TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 DIARY FOR 1924 2
1.1 FRONT COVER 2
1.2 DIARY ENRIES 3
2 LOOSE PAPERS IN DIARY 8
1
DIARY
FOR 1924
1.1
FRONT
COVER
1.2
DIARY
ENRIES
1st Month
JANUARY 1924
31 Days
The
new year finds me and my family homeless. I have sold and cleared out of
Bingfield where we have lived 27 years and where five of our six children have
been born. I have been in bad health for over a year, and am now for the second
time a patient at Farnham House, Fingles. The boys are all well at their
several vocations abroad, Vera spending the holidays with Vida, & Laila at
Norbury with Mrs Storrs whose care she unfortunately has to leave, as Mrs. S.
goes to Jerusalem.
Farnham
House 1 TUESDAY [ 1 – 365]
Bank
Holiday, Scotland. Holiday, Stock Exchange
A
little brighter and warm. Wrote to May, Vida, & sent Ret. Pay vouchers – accounts etc. Very bad
night
Dr.
Carson (lady) came to stay
Farnham
House 2 WEDNESDAY [2 – 364]
Fine
and bright. Got up for lunch. Bad night.
Farnham
Ho. 3 THURSDAY [3 – 363]
Wet
day. Bad spasm about 5 P. M. May came about the same time.
Very
bad night
Farnham
Ho. 4 FRIDAY [4 -362]
Got
up about 4 P.M. Wrote to Strahan about a bookcase. Annual dance for the Staff
in the evening.
Farnham Ho. 5
SATURDAY [5 -361]
Foggy and damp. May went to Carrick mines with Mrs. Benson.
Very bad spasm at 6:30 P.M. Went to bed
Farnham Ho. 6 SUNDAY [6-360]
In bed till 4 P.M. Spasms. Bed
early. Heavy rain at night
Farnham House 7
MONDAY [7-359]
Up to lunch. May had many answers
to advertisement about Laila
A little better, but some spasms
after I got up. May went to Carrick mines with Dr. & Mrs. Darcy Benson. The
car broke down and a had to be towed
home in the Riley. Very bad spasms about 5. P.M. Bed early. Injection of
sedative no use.
Farnham House 8 TUESDAY
[8-358]
Up
to lunch, but very shaky. Dr. Carson and I unpacked my Indian books and measured
for shelves. Wet day. Wrote to Strahan about the bookcase. Good night, but bad
spasms in early morning.
Farnham
House 9 WEDNESDAY [9 -357]
Fire Insurances
expire
Up to lunch. Fine & brighter day. Bad
spasms at dinner and in the evening bed early
1st Month
JANUARY 1924
31 Days
Farnham
House 10 THURSDAY [10 -356]
Peace
treaty ratified with Germany, 1920
Got
up for lunch. Drove into town with May and Dr. Carson for shopping and to see
Dr. Speares. He ordered some new treatment which gave me a very bad night
indeed. Picked up Mrs Benson on our way
home
Joined
the 4th Battn. 60th Rifles at Portland 50 years ago today.
Farnham
House 11 FRIDAY [11 -355]
Hilary
Law Sittings begin
Got
up for lunch and had a hypodermic injection after. Had a long rest to pull
myself together after last night. May went to town with the rest. Good nights
rest.
Farnham
House 12 SATURDAY [12 -354]
Got
up to lunch. Rather better. Send a demand for income and tax to Halpin. May not
very well. Fairly good night, but spasms about 5 am.
Farnham
Ho 13 SUNDAY [13 -353]
1 after
Epiphany
Cold,
snow and wet, May in bed. Rather a bad night.
Farnham
House 14 MONDAY [14 -352]
Up
for lunch. Cold and wet. May to Dublin
for shopping. Good night, but some spasms
about 7. a.m.
Farnham
House 15 TUESDAY [15 -351]
Dull
and damp day. Up to lunch. Heard from, and wrote to Mc. Cabe (carpenter) about
his insurance card. Very bad spasm just before dinner, but fairly good night.
Farnham
Ho. 16 WEDNESDAY [16 -350]
May
left for Norbury by the morn. boat. Cold and gloomy Sent a cheque to Provincial Bank and sent on
letters and a telegram to May
Mrs
Benson went to Belfast with Graham Civic
Guard came for a troublesome patient called Corcoran, and nearly arrested Roberts
by mistake. Corcoran made off next morning.
Farnham
House 17 THURSDAY [17 -349]
Cold,
damp, & gloomy. Two letters from Teddie and one from Ralph as well as sundry others came for May. Kept them for her. Sent Land Commn.
cheques to the Provincial Bank. Mrs. Benson returned from Belfast in the
evening. Fairly good night.
Farnham
House 18 FRIDAY [18 -348]
Up
to lunch. Letter from May at Norbury. Wrote to May and London & sent on
letters.
Farnham
House 19 SATURDAY [19 -347]
Cold
& wet. Heard from Halpin & Provincial Bank about income tax
Wrote
to Halpin enclosing the Bank’s letter.
Good night
1st Month
JANUARY 1924
31 Days
Farnham
House 20 SUNDAY [20 -346]
2 after
Epiphany
Rather
better. Dull, but milder. Bad spasms at lunch & after & at night.
