Manuscript Register

This document describes a collection of materials held by the
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
Fax: 319-335-5900
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu

Posted to Internet:January 2002
Addendum: 2003, September 2003, 2009

Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research.

Photographs: Boxes 1 (a, b, c) and 2

Audio Material: Box 1

Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department.

Copyright:  Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on "Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials"

Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement.

Abbreviations: For an explanation of the abbreviation and dating conventions used in the finding aids, see Abbreviations.

Table of Contents

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Series I

Series II

Series III

2003 Addendum

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

In 1865, Matthew Dowdy Shiell, a trader from the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, laid claim to a mile-long rock in the island chain, named Redonda by Columbus in 1493. He declared himself king, and when his son, Matthew Phipps Shiell, was fifteen, the father had him anointed king of Redonda by the Bishop of Antigua. In the 1880s, anxious to mine its guano and phosphates, England annexed Redonda as part of Antigua. The Shiells were allowed to retain their title as monarch of the island. Matthew Phipps Shiell migrated to England where, under the name of M.P. Shiel, he wrote many books of fantasy. When he died in 1947, he left the Island of Redonda to a young poet, Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong, who wrote under the name of John Gawsworth.

Gawsworth was born in London in 1912, of Irish and Scottish descent. He liked to claim famous ancestors, among them Mary Fitton, who some claim is Shakespeare's dark lady, though many dismiss this claim. While he was still a teen, Gawsworth's mother divorced his father and moved to Canada. Since Gawsworth was not close to his father, he was essentially on his own.

He worked for a bookseller and began writing poetry seriously. By the age of 19, he had published his first collection of poetry, Confession. He admired the Georgian poets and collected their work and corresponded with some of them. His work with the bookseller made him an expert collector and he collected many first editions and signed copies of works.

He pursued a literary career, buying and selling books, editing anthologies and bibliographies, editing journals and writing and publishing his own poetry. At 26, he was the youngest person elected to the Royal Society of Literature. He won the Benson Silver Medal in Poetry in 1939.

He entered the Air Force in 1941 and served in North Africa, Italy, and India. In all of these places he sought out poets and books and wrote and published poetry. After the war, he continued to publish poetry, as well to edit journals, such as The Poetry Review.

His early career was noticed and praised by critics, but he was too formal a poet to survive modernism, and he fell into obscurity. Always a ready imbiber, his drinking increased. In 1952, he was fired as editor of The Poetry Review, and after 1953 he published no more books. By the time he was profiled on the BBC's Line-Up in 1970 he was homeless and impoverished.

As King Juan I of Redonda, he increased the court by naming peers, mostly drawn from literary ranks. These included Dorothy Sayers, John A. Knopf, Dylan Thomas, and J.B. Priestley, among a host of others, whose names he had placed on State Papers. He once offered the kingship for sale, and got many offers, but did not follow through. In his later years, on drinking larks, he named so many peers and successors that there are now at least three pretenders to the throne, and Redonda has resurfaced as a hot topic. There are several Internet sites devoted to it, and several books have come out in recent years about Redonda.

Related Materials

Eng, Steve. "The Lyric Struggles of John Gawsworth". Books at Iowa, No. 38 (April 1983), pp. 29-45.

Wynne-Tyson, Jon. "Two Kings of Redonda: M.P. Shiel and John Gawsworth". Books at Iowa, No. 36 (1982), pp. 15-22.

Gardiner, Wrey. "With the King in Cork." University of Iowa, Special Collections Ms G2249 (wr)

http://www.redonda.org/rex-redondae.html

http://www.antiguanice.com/redonda/

http://homepages.pavilion.co.uk/users/tartarus/gawsworth.html

The University of Victoria in Canada has a collection of Gawsworth's papers

Scope and Contents

These papers cover roughly the years between 1930 and 1971. The collection of two linear feet is comprised of three series. Series I relates to M.P. Shiel, Series II to Redonda, and Series III to Gawsworth

There are four folders for M.P.Shiel, consisting of three photographs, probably given to Gawsworth by Shiel, clippings, and reprints.

There are three folders for Redonda. These contain articles about Redonda, a watercolor of the island made by Gawsworth (who never actually saw it), proclamations and state papers, clippings and reprints about Redonda, among other items.

The remainder of the papers relate to Gawsworth. There are many manuscript poems here, many of them written later in his life and never published. There are over three hundred letters.

A 2009 addendum has added 21 notebooks and several photographs to the collection. These notebooks are  mostly from the World War II era and document his experiences in the RAF as well as his literary musings and studies, including a list of authors in North Africa.

Box 1

Series I

M. P. Shiel

Clipping Collection

Connell, John. "A Writer's Novelist." The Listener, April 24, 1947, pp. 632 -- 633.

"The 'Lost Authors' Find Their Champions Again."

Obituary. M.P. Shiel. The Times. Thursday, February 20, 1947.

"Poets at Dinner." Daily Sketch.

Shiel, M. P. "Writing and Myself." The Literary Digest. Proof.

"M.P. Shiel: A Resurgence." Advertising brochure for collected works.

Note on the photographs by Harold Billings (March 2009)

Photograph. Writing on the front: "Clifton Dupigny" On the back: "One of Shiel's early friends. JG."

Photograph. Writing on the back: "Thought to be Shiel's mistress. Ella D'Arcy. From his collection. E D'A lived on Cromwell Rd. JG."

Photograph. Writing on back: "M. P. Shiel's 'unknown mâitresse' Anna Marie [Miller] in the Bronx, Brooklyn U.S.A. They had a a spirit child (vide, press 1947) Juan R."

Letter soliciting a Civil List Pension for M. P. Shiel. Written and signed by John Gawsworth.

Shiel, M. P. and John Gawsworth writing under the name of Fytton Armstrong. "The Falls Scandal." Pages removed from a book, with revisions. Note at top: "Revisions made, under dictation, of a collaborated story by M. P. Shiel & Fytton Armstrong for an envisaged reprint of the Crimes, Creepers, and Thrills version."

Series II

Redonda

Folder Number 1

The Armorial Bearings of Shiel's Redonda.

Fawcett, Dubrez. "The King of All the Seagulls." November 1960.

His Excellency, the Duke of Bonafides. "What Women Don't Know About Men."

"Redonda for Queen Ann." Watercolor. On back: "Redonda by its King."

