Background

The COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020 proved to be a time for reflection for many people. Lockdowns gave us a break from our hectic schedules to re-evaluate where we are and where we’re going. It allowed us the time and space to start tasks that had been on our to do list.

Our family had six years of our father’s handwritten war time dairies gathering dust in various cupboards and attics. As a legacy to his life, we felt it important to bring this social history together by transcribing them for easy legibility and publishing them online via a bespoke website. This would also allow the publication of his many sketches that accompanied his diaries as well as letters and memorabilia.

The process is ongoing (and therefore and this stage, the diaries are incomplete) but it has been a cathartic experience. As is common with war veterans, our father didn’t talk about his war experiences. In hindsight, we wish we had asked him more when he was alive. However, the diaries help us understand his character, personality, motivations, beliefs and determination when he was a very young man. We recognise these same traits as a father.

We have included names of ships on which Len served including dates as well as the names of individuals he worked with. Hopefully, they’ll be others out there going through a similar process and trying to bring together a relative’s history. If you have found a connection, no matter how tenuous, we would love to hear from you.

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  • Leonard Alfred Abbott FRIBA

    Born Catford 20th April 1923

    Died Purley, Surrey UK 11th July 1997

    Had Len still been alive when one of his greatest architectural achievements was demolished, you would imagine that he would have been devastated. No doubt he would have been very upset but at the same time he understood the need for progress and to maximise working space in urban areas . Designing and building Southwark Towers, the head office for Price Waterhouse at London Bridge, was a important part of Len’s life during the 1970s and to a large extent, was the culmination of his architectural career. The building that replaced it was the Shard, Europe’s tallest building. Not a bad replacement.

    These diaries start in April 1940 , a few months after the start of World War Two when Len was 16 years old. He was fortunate in a way as he knew he wanted to be an architect from a very young age. He didn’t waste any spare time during the 6 years of conflict – he used it to study. The diaries make constant reference to having curriculum books sent to him; buying architectural based books at ports of call; reading them; making notes and also detailed descriptions of the buildings he saw whilst travelling the globe. Len was a talented artist and many of his sketches have been included alongside the relevant diary entry. Not only do they add to the written descriptions but they also illustrate how his drawing skills improved over the years.