Special Collections

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 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.

Tags: Africa, desert, Desert War, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tunisia, Tunisian Campaign, war, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 16 April 1943

Manuscript letter mentioning life in the desert, an imminent battle, Misurata, and bee-eaters.

Tags: Africa, desert, Desert War, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tunisia, Tunisian Campaign, war, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 12 April 1943

Manuscript letter including references to bombing in Europe, troops advancing in the desert towards Tunis, Rommel and telephones.

Tags: Africa, desert, Desert War, North African Campaign, Rommel, Second World War, Tunisia, Tunisian Campaign, war, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 21 March 1943

Manuscript letter discussing about the poems 'Yone May', 'For Alemein [Alamein]', 'Orchids', 'Sand' and including references to Capetown, Tripoli and a scheme including Italian speaking interpreters, Churchill, jobs options after the end of the war,…

Tags: Africa, Cape Town, Churchill, Desert War, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, Tunisia, Tunisian Campaign, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Aerogram dated 12 March 1943

Manuscript lettercard including references to Monty or Bernard Montgomery and the new direct air service from Tripoli he asked Churchill for his soldiers, the Eighth Army, one of the most famous formations of the British Army during World War Two.…

Tags: Africa, Churchill, Desert War, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Aerogram dated 10 March 1943

Manuscript lettercard including references to Cairo and Tripoli and a second 'Alamein' poem on which Jarmain has started to work.
The battle of Medenine was on the 6th March

Tags: Africa, Desert War, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tunisia, Tunisian Campaign, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 4 March 1943

Manuscript letter mentioning the structure of the poem 'Soldier's Prayer', the desert, Suez and the river Nile.

Tags: Africa, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 21 February 1943

Manuscript letter from Tripoli mentioning the poem 'Soldier's Prayer', the difficulty to express in writing how it feels like being a soldier, their alienation and homesickness.

Tags: Africa, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Airgraph dated 16 February 1943

Manuscript letter mentioning J C Powys.

Tags: Africa, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, war, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 12 February 1943

Manuscript letter from Tripoli including references to the scarcity of food supplies in the city due to the retreat of the German and Italian soldiers.

Tags: Africa, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, war, Western Desert Campaign

Aerogram dated 11 February 1943

Manuscript lettercard from Tripoli including references to Churchill, his writing break and lilies.

Tags: Africa, Churchill, desert, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, war, Western Desert Campaign

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…

Tags: Africa, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

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…

Tags: Africa, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, war, Western Desert Campaign

Aerogram dated 30 January 1943: draft of poem 'Sand'

Manuscript lettercard from Tripoli including a draft of the poem 'Sand' and references to his experience in Tripoli.

Tags: Africa, desert, Desert War, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Somerset, Tripoli, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 20 January 1943: draft of poem 'Leptis Magna'

Manuscript letter including a draft of the poem 'Leptis Magna', references to the journey through the desert along the Libyan coast up to Leptis Magna and the arrival to Tripoli, deliveries and mail. Also including some literary discussion of poetry,…

Tags: Africa, desert, Desert War, Leptis Magna, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tripoli, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Items (55 total)