State Paper, upon the occasions of the king's birthday, proclaiming appointments made by King Juan I

State Paper Two, upon the occasion of the king's birthday, proclaiming appointments made by King Juan I; two copies, one a proof copy

State Paper Three, upon the occasion of the king's birthday, proclaiming appointments made by King Juan I; two copies, one a proof copy

Newspaper clippings regarding Viscount St. David

Proclamation awarding the star of Redonda to Liam J. Hickie

Proclamation naming William Hipwell Grand Duke of Basalto of Redonda

Letter from Leigh Vaughan Henry to Reginald Hipwell, accepting an invitation

A proclamation regarding Hipwell (in Gaelic?)

Letter (to Hipwell?), regarding the history of Redonda (from Michael ???)

A Good Friday For Redonda. April 1979

Folder Number 2

Howard, Richard A. "Botanical and Other Observations on Redonda, the West Indies." Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, vol. XLIII:no.1 (January 1962), pp. 51-66. Reprint, signed by Gawsworth, and noted as "a present from the author."

Schmitt, Waldo L. "Narrative of the 1957 Smithsonian-Bredin Caribbean Expedition." The Smithsonian Report for 1958. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1959, pp. 419-430. Reprint

Shuster, Carl N. "Dear Bill." Estuarine Bulletin. Vol. 3: no.2 (June 1958), pp.7-12.

Map of the Leeward Islands. Signed "Juan R."

Shuster, Carl N. "Dear Bill." Caribbean Adventure. Reprinted from Estuarine Bulletin. Wilmington Institute Library Lecture Series, March 3, 1959. Includes map of the Leeward Islands. Signed "Juan R."

Correspondence regarding these publications.

Series III

John Gawsworth (pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong)

Biographical Materials

Images of Gawsworth, including a photograph of a bust of Gawsworth. On back: "By Prodosh Das Gupta, Calcutta, 13/9/1945;"a photograph of Gawsworth in uniform; portrait of Gawsworth?; card inscribed "Basalto from Juan R. 1951."; a copy of the portrait is signed Ivan [Opping?], Dec. 1937; pencil drawing (on back: "John Gawsworth. Drawn by Bili [Haesein] Veglio's Rest. May 1939."); pen and ink drawing (of Gawsworth?), January 1938 (There are two names (?) written on this: Seumus O'Sullivan and another, illegible.) There are more images of Gawsworth in the letters from George Clarkson.

Iyengar, K.R. Srinivasa. "Gawsworth, Lyricist of Love." Reprint from The Literary Digest. Used as publicity for The Collected Poems of John Gawsworth.

"John Gawsworth: A Film Portrait." [For the BBC television show Line Up] 9 July 1970. Script; shot list; 7 1/2 ips magnetic track reel-to-reel audiotape; and a scrapbook with clippings and letters about the program and a photograph of Gawsworth

"John Gawsworth: Some Publications" 1931 -- 1944. Listed by J.H. R. Owen

Memorial Announcement. June 29, 1971

Phillips, Eric. "H. M. The King of Redonda, John Gawsworth." The Writer. October 1967, pp. 3-5.

"Poets' Editor Dismissed. Authors Oppose Society Action." Daily Telegraph & Morning Post. Monday, July 14, 1952.

Printouts of Internet sources on John Gawsworth

Correspondence

The following index starts first with the name, followed number of items, number of pages, and the date

???, Nancy , 1, 1, [19--]

???, Stephen, 1, 1, March 12, 1968

Angus, Marion, 1, 1, February 1938

Angus, Marion, 1, 1, March 1, 1938

Angus, Marion, 1, 2, April 26, 1938

Balchin, Nigel, 1, 1, September 9, 1949

Bax, Clifford, 1, 1, December 20, 1946

Bax, Clifford, 1, 1, June 18, 1948

Bax, Clifford, 1, 1, February 12, 1949

Bax, Clifford, 1, 1, June 15, 1949

Blakeston, Oswell, 1, 2, n.d.

Blakeston, Oswell, 1, 2, June 14, 1963

Bottrall, Ronald, 1, 1, June 21, 1952

Bowes-Lyon, Lilian H., 1, 2, December 8, 1948

Bowes-Lyon, Lilian H., 1, 1, December 12, 1948

Bowes-Lyon, Lilian H., 1, 1, February 10, 1949

Bowes-Lyon, Lilian H., 1, 1, February 10, 1949

Bullett, Gerald, 1, 1, February 25, 1938

Bullett, Gerald, 1, 1, September 12, 1940

Bullett, Gerald, 1, 1, January 2, 1947

Bullett, Gerald, 1, 1, February 8, 1949

Bullett, Gerald, 1, 1, August 24, 1949

Bullett, Gerald, 1, 1, November 21, 1950

Bullett, Gerald, 1, ,1, March 17, 1951

Butler, Lord J., 1, 1, October 17, 1968

Calder-Marshall A., 1, 1, May 22, 1947

Cameron, Norman, 2, 3, May 29, 1952

Child, Harold Hannyton, 1, 2, March 22, 1938

Childe, Wilfred R., 1, 1, April 21, 1949

Church, Richard, 1, 1, December 6, 1948

Church, Richard, 1, 1, November 24, 1950

Church, Richard, 1, 1, February 20, 1951

Church, Richard, 1, 1, June 24, 1951

Clarkson, George A., 1, 1, March 25, 1946

Constable and Co., 1, 1, February 24, 1938

Cornford, Frances D., 1, 1, April 22, 1949

Deeping, Warwick, 1, 1, March 6, 1928

Deeping, Warwick, 1, 1, [October 20?], 1934

Dickens, Monica, 1, 1, [19--]

Durrell, Lawrence G., 1, 1, November 6, 1967

Dyment, Clifford Henry, 1, 1, June 2, 1938

Dyment, Clifford Henry, 1, 2, August 16, 1939

Dyment, Clifford Henry, 1, 2 , December 10, 1948

Dyment, Clifford Henry, 1, 1, February 8, 1949

Dyment, Clifford Henry, 1, 1, February 11, 1949

Dyment, Clifford Henry, 1, 1, December 20, 1950

Dyment, Clifford Henry, 1, 2, September 28, 1951

Evans, Caradoc, 1, 1, November 4, 1932

Evans, Caradoc, 1, 1, February 10, 1933

Evans, Caradoc, 1, 1, October 22, 1934

Evans, Caradoc, 1, 1, [October 21?],1934

Evans, Caradoc, 1, 1, July 22, 1935 

Farjeon, Eleanor, 1, 1, December 11, 1948

Farjeon, Eleanor, 1, 1, December 17, 1950

Farjeon, Eleanor, 1, 1, January 21, 1951

Farjeon, Eleanor, 1, 1, March 14, 1951

Farjeon, Eleanor, 1, 1, April 4, 1951

Farjeon, Eleanor, 1, 1, May 13, 1951

Fletcher, Ian F., 1, 1, [June 20?, 1952]

