Jo Kelly simply “couldn’t pass by” an old diary, which cost just £2 at a Chorleywood car boot sale and has now spiralled into a 14-year investigation.
In May 2011, Jo was exploring the car boot sale as she usually does, when she discovered an old diary from 1937.
Speaking to CHORLEYWOODnews, Jo said: “Old things catch my attention, and this was such a personal item, I couldn’t pass it by.
“Just opening it up and seeing every page filled with writing, I wanted to read more and find out what was in there!”
Without realising, Jo had uncovered the diary of 16-year-old Ian Graham Wilson, who was living in the Wirral at the time. Jo transcribed the entire diary, which was full of excerpts from Ian’s life.
She knew the story didn’t end there and began her journey to discover more about him.
She explained: “Once I got going, he drew me in. His life was so different to boys aged 16-and-a-half today. It’s another world and another era.
“I felt like he was a part of my family. I know it’s bizarre because he’s a stranger, but I just had to find out more!”
When reading the diary, Jo immediately felt as if Ian had been well educated, noting that the tone was “very adult”. She also discovered that he was an only child and appeared more mature than boys his age today. Jo explained that she had to “remind myself I’m reading something from someone who is 16”.
Jo would go on to spend the next 14 years looking for answers. She explained that Ian “drew me in”; the more she read of the diary, and the further her investigations took her, the more she wanted to find out in the hopes of giving the diary back to a member of his family.
She discovered that Ian had lived in Watford for some time, joined the RAF, and married Dutch national Esthere Oosterholt in the Netherlands in January 1945.
They had two daughters, Simone and Anneke. Ian was later discharged from the Royal Flying Corps/RAF in 1956, around the same time that he and Esthere divorced.
Ian passed away on January 21, 2003, in River Court Nursing Home, Watford.
Jo headed to social media to share her findings with the community, which was met with hundreds of comments, likes and shares. Some residents even offered their help and were able to provide more information about Ian and his life, but there were still gaps in his story.
The only piece missing of the puzzle… where was the rest of Ian’s family? Despite numerous leads and lines of enquiry, Jo has met only dead ends in her search.
Jo said: “It would be amazing to shed some light on him. I’m custodian of this diary but I shouldn’t be holding onto it. It belongs to his family or to a historical society.
“In the last line of his diary, he said: ‘In writing these diaries, I feel somehow that I’m not writing for myself but the people coming after me.’ I think he wanted someone to find the diary and piece his story together.”
Do you have any leads that could help tell Ian’s story? Email newsroom@mynewsmag.co.uk
0 Comments