Dubbed by local historian, Neil Lyon, as ‘the best burglar in the county’, Joan Wake stands as one of the key figureheads of Northampton’s history. Below are ten quotes from her diary entries which capture just the type of person she was.
1.
“Eight days ago … I went to London for the day to try on my dress. I met with [someone who] said: “Have you heard the news? Austria is at war with Serbia. I am glad…” he said. “There’s going to be something to read about in the newspapers at last.”
Joan Wake, 21st July, 1914
Joan Wake lived through the First World War and the Second World War. Throughout both of them she made diary entries which now provide valuable insight into the national anxieties and struggles people endured.
2.
“I hate and loathe being fifty. I’ve never minded a birthday before this. I don’t think I’ll mind getting to sixty if I get that far, but fifty to me sounds so deadly dull … a widow in a black dress…”
Joan Wake, 1934
Wake was a very opinionated woman, and this was not something that occurred over time. Even in her youth, Neil Lyon describes her as an “independent minded teenage girl”.
3.
“My roses are out, and Paris has fallen. I’m waiting for the queen to speak to the French. Oh, I’ve just heard her now. Marvellous fellow, Hitler; always keeps to his timetable. When we hear the church bells we shall know the parachutists have arrived. Imagine the feelings of the men who made those towers simply to go, knowing they would be used to give warning of enemies dropping from the skies.“
Joan Wake, 14th June, 1940
Being a young girl in the 20th century, higher education was not something Wake had access to. She was tutored by nannies and governesses, however, learning was something she was always interested in. As a result, she was a well-spoken and eloquent woman who came up with narrative masterpieces like this.
4.
– “I caught the 9:45 train from Northampton… to Cotterstock. I tried Lady Bethel’s motorbike and I bought it for £25.”
Joan Wake, 21st May 1925
Joan Wake was an avid motorcyclist and you would often see her careering up and down the roads of Northamptonshire on her mission to secure the town’s historical documents. She rode this motorcycle for the next ten years before she bought her first car at the age of 51.
5.
“I’ve been to London for the day in a furniture van to rescue and put in a safe place two very important Northamptonshire collections. I forced an idolatry duke and a reluctant earl to let me get away with them.”
Joan Wake, May, 1941
Wake’s personality is one of the most famous things about her. She was a hardy, persistent and coercive woman with a clear goal, and would stop at nothing to achieve what she wanted. Historian, Neil Lyon said: “If she had known me, she would have eaten me for breakfast!”.
6.
“One of our market towns is full of Black Americans from Georgia. I am told they’re better behaved than the whites. They’re not allowed in the cinema and I’m told on Sunday evenings they go to the non-conformist chapels and sing their spirituals. It’s said the English soldiers resent the American soldiers because they’re so much richer and pinch our best girls, having more money to entertain them.”
Joan Wake, August 1942
Due to Wake’s elaborate note taking and diary writing, we are able to look at the social revolutionary changes that were taking place in Northampton during the 20th century from a first hand perspective.
7.
“I got a puncture on the way home off Watkins street. I stopped a gang of Italian prisoners coming along the road and got them to change my wheel – which they did gabbling Italian all the while. Gave them half a crown.”
Joan Wake, 22nd November, 1945
There is only one thing to say about this. Only Joan Wake could have managed something like this – only Joan Wake.
8.
“I’m getting very old. I’m practically an invalid now as my legs are of very little use, but my head still works a little.”
Joan Wake, 14th November, 1973
Even after her retirement, Wake continued to record her everyday goings-on. Another thing to note is that she was born on a leap year, and took much pride in this – and the youth it gave her.
9.
“The BBC are being very tiresome about my broadcast, but it’s now supposed that I should give it on the 17th June, at 6:30 in their ‘In Britain Now’ series. A silly sort of variety show, and I’m only to have four and a half minutes, and I don’t feel they’ve done us very generously. But, it may do some good to save some records.”
Joan Wake, June 1942
During the Second World War, Wake made several attempts to salvage historical records and raise awareness of the cause. She was notably annoyed with the BBC who changed her script significantly to fit their style. She refused to read it and re-wrote her own version which she later read out on air.
10.
“To be able to look clearly down a long vista of seven or eight centuries into the past of one’s own district adds a dignity to life and stimulates the best type of pride and patriotism. A place with no knowledge of, or interest in its own history is a poor pitiful thing; much as a man who has lost his memory. “
Joan Wake
Wake was an extremely patriotic woman who took pride in her hometown, and it is thanks to this and her inextinguishable determination that she managed to piece our local history together and bring it to the heart of Northampton where it belongs.
If you want to find out more about this incredible woman, be sure to keep an eye out for our first magazine issue (launching in May) which will include a full feature on Joan Wake, and much more.
The Northamptonian 