Fletcher, Ian F., 1, 1, 1968

Gannon, P., 1, 1, September 1, 1951

Garnett, David, 1, 1, January 11, 1939

Garnett, David, 1, 1, January 2, 1947

Garnett, David, 1, 1, December 31, 1947

Garnett, David, 1, 1, January 29, 1948

Garnett, David, 1, 1, March 10, 1949

Garnett, David, 1, 1, June 22, 1951

Gawsworth, John To:

[?], 1, 1, [19--]

[?], 1, 1, August 23, 1936

???, Nancy, 1, 1, [19--]

Cohn, Mrs. Louis H., 1, 2, September 1, 1961

Ervine, St. John G., 1, 1, [19--]

Ervine, St. John G., 1, 1, December 20, 1946

Ervine, St. John G., 1, 1, March 10, 1949

Grieve, Christopher, 1, 1, September 7, 1932

Hipwell, R. & M., 1, 4, March 2, 1955

Jepson, Edgar A., 1, 8, [1937?]

Macaulay, Rose, 1, 1, May 20, 1947

Meyerstein, E.H.W. 1, 2, July 5, 1943

Naylor, John, 1, 1, March 7,, 1967

Richards, Paul C., 1, 4, November 19, 1968

Richards, Paul C., 1, 2, December 14, 1968

Meyerstein, E.H.W., .1, 2,  July 5, 1943

Walty, 1, 2, May 12, 947

Watson, 1, 2 May 13, 1937

Watson, 1, 2, January 1, 1942

Watson, 1, 4, March 27, 1943

Watson, 1, 1, May 9, 1944

Watson, 1, 1, November 3, 1946

George, Daniel, 1, 1, September 6, 1949

Gibbon, William Monk, 1, 2, June 30, 1950

Gibbons, Stella D., 1, 1, July 10, 1952

Gibbon, Wilfrid Wilson, 1, 1, October 10, 1949

Gibbon, Wilfrid Wilson, 1, 1, August 23, 1951

Gorrell, Ronald Gorrell Barnes, 2, 2, June 19, 1952

Gould, Gerald, 1, 1, October 20, 1934

Gould, Gerald, 1, 1, [October 20?], 1934

Gould, Gerald, 1, 1, July 19, 1935

Greacen, Robert, 2, 2, June 18, 1952

Greacen, Robert, 1, 1, July 12, 1952

Grieve, Christopher M., 1, 2, December 12, 1969

Grieve, Valda, 1, 1, [April 27, 1934]

Grieve, Valda, 1, 1, June 24, 1934

Grieve, Valda, 1, 1, [December 19, 1934]

Guedalla, Philip, 1, 1, October 29, 1934

Hamilton, George R., 1, 4, June 18, 1952

Hamilton, George R., 1, 2, June 22, 1952

Hampson, Simpson, 1, 1, January 21, 1937

Heath-Stubbs, John F.A., 1, 1, [November 2, 1950]

Heath-Stubbs, John Francis Alexander, 1, 2, June 21, 1952
Heath-Stubbs, John, 1, 4, September 20, 1968

Henderson, Archibald, 1, 1, June 20, 1950

Housman, Laurence, 2, 2, June 21, 1952

Jacob, Violet, 1, 1, February 23, 1938,

Jacobs, William Wymark, 1, 1, October 20, 1934

Jacobs, William Wymark, 1, 1, [October 20?], 1934

Jacobs, William Wymark, 1, 1, January [7], 1939

James, Montague R, .1, 2, January 28, 1930

Jennings, Elizabeth J., 1, 1, [19--]

Jennings, Elizabeth J., 1, 1, [19--]

Jennings, Elizabeth J., 1, 1, [19--]

Jennings, Elizabeth J., 1, 1, December 4, 1949

Johnson, Pamela H., 1, 1, September 8, 1948

Johnson, Pamela H., 1, 1, March 25, 1949

Johnson, Pamela H., 1, 1, September 2, 1949

Keohler, Thomas, 1, 1, April 21, 1937

Kirkup, James, 1, 1, May 6, 1950

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, November 15, 1932

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, [November 12, 1932]

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, August 13, 1934

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, [October 22?], 1934

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, [February 28, 1938]

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, January 4, 1948

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, February 3, 1949

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, March 28, 1949

Leslie, John R. S., 1, 1, May 11, 1949

Leslie, John R. S., .1, 1, September 15, 1949

Lindsay, Jack, 1, 1, [19--]

Lucas, E.V., 1, 1, November 1, 1934

Lucas, F.L., 1, 1, August 4, 1952

Lynd, Robert, 1, 1, January 29, 1947

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, August 11, 1931

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, February 21, 1938

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, December 9, 1948

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, [January 24, 1949]

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, [March 8, 1949]

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, [April 26, 1949]

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, April 28, 1949

Lynd, Sylvia Dryhurst, 1, 1, [1949?]

Maas, Henry, 1, 2, n.d.

Maas, Henry, 1, 3, June 26, 1962

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1,September 1, 1937

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1, September 15, 1937

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1, April 28, 1938

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1, January 18, 1939

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 2, January 22, 1941

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1, February 21, 1948

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1, June 18, 1948

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1, December 7, 1948

Macaulay, Dame Rose, 1, 1, September 3, 1949

MacCarthy, Charles O.D., 1, 1, 1934

MacCarthy, Charles O.D., 1, 1, January 11, 1947

MacDiarmid, Hugh (See Grieve, Christopher)

MacLaren, Hamish, 1, 2, [October 29, 1968]

Magee, William K., 1, 1, February 28, 1938

Magee, William K., 1, 1, April 25, 1938

Magee, William K., 1, 1, July 16, 1938

Magee, William K., 1, 1, January 5, 1941

Mathers, E. Powys, 1, 1, February 3, 1938

Maxwell, W.B., 1, 1, October 31, 1934

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, n.d.

