwick Hospital to recover. There is a picture of his future wife, who was a nurse at Warwick. She was already engaged but preferred Frederick to her fiancé, and they were married in 1948. His demob suit was too big for him, and he had no job or house to return to but he did get a job in a foundry afterwards. There is a wedding photograph, showing him balding and looking older than his years. He was in the army reserves until 1946.He worked in Donald Healey Motors, and when it closed, when he was 50, he set up his own business in car parts. Austin Healey Spares still exists. Frederick had three daughters, Carol was born last, in 1962 and he died aged 67.
Carol went to visit some of the places her father was posted, e.g. Sri Lanka. She also found his cousin’s grave in Crete. She read us some very moving extracts from the book.
Report by Helen Elliott.
