Farm Diaries of William Weale

(R/X/180)

William Austin Weale was born on 11 August 1912, and was brought up at Holly Farm in Howey, near Llandrindod Wells. From the entries in his diaries and notebooks it is recorded that William, attended the University of Wales College, Aberystwyth to study geography and geology.  He then took a teaching qualification and held posts in various schools in Aberystwyth.  In 1940, he was teaching at Tarleton Central Council School, near Preston in Lancashire.

In May 1940 his father died, and William returned to run Holly Farm.  The subsequent diaries, in which are made meticulous notes and diagrams, as well as pasting in articles and advertisements from farming journals, are a fascinating record of farming practices in the war years.

They provide a picture of life in rural Radnorshire in the 1940s and a record of an educated man doing his best to learn about a world with which he was relatively unfamiliar.  War news is often included – sometimes in red ink, or in capitals with a border round.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about these diaries is that, from the middle of 1945 until the last one in 1948, they are written in Italian, which William set out to learn from Italian Prisoners of War.  These men came to work at Holly Farm in 1944 and 1945. 

One entry records that one prisoner was taken back to Presteigne POW camp at William’s request, as he was not a good worker.