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, February 22, 1938

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, April 16, 1938

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, May 4, 1938

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, July 6, 1938

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 3, December 20, 1948

Megroz, Phyllis 1, 2, January 11, 1949

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, April 9, 1949

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 2, May 9, 1949

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 2, August 21, 1949

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, November 4, 1949

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, December 19, 1949

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 2, January 9, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, March 13, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, April 2, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 2, September 25, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, November 3, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 2, November 16, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, November 26, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, December 19, 1950

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, January 1, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, February 1, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, March 17, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, March 29, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, January 1, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, April 5, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, April 11, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, April 23, 1951

Megroz, Phyllis, 1, 1, April 20, 1952

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, [19--]

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, [19--]

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, March 18, [19--]

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, April 22, [19--]

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, August 6, [19--]

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, 1931

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, 1931

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, February 3, 1932

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, March 12, 1932

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, October 25, 1932

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, November 7, 1932

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, 1933

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, 1933

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, March 23, 1940

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, December 1940

Megroz, R.L., 1, 2, 1941

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, December 1943

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, May 15, 1946

Megroz, R.L., 1, 1, May 22, 1946

Methuen & Co., 1, 1, June 26, 1967

Meynell, Viola, 1, 1, February 22, 1938

Mottram, R.H., 1, 1, January 1939

Mottram, R.H., 1, 1, October 11, 1949

Murray, John, 1, 1, February 4, 1949

Murray, John, 1, 1, February 5, 1949

Murray, John, 1, 1, August 18, 1949

Naylor, John, 1, 1, June 20, 1967

Naylor, John, 1, 1, July 5, 1967

Nevinson, Henry W., 1, 1, August 9, 1931

Nevinson, Henry W., 1, 1, November 8, 1940

Nicoll, Theodore, 1, 1, July 5, 1952

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, August 12, 1932

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, August 31, 1932

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, October 14, 1932

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, November 9, 1932

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, January 23, 1933

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, October 20, 1934

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, [October 20], 1934

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, Novemer 23, 1946

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, Novmber 30, 1946

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, December 10, 1946

Onions, Oliver, 1, 2, January 18, 1947

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, February 12, 1947

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, March 15, 1947

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, October 3, 1947

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, October 12, 1947

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, November 21, 1947

Onions, Oliver, 1, 1, June 22, 1951

O'Riordan, Conal, 1, 2, June 12, 1947

O'Sullivan, Seamus, 0, 0, n.d.

P.R., 1, 1, February 11, 1938

Parslow, Barbara, 1, 1, June 21, 1967

Pearson, Hesketh, 1, 1, August 26, 1948

Pearson, Hesketh, 1, 1, September 10, 1949

Pedley, C. St. J., 1, 1, February 8, 1938

Pedley, C. St. J., 1, 1, February 23, 1938

Pedley, C. St. J., 1, 1, March 23, 1938

Pemberton, Max, 1, 1, June 5, 1930

Pinero, Arthur W.,1, 2, October 22, 1934

Pitter, Ruth, 1, 1, March 11, 1952

Plomer, William, 1, 1, December 2, 1950

Pritchett, V.S., 1, 1, June 11, 1947

Pritchett, V.S., 1, 1, September 4, 1949

Pudney, John Sleigh, 1, 1, June 18, 1952

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1, 1, February 26, 1938

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1, 1, April 24, 1938

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1, 1, January 10, 1939

Raine, Kathleen Jessie, 1, 1, [19--]

Rhys, Ernest, 1, 1, June 4, 1937

Rhys, Ernest, 1, 1, March 5, 1938

Rhys, Ernest, 1, 1, July 27, 1938

Rhys, Ernest, 1, 1, April 29, 1939

Rhys, Ernest, 1, 1, [January 12?, 1940]

Rhys, Ernest, 1, 1, March 7, 1941

Roberts, Michael, 1, 1, February 23, 1938

Seaman, Owen, 1, 1, October 29, 1934

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, November 11, 1928

Shanks, Edward, 1, 2, August 14, 1934

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, October 22, 1934

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, October 22, 1934

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, June 23, 1935

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, January 6, 1939

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, January 6, 1939

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, January 28, 1947

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, March 3, 1947

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, June 2 , 1947

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, July 23, 1947

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, December 10, 1948

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, Dcember 31, 1948

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, February 10, 1949

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, July 24, 1951

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, July 24, 1951

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, February 27, 1952

Shanks, Edward, 1, 1, March 3, 1952

Sinclair, May, 1, 1, January 17, 1939

Sitwell, Dame Edith, 1, 4, March 26, 1932

Smith, Samuel, 1, 1, November 1, 1937

Smith, Samuel, 1, 2, November 3, 1937

Starkey, James Sullivan, 1, 1, April 12, 1949

Stead, Philip John, 1, 1, [1952]

Steffe, Edwin, 1, 1, November 15, 1963

Strong, Leonard Alfred George, 1, 1, June 19, 1952

Swingler, Randall, 1, 1, [19--]

Swinnerton, Frank, 1, 1, October 11, 1946

Swinnerton, Frank, 1, 1, September 11, 1948

Thompson, Edward A, 1, 2, July 24, 1931

Thorley, Wilfrid, 1, 1, June 25, 1952

Thorley, Wilfrid, 1, 1, June 25, 1952

Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 1, 1, December 8, 1948

Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 1, 2, December 10, 1948

Visiak, E.H., 1, 1, August 27, 1968

Visiak, E.H., 1, 1, August 30, 1968

Visiak, E.H., 1, 1, September 1, 1968

Visiak, E.H., 1, 1, September 9, 1968

Visiak, E.H., 1, 1, September 10, 1968

Visiak, E.H., 1, 1, September 18, 1968

Vulliamy, C.E., 1, 1, May 28, 1947

Waller, John Stanier, 1, 1, [19--]

