Special Collections

Letter dated 19 December 1942

Manuscript letter including references to the life in the desert with the army, Libya, Alexandria, supplies and postal service and Cape Town.

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

Letter dated 19 November 1942

Manuscript letter including references to the life in the desert, the Sahara desert, with flies and dust storms and Benghazi, Libya.

Tags: Africa, Cyrenaica, desert, Desert War, Egypt, Libya, North African Campaign, Sahara, Second World War, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

Letter dated 2 June 1943

Manuscript letter about his daugher's Christening.

Tags: Africa, Algeria, North African Campaign, Second World War, war

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

Letter dated 21 August 1942

Manuscript letter including references to everyday life in the army training camps in the desert, flies, heat, lack of privacy and then life in the local villages, Cairo, a military parade for Wiston Churchill and a sketch.

Tags: Africa, Cairo, desert, Desert War, Egypt, North African Campaign, Second World War, war, Western Desert Campaign, Winston Churchill

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

Letter dated 21 July 1942: draft of poems 'Sleeping on Deck', 'Flying Fishes' and 'Yone May'

Manuscript letter including the poems 'Sleeping on Deck', 'Flying Fishes' and 'Yone May' and references to his life in the army and Capetown.

Tags: Africa, Cape Town, Second World War, war, war poetry

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

Letter dated 22 May 1943

Manuscript letter from Major J Jarmain, describing life in the camp along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa.

Tags: Africa, Algeria, North African Campaign, rationing, Second World War, war

Letter dated 25 June 1944

Copy of letter from France mentioning the effect of war on the French landscape. The letter was written the night before John Jarmain was killed at Saint Honorine la Chardonne.

Tags: France, Invasion of Normandy, Normandy Campaign, Operation Overlord, Second World War, war

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…

Tags: Etna, Italian Campaign, Italy, Second World War, Sicily, volcanoes, war

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.

Tags: Africa, Algeria, Libya, North African Campaign, Second World War, Tunisia, war

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'.

Tags: Africa, Battle of El Alamein, desert, Desert War, Egypt, North African Campaign, Second World War, war, war poetry, Western Desert Campaign

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.

Tags: Africa, Alexandria, desert, Desert War, Egypt, North African Campaign, Second World War, war, Western Desert Campaign

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…

Tags: Gracie Fields, Italian Campaign, Italy, Second World War, Sicily, war

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.

Tags: Africa, desert, Desert War, Egypt, North African Campaign, Second World War, war, 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

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