Farnham
House 21 MONDAY [21 -345]
Very
bad all night & morn got up 4. P.M. Speirs permits more sedatives. Bed
early & better night
Farnham
House 22 TUESDAY [22 -344]
Some
sharp spasms about breakfast time which an extra injection relieved.
Up
for lunch. Damp & gloomy, but a little warmer.
Farnham
House 23 WEDNESDAY [23 -343]
Trying
to get up, but severe pain prevented me. In bed all day
Farnham
House 24 THURSDAY [24 -342]
In
bed all day
Farnham
Ho. 25 FRIDAY [25 -341]
In
bed all day
Farnham
Ho 26 SATURDAY [26 -340]
Australia
Day
In
bed all day
Farnham
Ho. 27 SUNDAY [ 27-339]
3 after Epiphany
In
bed all day
Farnham
Ho. 28 MONDAY [28 -338]
In
bed all day. Wrote to May. Roberts left.
Farnham
Ho. 29 TUESDAY [29 -337]
In
bed all day, but had a bath.
Farnham
Ho. 30 Wednesday [30 – 336]
Got
up for lunch, but very weak. Wrote to May, Roper Little etc
Farnham
Ho 31 THURSDAY [31 -335]
In
bed all day
2nd Month
FEBRUARY 1924 29 Days
Farnham
Ho 1 FEB FRIDAY [32 -334]
In
bed all day May returned even. Very bad
night.
2nd Month
FEBRUARY 1924 29 Days
Farnham
Ho 2 SATURDAY [33 -333]
Candlemas. Scottish Quarter Day
In
bed all day. Better & a very good night.
Farnham
Ho 3 SUNDAY [34 -332]
4 after
Epiphany
In
bed all day. Fairly good day.
Farnham
House 4 MONDAY [35 -331]
In
bed all day after a fairly good night
Changed bed room. Night nurse McGeeney came.
Farnham
House 5 TUESDAY [36 -330]
In
bed all day. Daughter born to Pat & Daisy – see 11th.
Farnham
House 6 WEDNESDAY [37 -329]
In
bed all day. Making improvement but some spasms.
Farnham
House 7 THURSDAY [38 -328]
In
bed all day & some spasms, but general improvement. May not well.
Farnham
Ho. 8 FRIDAY [39 -327]
Half
Quarter Day
Not
so well with the spasms. May also unwell.
Farnham
House 9 SATURDAY [40 -326]
Bad
day & night of heavy spasms
Farnham
Ho. 10 SUNDAY [41 -325]
5 after Epiphany
Bad
day. Mrs. Armstrong to see me
Farnham
House 11
MONDAY [42 -324]
Pat
wires to say that a daughter was born to him & Daisy on Feb. 5th .
& both are well. Very tired after only 11/2 hours sleep last
night.
Farnham
House 12 TUESDAY [43 -323]
Bad
day, but fairly good night. Keogh drunk & very noisy
Farnham
House 13 WEDNESDAY [44 -322]
Good
day almost free from pain, but poor at night. May & a lot of the family
went to the Abbey theatre.
2nd Month
FEBRUARY 1924 29 Days
14 THURSDAY [45 -321]
Spasms
came on badly in the evening of the 13th very bad night, inspections
were given of them. Only nourishment a cup of coffee and a little whisky. Temperature up to 101. M. S.
Patient
never left alone.
15 FRIDAY [46 -320]
Bad
night but some sleep. Spasms much less. Morphia injection increased
slightly. Temp. 103. caused by pneumonia. Only
nourishment an egg flip. More or less unconscious all day. Breathing very
laboured. M. S.
Dr. Lowry most kind watching in sick room.
Patient never left alone
16 SATURDAY
[47 -319]
Much
the same sort of night, but no spasms. Breathing very laboured, this occurring
with regular intervals of no breathing at all, about 30 seconds of each.
Apparently unconscious all day. No nourishment taken. Patient died very quietly
at about 7.30. p.m. Breathing just ceased. Nurse saw to necessary duties M. S. (Got Mr. Armstrong
the parson to come & have a short service in sick room, about 5. p. m.)
Drs..
Carson & Lowry arranged about funeral etc.
17 SUNDAY [48 -318]
Septuagesima
[No
entry]
18 MONDAY [49 -317]
Undertaker
brought coffin and put body in it. Very nice plain polished oak coffin.
Evelyn’s boy George called, also Malcolm Frazer. Mr. Halpin telephoned. Tried
to get Mr. Haskins to conduct a funeral, but he cannot come as Charlie is very
ill.
M. S.
19 TUESDAY [50 -316]
Funeral
left the house at 10 AM. Mr. Armstrong & Dr. Carson in carriage with me.
Mrs. Benson and Dr. Benson motored. Met Mr. Halpin & Malcolm Frazer at the
cemetery. All very kind, as everyone has been all the time.
In
afternoon J. B’s phoned to ask me to tea. Dr. Benson drove me over. Found them
well and very happy at Malahide. Am to go there next week.
Had
a talk with Mr Halpin before lunch.
Charlie
Askins is dead, of pleurisy & heart trouble.
20 WEDNESDAY [51 -315]
Writing
most of the day.
[This is the last entry in the diary.]
2
LOOSE
PAPERS IN DIARY
No loose papers are filed in the diary.