Vera Brittain Contemplates the W.A.A.C.s; Siegfried Sassoon Dreams of Being...
Yesterday, a century back, Edward Brittain wrote to his sister Vera advising her on her possible future either at Oxford or once again as a V.A.D… but the mail between England and Italy is not as...
View ArticleDuff Cooper a Duffer; Vera Brittain Sends the Muse to Her Brother, Along With...
Have I mentioned that Duff Cooper has a gambling problem? Well, he does… but this is rural France, not London. Cooper made it through his first tour in the trenches with flying colors: not only were...
View ArticleSiegfried Sassoon: A Joy Ride and the Roll of Honor; Edward Brittain and the...
Siegfried Sassoon continues to write in his diary nearly every evening, setting himself the task, it would seem, of making something–anything–of his experiences every day. And today, a century back,...
View ArticleSiegfried Sassoon Blesses Their Hearts; Edward Brittain’s Secret is Out
Siegfried Sassoon writes doggedly on, determined to bring us all the way back to the front with him. June 14 I have seen a lot of soldiers at the war, but I have never seen a more well-behaved crowd...
View ArticleThe Killing of Edward Brittain; Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon Write...
In July of 1916 the British had attacked on the Somme before they were fully ready, in part to relieve pressure on their French allies. In June of 1918, the Austrians were once more goaded out of...
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The Last, Worst Telegram for Vera Brittain; Ivor Gurney in a Very Bad Place
We left Vera Brittain on June 16th, trying to absorb the news that her brother’s unit must have received the full weight of the new offensive on the Asiago Plateau. She continues the story, now,...
View ArticleVera Brittain on That Which Remaineth; Robert Graves Would Bleed the Poor...
The British army may have buckled and barely held on the German Spring Offensive, but the postal service is still going like gangbusters: only three days after he was wounded–and, two, at most, after...
View ArticleVera Brittain Rebukes a V.C.; Wilfred Owen Arrives in Boulogne, not Dejected...
Yesterday, a century back, Wilfred Owen wrote a card and a letter to his mother. He also wrote to Siegfried Sassoon–but since he wrote again today, I’ve left them both until now. Sat., 31 August 1918...
View ArticleThe Great Calm
At 5 A.M., the representatives of Germany signed the Armistice that had been under negotiation for four days. At 11:00, it took effect, and the war ended, almost exactly a week after Wilfred Owen was...
View ArticleVera Brittain After Six Weeks, and Three Years
So I’m having a bit of trouble framing some closing thoughts on the writing of the Great War–and more trouble, without the pressure of a dated deadline, to actually write and post them. There must be a...
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