I believe that when a story needs to be told, it comes to the fore.
In January 2020, I received an email from Dominic Sparke who had seen a YouTube video which I made about the life of a soldier who fought in WW1 following the chance discovery of his luggage tag in the Thames mud in 2016. It read:-
“Dear Nicola....
In 1999 I was living in South London. My landlord was a friend who was doing up the house where we lived and he used to go rummaging around in skips and tips to find unusual things to help with the renovation. One day he came home with an old 1940's style suitcase, which was full of letters, documents and magazines. All the letters etc related to the life of a man called John Spiers, who studied at Oxford University before the war, was in the Navy during the war, and then moved to Ontario Canada for work”.
Dominic then went on to explain that he had always intended to do something with the contents of the suitcase and that he had wanted to tell John Spiers' story, but time had gone by and he no longer had the time to do so. "Would you like them?" he said in the email. "Would I like them? Are you kidding? Yes I would!" I eagerly replied. And so he sent them to me. I received them on February 7th 2020. Rather uncannily, John himself died on 7th February 1993.
In January 2020, I received an email from Dominic Sparke who had seen a YouTube video which I made about the life of a soldier who fought in WW1 following the chance discovery of his luggage tag in the Thames mud in 2016. It read:-
“Dear Nicola....
In 1999 I was living in South London. My landlord was a friend who was doing up the house where we lived and he used to go rummaging around in skips and tips to find unusual things to help with the renovation. One day he came home with an old 1940's style suitcase, which was full of letters, documents and magazines. All the letters etc related to the life of a man called John Spiers, who studied at Oxford University before the war, was in the Navy during the war, and then moved to Ontario Canada for work”.
Dominic then went on to explain that he had always intended to do something with the contents of the suitcase and that he had wanted to tell John Spiers' story, but time had gone by and he no longer had the time to do so. "Would you like them?" he said in the email. "Would I like them? Are you kidding? Yes I would!" I eagerly replied. And so he sent them to me. I received them on February 7th 2020. Rather uncannily, John himself died on 7th February 1993.
When I received the case full of letters and personal writings, I started to read them immediately. What I discovered was an entire life made up of a treasure trove of jotted down memories, letters, journal entries, souvenirs and photos which I am only just beginning to piece together. Over the course of the next year I will endeavour to tell the story of the lives which are contained within this suitcase. It seems a fitting time to bring the story into the limelight. John Ashley Spiers was born just over 100 years ago on 2nd April 1920. Although the story centres around him, there are many lives contained within - family, friends, lovers and acquaintances. It is an accurate historical snapshot of life during the war, and a fascinating glimpse into the intricacies and emotions of human beings who love and want to be loved.
As well as hundreds of letters and wartime correspondence from family and friends, there are letters from numerous women many of whom clearly adored him. What is clear from the start is that although he was fond of the company of women and he was much in demand, he was smitten with one woman whom he met in 1943 and with whom he spent time for just one month before wartime duties meant they were separated. During the following years, up until 1949, their correspondence and their brief reunion is captivating and as an observer, I was able to see that it was heading for possible disaster.
The woman who became his infatuation was Willa Gray Martin, an American journalist who was working for the New York Associated Press. It seems that despite the constant attention of other women falling at his feet, John was unable to move on from his love obsession with Willa and his diary revealed a deep resentment about the way this love story ended. For the rest of his life though he kept her letters, newspaper clippings, mementoes and a journal of his detailed dreams often about her. He also kept the stacks of letters written by women to him during the 1940s and on into 1950. Perhaps the most significant being the long-suffering and devoted Olive, who lived in a caravan called "Hawaii". Although he wrote many times in his journal of his desire to marry, it was not to be. In 1952 Willa Gray Martin, the only woman he could envisage as his wife, went on to marry Marvin Pierce, the father of Barbara Bush.
And so how to tell this story? Well it seems like a huge task. There are hundreds of letters and so many clues to piece together, as well as coded diary entries. Dr Spiers was also a Freudian who wrote out his dreams in great detail.
The story which jumps out for me from what I have read of the letters, is a man who was eluded by love and who left in his wake some heartrbroken and angry women. Just as I have found many objects in the River Thames which I believe have stories which need to be told, Im looking forward to giving a voice to Dr John Ashley Spiers, as well as the many women, friends and family members, who loved him.
Within this suitcase is a jumbled mix of fragments of the past ; Some funny, some sad, some hopeless, some downright strange. This is a project quite daunting but extremely exciting – and it is also a time capsule of life during the war with everyday details from those involved - which surely needs to be shared. All relevant copyright laws will be adhered to.
I look forward to sharing it with you.
Nicola
The story which jumps out for me from what I have read of the letters, is a man who was eluded by love and who left in his wake some heartrbroken and angry women. Just as I have found many objects in the River Thames which I believe have stories which need to be told, Im looking forward to giving a voice to Dr John Ashley Spiers, as well as the many women, friends and family members, who loved him.
Within this suitcase is a jumbled mix of fragments of the past ; Some funny, some sad, some hopeless, some downright strange. This is a project quite daunting but extremely exciting – and it is also a time capsule of life during the war with everyday details from those involved - which surely needs to be shared. All relevant copyright laws will be adhered to.
I look forward to sharing it with you.
Nicola
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