Items (122 total)
- Collection: Letters of John Jarmain
Undated letter: draft of poems 'Embarkation' and 'Island for Sale'
Manuscript letter proving an insight into everyday life on board of the troopship. Also including the poems 'Embarkation' and 'Island for Sale'.
Undated letter
Manuscript letter from a port providing an insight into aspect of his life in the army, censorship and how the British empire was perceived by the local population. Also mentioning the distance and the difficulties of communication by letter with his…
Transcripts of the letters of John Jarmain
Transcripts of 120 letters of the poet John Jarmain to his wife Beryl, with whom he regularly corresponded after travelling to North Africa and South Italy during the Second World War. The letters are dated from 17 June 1942 to 04 November 1943.…
Letter dated 9 November 1942: draft of poem 'Orchids'
Manuscript letter written after the battle of Al Alamein including a draft of the poem 'Orchids/Song in the Desert' and references to the battle and the retreat of the Germans and Italians.
Letter dated 9 December 1942
Manuscript letter including references to the battle of El Alamein, the life in the desert, birds, his finances, banks, hotels and Cairo. Also discussing good books including mentions of James Elroy Flecker, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, 'A…
Letter dated 8 July 1943
Manuscript letter.
Letter dated 6 February 1943
Manuscript letter from Tripoli including the story of an Italian family, from Sicily, who had moved in Libya in 1912, after the Italo-Turkish war. The narration provides an insight in the recent history of the Libyan colony and in the current war as…
Letter dated 5 September 1943
Manuscript letter mentioning every day life in Sicily and his having started another poem. Also including references to Messina, Castel Mola, his visit to Taormina and a Greek Theatre, Castiglione di Sicilia, Etna and the landscape.
Letter dated 4 March 1943
Manuscript letter mentioning the structure of the poem 'Soldier's Prayer', the desert, Suez and the river Nile.
Letter dated 4 April 1943
Manuscript letter including references to the publication of the poems and royalties. Envelope also including a newscutting, a Christmas card and a couple of letters to John, some poems by Sarah Stailey: 'The Return of Persephone', 'Beware!',…
Letter dated 31 July 1943
Manuscript letter from Sicily.
Letter dated 31 December 1942: draft of poems 'Soldiers' Prayer' and 'For Alemein [Alamein]'
Manuscript letter including drafts of the poems 'Soldiers' Prayer' and 'For Alemein' and references to the life in the desert with the army.
Letter dated 30 April 1943
Manuscript letter mentioning life in the army in Tunisia, the North African war, Tunis and ancient Carthage, Jerusalem, the film 'Desert Victory' by Boulting and the Bishop's Stortford's cinema, African birds.
Letter dated 29 January 1943
Manuscript letter from Tripoli including references to his experience, an ordered list of the poems sent, a small sketch. Also mentioning helping an Italian family living in the city and local street sellers.
Content Advice: This letter contains…
Content Advice: This letter contains…
Letter dated 29 August 1942
Manuscript letter including references to everyday life in the army camps and three South African coins. Also mentioning receiving a cable or cablegram with news of his daughter's birth and wandering how the baby looks like.
Letter dated 28 September 1943
Manuscript letter mentioning every day life in Sicily, a party at the camp site with members of a travelling concert party including a performance by Gracie Fields and another tea party held by local Italian aristocracy. Also including references to…
Letter dated 28 September 1942
Manuscript letter including references to everyday life in the army, including meals, flies, in the desert near Cairo and Alexandria.
Letter dated 28 October 1942: draft of poem 'Tel El Eisa'
Manuscript letter including a draft of the poem 'Tel El Eisa' and references to life in the desert near El Alamein and the battle field. Also mentioning the publication of some of his work in the 'Daily Telegraph'.
Letter dated 28 May 1943
Manuscript letter including a list of negatives of pictures taken in North Africa, with references to Djidjelli [Jijel], Kherratta and Setif in Algeria, Takrouna in Tunisia, Tripoli, Agheila and Leptis Magna in Libya.
Letter dated 27 August 1943
Manuscript letter mentioning every day life in Sicily, managing an abandoned luxury hotel and climbing Mount Etna, including sketches of the volcano. There are also references to Stromboli and Lipari volcanic islands, the strait of Messina, Tobruk…