1928 to 1962 Archive of Diaries of a White Collar London Man Who is a Member of the Ancient Order of Foresters

On offer is a remarkable collection of 27 diaries detailing over a quarter of a century of life in London between 1928 and 1962, and membership in an old and respected fraternal order. 

This is an outstanding collection of personal diaries that covers an extended period of time – from 1928 through 1962. The collection contains 27 diaries. Some years are missing, but by and large, this covers the period from post WW1 through the Great Depression, WW2 and the reconstruction of the United Kingdom following the war and the beginnings of the enormous social changes ushered in in the 1960’s. The entries are brief – often only a word or phrase. 

The diaries also include continuous references to one of Britain’s oldest mutual aid societies, now a very successful international financial firm.

The diaries belong to R.A Thomson. Thomson lived in London, United Kingdom. We know he was married to E.M. Thomson and together they had two sons. His first diary was kept in 1928. In it he notes that his oldest son Eric, is now five years old. This suggests that Thomson himself was born in the mid to later 1890s. The diaries do not specify the type of work that he did but context suggests that it was a ‘white’ collar’ occupation as there are references to visiting private clubs. During WW2, Thomson did not serve in the armed forces which was likely a reflection of his age. Although replete with many minute details of daily life, our informal research has not been able to discover any additional biographical information about him.

Despite the lack of specific biographical details about the author, the diaries offer an outstanding view of continuous decades of the life of an average working man in 20th century England. They are full of family references, including comments about the continuous bombing raids on London and activities with the Foresters, They are references to many individuals scattered throughout the diaries.

One constant throughout his life was his membership in the Ancient Order of Foresters. In fact, each one of the diaries bears the embossed name of this organization. Background on the Ancient Order of Foresters follows: 

The Ancient Order of Foresters is what is referred to in the United Kingdom as a ‘Friendly Society’. In North America, it would be better known as a ‘mutual aid’ or ‘benevolent’ society. The Ancient Order of Foresters began in 1834, but its origins lie in a much older society called the Royal Foresters formed in the 18th century. Originally, it was a purely social society until the members decided that they had a duty to assist their fellow men who fell into need ‘as they walked through the forests of life'. This 'need' arose principally when a breadwinner fell ill, could not work and, therefore, received no wages. Illness and death left families financially distressed and often destitute. Relief of this need has been the main purpose of the Foresters throughout their long history. It was achieved by members paying, initially, a few pence a week into a common fund from which sick pay and funeral grants could be drawn.

In 1813, the Royal Foresters began to establish subsidiary Courts (branches). Expansion was rapid, but in 1834 internal disagreements over governance led to a majority of the ‘Courts’ to secede and form their own organization. Thus was born the Ancient Order of Foresters. The structure of the Order which developed consisted of Courts or branches which were responsible for their own funds and for relief of their own members, all decisions being made by democratic vote. The majority of Courts linked themselves into Districts for mutual support.

Migration to the United States and into the then colonies of the British Empire brought Forestry to the US, Canada, the West Indies, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, the administration of these Courts becoming eventually independent of the parent body in the UK.

In North America, the organization modified its name to the International Order of Foresters. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, it has become an internationally successful insurance and financial services company that hews closely to its original purposes of serving its members and families. Likewise, the UK organization is a very successful financial organization. 

For a genealogist, these diaries are a goldmine of information. For a social historian, they offer an excellent overview of ordinary daily life in London over nearly a third of a century.

This collection contains diaries from the years: 1928, every year from 1931-1942, 1945, every year from 1947-1952, 1954, every year from 1955-1962. All diaries contain 42 pages plus a memoranda page and are 100% complete. They are, on the whole, in good condition with a few of the diaries displaying a cover and binding in fair condition. The handwriting is fairly legible.