A blood-stained diary discovered on a rubbish tip has inspired a new book and a decades-long search to uncover the fate of its owner. The Digger's Diary, written by former Dudley Museum curator Colin Reid, tells the story of Australian soldier Claude Nuttall MM and the 22-year quest to learn what happened to him after the First World War.
The book will be launched at Stourbridge Library on Thursday, October 15, as part of the Dudley History Festival. A second talk will take place at Dudley Library on Saturday, October 17 at 2.30pm. The Digger's Diary will also be launched at the ANZAC Memorial in Sydney during Remembrance Week.
A chance discovery in 1965
Mr Reid's investigation began in 1996 when Alan Southall offered the diary to the museum for a Great War exhibition. Southall had discovered the diary on a Norton rubbish tip in 1965. The diary, written in 1918, was blood-stained, pierced by a bullet and ended abruptly on August 10 of that year.
Mr Reid said: "Writing the book has been a labour of love that began 30 years ago when I was manager at the former Dudley Museum and Art Gallery. When the diary was given to me for an exhibition on the Great War, it set me on a lifelong mission to discover Claude's fate."
Tracing a soldier's story
Corporal Nuttall, an infantryman in the Australian Imperial Force, had fallen in love with Stourbridge resident Violet Palfreyman while recovering from wounds at Wordsley Hospital. The couple married five weeks before he returned to the front lines.
Mr Reid traced Nuttall's story from Dudley to the battlefields of France and eventually to his hometown of Melbourne, uncovering a tale of 'faith, love and unimaginable courage'. The diary's discoverer, Alan Southall, will attend the launch event at Stourbridge Library.
Book launch events
Tickets for the Stourbridge event can be booked through the library. The launch forms part of the Dudley History Festival, which celebrates the region's heritage. The additional talk at Dudley Library on October 17 offers another opportunity for local residents to hear about the research journey.
The Sydney launch during Remembrance Week connects the story to its Australian roots, honouring the service of Corporal Nuttall and his fellow soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force.