Walpole, Hugh, 1, 2, January 29, 1937

Watt, S.M., 1, 1, June 21, 1938

Watt, S.M., 1, 2, August 8, 1938

Watt, S.M., 1, 1, September 22, 1938

Watt, S.M., 1, 1, September 22, 1938

Watt, S.M., 1, 2, January 3, 1940

Watt, S.M., 1, 1, January 16, 1940

Watt, S.M., 1, 3, September 4, 1940

Watt, S.M., 1, 2, September 20, 1940

Watt, S.M., 1, 2, November 24, 1942

Watt, S.M., 1, 1, March 1, 1943

Watt, S.M., 1, 1, June 2, 1943

Watt, S.M., 1, 3, November 27, 1943

Watt, S.M., 1, 2, February 23, 1944

Watt, S.M., 1, 3, May 1, 1944

Watt, S.M., 1, 3, June 3, 1944

Watt, S.M., 1, 2, July 12, 1944

Watt, S.M., 1, 1, March 31, 1947

Weekes, Charles 1, 2, January 9, 1938

Weekes, Charles, 1, 2, February 7, 1938

Weekes, Charles, 1, 2, February 19, 1938

Weekes, Charles, 1, 1, March 17, 1938

Weekes, Charles, 1,2 , April 7, 1938

Weekes, Charles, 1, 2, Apri l8, 1938

Weekes, Charles, 1, 1, April 30, 1938

Weekes, Charles, 1, 2, June 23, 1938

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, [19--]

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, October 14, 1932

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, December 8, 1932

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, December 19, 1932

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, February 19,  1933

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, April 9, 1934

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, October 13, 1934

Whitaker, Malachi 1, 1, October 13, 1934

Whitaker, Malachi, 1, 1, August 26, 1935

Young, Francis Brett, 1, 1, December 1948

SUBJECT INDEX FOR CORRESPONDENCE

Edmund Blunden, Hugh Walpole, 1, 2, January 29, 1937

Lilian H. Bowes-Lyon, John Murray, 1, 1, August 18, 1949

Harold H. Child, C. Pedley, 1, 1, August 18, 1949

Ernest C. Dowson, Edgar A. Jepson, 1, 8, [1937]

Ernest C. Dowson, Henry Maas, 1, 1, August 21, 1961

Ernest C. Dowson, Henry Maas, 1, 2, June 26, 1962

Ernest C. Dowson, Ernest Rhys, 1, 2, April 29, 1939

Edward M Forster, Rose Macaulay, 1, 1, May 20, 1947

Francis Fytton, Margie Cohn, 1, 2, September 1, 1961

Edgar Jepson, Mottram, Ralph Hale, 1, 1, October 11, 1949

Edgar Jepson, Arthur Quiller-Couch, 1, 1, January 10, 1939

Edgar Jepson, Edward Shanks, 1, 1, January 6, 1939

Edgar Jepson, May Sinclair, 1, 1, January 17, 1939

Edgar Jepson, Charles Weekes, 1, 1, April 7, 1938

Edgar Jepson, Charles Weekes, 1, 1, April 30, 1938

Edward Thomas, Watson, 1, 2, May 13, 1937

M.P. Shiel, Warwick Deeping, 1, 1, October 20, 1934

M.P. Shiel, Philip Guedalla, 1, 1, October 29, 1934

M.P. Shiel, William W. Jacobs, 2, 3, October 20, 1934

M.P. Shiel, Edward V. Lucas, 1, 1, November 1, 1934

M.P. Shiel, Charles MacCarthy, 1, 1, 1934

M.P. Shiel, W.B. Maxwell, 1, 1, October 31, 1934

M.P. Shiel, Oliver Onions, 1, 1, October 20, 1934

M.P. Shiel, Owen Seaman, 1, 1, October 29, 1934

M.P. Shiel, Edward Shanks, 1, 1, October 22, 1934

James Stephens, Ruth Pitter, 1, 1, March 11, 1952

Edward Thomas, Watson, 1, 2, May 13, 1937

The Poetry Review, Lilian H. Bowes Lyon, 1, 1, August 12, 1948

The Poetry Review, Lilian H. Bowes Lyon, 1, 2, December 12, 1948

The Poetry Review, Lilian H. Bowes Lyon, 2, 2, February 10, 1949

The Poetry Review, Lilian H. Bowes Lyon, 1, 3, August 18, 1949

The Poetry Review, Gerald Bullett, 1, 1, Febraury 25, 1938

The Poetry Review, Gerald Bullett, 1, 1, January 2, 1947

The Poetry Review, Gerald Bullett, 1, 1, Feburary 8, 1949

The Poetry Review, Gerald Bullett, 1, 1, August 24, 1949

The Poetry Review, Gerald Bullett, 1, 1, November 21, 1950

The Poetry Review, Gerald Bullett, 1, 1, March 17, 1951

The Poetry Review, John Heath- Stubbs, 1, 1, [November 2, 1950]

The Poetry Review, Frank L. Lucas, 1, 2, August 4, 1952

The Poetry Review, John Murray, 1, 1, August 4, 1949

The Poetry Review, John Murray, 1, 1, February 5, 1949

The Poetry Review, James Kirk-up, 1, 1, May 6, 1950

Essays

Armstrong, F."Machen and Gwent." Space. Benn Brothers' Magazine. Vol.XI:No.97 (March 1931), pp. 29-30. Credited to F.A.. Signed F. Armstrong.

"Autobiography of Arthur Machen." AMs. Includes a scratch-board portrait of Arthur Machen by Frederick Carter (original scratch-board and one print) and two photographs, one of a churchyard and one of a lane, with Arthur Machen's name on them.

"Ernest Dowson." AMs. A collection of memorabilia consisting mainly of Gawsworth's research notes for a biography of Dowson and materials of the Dowson Society.

Gawsworth, John. "In the Sky of Poetry, a New Star Rises." Mirror (Bombay), Vol.4 (Feb. 1945), pp. 33-37.

"Havelock Ellis". Papers from the library of John Gawsworth. Mixed typescript and autograph manuscript pasted into an account book with a sticker on the front reading: "Realm of Redonda."

"Foreword." The Best Short Stories of Thomas Burke. 1948. AMsS and corrected galleys, both signed. .
"Foreword. " Fields & Figures: Water Colours, Book Illustrations and Drawings by Frederick Caters, A.R.E. The Foyle Art Gallery

"Friends of France." Review of Nancy Cunard's Poems for France. Script written for broadcast over All India Radio: New Delhi, April 4, 1945. AMsS

"Laurence Binyon: Letters and Memories, 1928-1944." Collated by John Gawsworth. Transcriptions of letters from Binyon to Gawsworth, made by Gawsworth, and interspersed with a narrative of Gawsworth's memories of and about Binyon. TMsS with holographic corrections.

