Lorna Lloyd

Lorna Beatrice Lloyd (1914–1942) was a British school teacher. She became known after her death for her World War II era diary, which chronicled life in wartime Britain. The diary was posthumously published in 2019 and Lloyd became the subject of articles, a podcast series, and an exhibition at Malvern Museum.

Biography

Lloyd was born on 7 January 1914, the daughter of Albert Edward Lloyd and Alice Ethel Lloyd. She had one brother, Theo.

In September 1939, 25 year-old Lloyd was living in Malvern in Worcestershire in the English Midlands. Between 1 September 1939 and 4 January 1941, she wrote 106 diary entries offering commentary on the war.

Diary In 2019, Lloyd's family donated her war-era diary to the Malvern Museum. and an eight episode podcast series produced by staff and students at the Edinburgh Napier University. The podcast, Diary of the War, was supplemented by news reports from that time. Bonus episodes included Lloyd's poems. A volume of Lloyd's poetry was also published. In the same year, the series was added to the University of Oxford's Their Finest Hour archive.

Following the release of the podcast series of the Diary of the War, Edinburgh Napier University conducted research into audience engagement with the publication of Lloyd's diary and the podcast series, publishing their findings in the Archives journal.

Works

Lloyd, Lorna B. Diary of the War (2019-2021) Ryan, B. & Hall, H. (Eds.), (2022). Selected poems by Lorna Lloyd. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Napier University. .