Virginia Dickinson

The Man from Brazil: Dorothy Griffin's Diary 1942-43 Volume I Virginia Dickinson

Dorothy "Squiffy" Griffin joined the war effort in the WAAF and her no-holds-barred diaries of her experiences during WWII demonstrate that in more modern times she would be described as a hell-raising socialite. Dorothy married and left for Brazil with a young and growing family. Dorothy returned to England at intervals from 1951 to 1977. Her husband Chris passed away in 1985 in Niteroi, Brazil. There followed a long gap of 17 years, when in 1994 she returned with Chris Junior for the celebration of her first-born twins' joint 50th birthday. During a period of 35 years Dorothy corresponded regularly telling stories about the family, her employers, the political setup, the corruption, the Jogo do Bicho and the Esportiva (Football pools). Dorothy's war-time diary came to light in 2001 in Niteroi, Brazil, following her death in England. Members of the family gathered at her home in Niteroi to pay their respects. Chris Junior became custodian of the diary and letters together with photographs and other documents. Her daughter Virginia Dickinson was privileged to see these in 2004 during a visit and in 2009 Virginia's twin brother allowed her to borrow the diary and letters and Virginia hastily transcribed their contents to ensure their preservation. Over the past fifty years Virginia has collated the family photos, documents and the stories therein and is publishing the collection as a sequence of events - a social history. This enables future generations to view their heritage through Virginia's window to the past and will be especially relevant to those residing in Brazil and interested in their English surname. Armed with her mother's war time diary, father's letters, and other family correspondence, Virginia felt the need for further research to find the family connection and draw to Brazil and this his has taken Virginia and her partner Raymond Slee to Austin, Texas, to The Lincoln Archives, The British National Archives, down a redundant (disused) gold mine in Minas Gerais, and The Anglo Ashanti Museum in Nova Lima, to name just a few locations exotic, and less so. The research so far has uncovered enough material for at least four books. And so, Virginia decided to start with Dorothy's WWII diaries forming this Volume I: "The Man from Brazil".