"Magnetic Fingers." TMs with holograph corrections. (Title changed from "A Bibliophile's Holiday.")

Box 2

Lists

List of writings, dated with number of signed and unsigned copies, by title, ranging in date from 1935 to 1944. AMs

Poems

"1948. R.S.L. Day" A Composite poem by John Gawsworth, G. D. Fraser, and Sir John Waller. With all three signatures. AMsS

"Abruzzi Nightingale" 1967. AMs

"Airman's Dog" 1940.. TMs

"Affirmations and Airs: Forty Unpublished Poems by John Gawsworth." AMsS

"Beerward Bound" TMs

"Barnham, Sussex" 1934. TMs

"The Boor" 1940. TMs

"Calvary, Continued. Forty Verses June 28 - July 9, 1970." AMsS

Clear Winter. AMsS. Includes:

"Club Sots." 1941. TMs

"Confession." Galley proofs with holograph corrections

Convalescence: Fifty New Verses from Fenland. AMs. Loose leaves. Includes, among others:

Convalescence: Fifty New Verses from Fenland. 1968. AMsS. In an exercise book. Includes:

"The Death of Patrick Kavanaugh. For John McNeill". 1967. AMsS

Deciduous Leaves: One Hundred Twenty Two Uncollected Published Poems, 1929-1963. ccTMsS with holograph corrections. Includes title of publication in which each poem appeared and the date. Includes:

"Downhill, Marlow." 1940. TMs with holograph corrections.

"The Durrells Remembered." 1969. AMsS

"Fid. Def." 1940. TMs with holograph correction.

"Four Ale Bards". AMs. Verse written in Gawsworth's hand, as a farewell to Robin Skelton on his departure for British Columbia. Signed by Skelton.

"Byronics I"
"Byronics II"
"Taj Mahal"
"England 1965"
"Fragment"
"Listener"
"Revisions"
"Self-portrait"
"All Passion Spent"
"Soldier-Poet to Arentine Maiden (Anna-Marie Unjaretti)"
"Belief"
"Whispers (Baudelaire and Jeanne Visit Delacroix's Exhibition)"
"Lotus Eating"
"Halliford Bend"

The Garland for Erica: Poems by Several Kindly Hands Collected on the Occasion of Her Birthday, September 12, 1938. (Collection of Verse). First proofs with holograph corrections. Loose leaves. Contributors were Anna Wickham, Thomas Sturge Moore, John Gawsworth, Hamish MacLaren, and Patrick Kavanagh. Signed by John Gawsworth. Patrick Kavanagh signed it twenty-seven years later and dated his signature 11/7/64. Includes:

La Gianna (For Jane): Fifty New Verses. April 21-June 7, 1970 by her devoted John Gawsworth. AMs. In exercise book; some loose leaves. Inside the front cover: Newspaper clipping of March 9, 1970 from the Times Diary, telling of Gawsworth's collapse in the house of painter Russell Foreman and subsequent hospitalization. Includes:

The Golumhur Grove: Poems From India, 1944-46. AMsS. First draft. In an exercise book. Includes:

"La Gradogna. l'Amore, l'Italia, and l'Primavera". Published in Ariel, Vol.1:No.2, June 3, 1944; also published separately. Four items: 1)AMs, May 14-26,1944; 2) first proof with corrections; 3) second proof; 4) printed copy with alterations.

"Gratitude: For N.C. and R.R. Nothmann." 1968. AMsS

"Hampstead Tryst." 1938. TMs with holograph correction

"Honeymoon (Brecon-Shropshire Border)." 1934. TMs

"In Fearon's, Holborn Circus". 1940. TMs

"In the Mitre Inn, Oxford." 1942. TMs with holograph corrections

"In the Prince Consort, St. John's Wood." TMs with holograph corrections

"In Wigtownshire. 1941". TMs with holograph corrections

"Invitation: Poem to celebrate the return of Lawrence Durrell from South America." TMs. Signed with the signature of King Juan I of Redonda.

"The Irate Drunk." TMs

Jingles: Two Hundred New Pieces, Autumn 1965-Spring 1966. TMs and AMsS. In an account book. Includes, among others:

"Mamilad, Monmouthshire, 'The Star.' For Thomas Blake." 1931. AMsS, TMs

Marlow Hill. Author's proofs with corrections by the author; penciled notes and corrections by Herbert Palmer. Signed by Gawsworth. Pages untrimmed, accompanied by loose jacket. Includes:

"Marlow Saturdays." TMs

The Mind of Man. Early draft containing 33 of the 36 poems published in the book and 5 verses suppressed from it: 38 verses in all. Dated "London, First blitz year, 1940." AMsS. Also draft for printer. On front cover: "The author's entire royalties from the sale of these poems go to the British Red Cross." Loose leaves and covers. Includes:

The Muse of Majesty. AMs. 14 lines as seen in the first edition of The Muse of Majesty. Accompanied by book announcements for later editions of The Muse of Monarchy

New Poems. 1939. AMs. Loose leaves on tissue paper. Includes:

New Poems. Proofs. Typeset manuscript with corrections. Signed by Gawsworth

New Work by John Gawsworth. Started October 8, 1966. AMs. Notebook with holograph poetry, also some newspaper clippings pasted inside the front cover. A copy of a portrait labeled "1246619 Sgt. T.I.F. Armstrong 'John Gawsworth' 242 Squadron by T.C. Dugdale, R.A." On the back of this is written "Exhibited in Royal Academy 1943. In Estelle, ex-Queen of Redonda's, collection 1968. Juan R." Also inside front cover: a poem written on an envelope marked "On Her Majesty's Service." Also inside the front cover: a poem written on a paper towel. Includes:

"Pensees en Tunisie". Translated by Nancy Cunard. Proof copies. Signed by Gawsworth and Cunard. 2 copies. Newspaper clipping from an Italian newspaper, containing the poem.

Per Ardua or Rhymes of a Recruit by AC2 1246619 RAF "John Gawsworth" ACI T.I.F. Armstrong, RAF, SHQ, Central Registry. RAF Station. West Freugh-Stranraer, Wigtownshire, Scotland. 1941. Previous title: Ad Astra. TMs and AMs. Includes:

Poetry and Program for a memorial service on the 70th anniversary of E. Dowson's birth. Includes the poem "The Soul's Migration" by Gawsworth. TMs

"Polly: Sixteen Sonnets to an Evanescent Hebe at 'The Alma' (dated by textual evidence) 1962". AMs. Loose leaves.Numbered. Includes Shadow on the Pavement (Foreshorten?) Self Portrait 12/6/67, a silhouette

"A Present for the Nothmans." 1968. AMsS

"Proem" Ingatherer. Number 77, 1939. Signed by Gawswroth

Quatorze Poémes. Typeset manuscript pasted to graph paper with holograph corrections. The last page says, "One of 7 proof copies printed by F. Venys, Setif, Algeria on Feb. 11, 1943. I left Setif on Feb. 26, the squadron being ordered up to the Tunisian Front on Rommel's break through the Americans and the edit was never printed, the type soon after my departure being distributed." Also in this folder is a letter from the British museum, dated March 20, 1943, thanking Gawsworth for sending them a copy of the book. Includes:

"Redonda." AMs

A Rhyme Ragout (For Eleanor) 1964-65. AMsS. Includes an ink drawing of Gawsworth [by Michael Ross?] and poems contributed by John Heath-Stubbs and Don [Morals?] Includes:

"Roman Headstone". AMsS

"A Send-Off to the Middle East". 1941. TMs with holograph correction

Selected Poems 1931-1942. Apparently written in later: "Legacy of Love. Original MS with fifteen suppressed poems." Apparently written in even later: "This title was a genius suggestion of Bertram [Rota?]." Includes:

"It Pays to Advertise?" AMsS

Miscellaneous

2003 Addendum

Three broadsides of a poem on the birth of Bertram Rota; 2 final and one trial; all are signed and dated by Gawsworth.

September 2003 Addendum

Henry, Leigh. "O God Who Gave Us Our Island Soil." National hymn of Redonda. Inscribed from Henry to Gawsworth and from Gawsworth to Henry. 1949.

"John Gawsworth: Some Publications 1931 -- 1944." Italy, passed for Press by A.M.G., MCMXLIV.

Marías, Javier. Dark Back of Time. London: Chatto & Windus and Vintage, 1998.

2009 Addendum

The notebooks are designated in the list below by having their titles in bold print.

Two autograph diaries, written during Gawsworth's Second World War RAF service. Numbered 'I.' ('Personal Diary | (20 Nov 1942-2 Nov [altered to '31 Dec'] 1943)') and 'II.' ('ITINERARY | 3 November 1943 - 18 Nov 1944'). With letters and cuttings. Covering the period between 20 November 1942 and 18 November 1944. Written while with RAF British & North African Forces, from a number of locations in North Africa (e.g. 'Advanced HQ, Desert Air Force, Central Mediterranean Forces').

The two diaries are in matching ruled notebooks, stitched into worn pink card covers: leaf dimensions 22 x 17 cm. Each notebook thumb-indexed with the months printed in French. Numerous loose and rearranged pages. Closely and neatly written, with text clear and complete, on aged paper. Each notebook is numbered on the front cover, with 'JOHN GAWSWORTH | (1246619 | SGT. T. I. F. ARMSTRONG R.A.F.)' On the cover of each notebook Gawsworth directs that they be dispatched to his 'literary executor' Maurice Wollman on the event of his death.

Leader of the neo-Georgian movement, and editor of Poetry Review, Gawsworth was well-connected in the English literary world, admired and loathed in equal measure, and a writer who never achieved his full potential. These diaries - a nice mixture of detailed and descriptive - are especially valuable for the light they cast on the frontline wartime activities of a sensitive and deeply-poetic sensibility. Gawsworth joined the RAF in 1941, serving, according to his entry in the New DNB, 'on Algerian, Tunisian, Sicilian, and Italian campaigns, and in India, in 1942–5'. He left with the rank of Flying Officer in 1946. He was, as he notes on the title-page of each notebook, Délégué Général pour l'Angleterre de la Société des Écrivains de l'Afrique du Nord (Tunis, 1943), as well as 'Fellow & Medallist of the Royal Society of Literature' (title, 'Part II.') and member of the Salamander Society of Poets (Cairo, 1944).

NOTEBOOK ONE ('I.') contains 61 pages in autograph, with a further 50 pages loosely inserted. Autograph title with runic, Latin and English mottos ('I came with the conquerors: I remained - conquered.'). Gawsworth covers all aspects of his service, describing his duties, movements, reading and writing. List of men at rear, with five marked as deceased. Begins: 'Frid 20 Nov | Sqdn left for Djidjelli [Algeria] | Sat. 21 Nov 1942 | In Arab shepherds mountain camp. Archer Hodson, Goulding, Snell Bought Ruth, sheep dog bitch. 3 months. 200 francs. (13/4) Up impossible winding trails over mts. Snow capped. Texenna, Duquesne. Camp of La Jeunesse, skull & x bones. Fleeing populace. Djidjelli ghost town. just bombed night before. Reunion with Party & Joe Watling 154 Squadron. Encamped. 8 p.m. & 4 a.m. enemy recon. plane over. a/a opened up. Ruth fled. Sqdn travelling.'

--- The following excellent account of an attack (1 January 1943) on HMS Ajax shows Gawsworth's qualities off to their best effect: 'At 11 oclock went to docks and crossing [Selkirk?] a merchantman went aboard "The Troublemaker" The Ajax where I found Petty Officer Bill Croucher waiting me. He took me down to No 3 Mess on the starboard side & introduced me to his messmates & gave me tea. The Tanoy then announced the C in C was coming aboard, but soon after corrected itself for machine gun fire and ack-ack had started up, and the first raid of the day was upon us. | Hurriedly the ships company donned fire protective face and head coverings and lay down. The noise of the ack/ack from the ship and her companions in the port was deafening. The ship shuddered from bow to stern as a stick of 3250 pounds burst in the water to the starboard. A few minutes of clamour and the first raid was over. We had not been hit. | The second raid was a matter of quarter of an hour later. It was not preluded with any warning save the crackle of machine gun fire and the pounding of pompoms. Again the Ajax shuddered after a terrific melange of sounds protective and destructive. We thought it meant no more than "bombs in the basin" again but were disagreeably surprised when a petty officer entered and informed us that we had suffered a direct hit. This turned out to be a 250 pounder, which had pierced the deck on the starboard side of the funnel, cut obliquely through 3 decks and, making 2 marines casualties en route, filled A & R boiler rooms with smoke, fumes & water. It was impossible to estimate whether it had gone right through the ship and exploded or whether it remained on one of the sunken and devastated boiler rooms above. Nor could any one say whether the boiler rooms at the moment of the bomb's impact had been occupied. Two things alone were clear: The Ajax had a list and she was letting in water. The annoyance on everyone's face was marked. The insult of a direct hit to this historic vessel! Through the River Plate and Crete she had passed unscathed and now tied to < > a merchantman, and ony half of her armament, therefore, functioning in the midst of a mornings painting in dock, she was insolently pierced. Chagrin found its vent in able profanity as the air in the messroom (cleared with the skies above). But NOT for long. | A third raid soon eventuated. The same staccato spit of machine guns, the same weaving whirr of diving Stukas, the same thud-thud of pom-poms, whine of shells and oomph of bombs. When it was over more news came. The Ajax had brought down a [--ide]. Everyone felt better. Yet all was not perfect - the rum ration failed to arrive. | Disconsolate, I left. It was one o clock. For 3 hours, on and off, we had been divebombed.'

--- 9 May 1943: '2 eggs for breakfast! Spoke to inhabitants of Rommels occupation. - 12 days there. Blew town up before leaving. Rommel stayed with M. Bocher, his mountain Arabs looting, stealing even doors. A Gaulliste on death list bought freedom for fr. 200. [...]'

--- Long descriptions (e.g. 13 and 19 August, and 20 and 30 September 1943) of Sicily and Italy, and his activities there.

NOTEBOOK TWO ('II.') contains 55 pages in autograph, with a further 18 pages loosely inserted. Gawsworth is described on the title as at 'Advanced HQ, Desert Air Force | Central Mediterranean Forces'. Mainly comprising more descriptions of Italy and his activities there, including what appear to be descriptions of area covered on reconnaissance flights.

--- Two examples of the types of entries contained in the volume:

------ 'Wed 15 March [1944] | A freezing night, ice on tent pools [sic]; all packed 9.30 left site. Through San Seveso, olive groves 10.8. S. Paolo Civitale 2 baroque churches. Guns coming south. First Army flashes seen going north. - olives. Mounting, look back on snow-capped Appenines. Our First Sunny day, tanks going South. 10.45 Serra Capriola on hilltop, goats, quadruple avenue of small trees in main St. from castle. Down hill - up again, through Campomarino on hill looking down on plain 1/2 mile to sea. Approaching Tesmoli, red roofs, white houses, umber watch-tower. bypass - olives - small Italian Army Camp. Assembly area; then downhill to verdant green plain running to sand and sea. terrible road. Stray graves, 40 asp. Italian soldiers digging ditches in red kepis blown up bridge. [...]'

------ 'Thursday 15 June | 7.30 left Venafro airfield proceeding South. sharp whiplash cracks: battery practising at apex of right fork to Presanzano [sic, for 'Presenzano'], corn b/a bridge under lee of (Western) hill, lane uphill on right to Sesto Campano, an eyrie. Volturno on left side of road. Far over East to left horizon <?> of battery's target hits. Right turn. Mines cleared. Field cemetery on right. Fascist inscriptions erased. Prezanzano [sic] on rock to right dominated by ruined castle tower, grey and aloof. Olive groves right. Signals camp. Tank Camp. deserted ammo. Turn right (ie. North) Highway 6. olive groves either side [...]'.

--- Loosely inserted in the second notebook are three diagrams, two printed pages, and eight items of correspondence, including two R.A.F. Message Forms, one addressed to 'Sgt. Armstrong. 242 Squadron' and the other to 'Sgt. Jenkins'.

--- The other correspondence consists of six letters written between Gawsworth and Jean ('Jeanne') Thurlow Thompson, with whom he appears to have conducted a brief affair in Palmyra in 1944, and for whom, according to the diary, he wrote 'I kiss your inner elbow and aspire' on 4 October, with a further '20 poems' the following day. In Gawsworth's first letter ('Saturday night [7 October]. 2 o c'; 8vo, 2 pp; signed 'J.') he asks 'What happened last night? I arrived 8.36 and stayed till 9.7 | You were not to be found, and I proceeded up to Taverne Francaise at Mickey's before closing time in case you were around those parts. | I've written a terribly sincere poem to you of 120 (short!) lines and a bunch of others. Had times been propitious, you findable, and amenable and co-operative I could have written you a book in the next fortnight. Hell and damnation: I hear the troopship's siren, my Syren!'

------ Thompson begins her reply ('Monday Night [9 October]. 8 o cl.'; 12mo, 2 pages; signed ' "Luv" | Jeanne') 'You, John, are a silly idiotic ass.' before going on to explain the reason for the missed rendezvous. 'Anyway, surely you must have known I would not miss the chance of hearing your own sweet self talking while I eat? So now lets fix something, & please bring your poems with you - I'm in need of being cheered up.'

------ Gawsworth's next letter ('Dimanche. 15 [October]'; 8vo, 1 p; signed 'Jean') suggests another time for meeting. On the reverse, in pencil, is a six-line autograph poetic fragment by Gawsworth: 'This then is victory - | But at what cost? | Never forget the whispering shy ghosts | Of children when the rafters fell, | the hell | That bomb'. A few days later Gawsworth writes again ('16 Oct'; octavo, 2 pages; signed 'John Gawsworth'), beginning 'Mon Etoile d'Afrique, | You write me so casually, I grow horribly conscious how much you love your preux chevalier Bayard - at Alex. | I am not a vengeful second, however second I may be. These things are arrange par le Dieu - at G.H.Q! Nonetheless, I love you with the deepest devotion possible in my circumstances, and I venture to hope I have punctuated one cell of your heart. [...]'.

------ In her second letter ('18 Oct'; octavo, 1 page; signed 'Jeanne') Thompson explains that 'Owing to the exigencies of the service, I am unable to meet you today, & couldn't let you know in time. [...] Meanwhile your permanent mistress will have to console you. Vive la France'.

------ Thompson's last letter (22 October; on letterhead of the Y.M.C.A.; 12mo, 1 page) begins 'Dear John - | Did you collect the letter I left for you I wonder - any way by now you'll have guessed that I was posted. | How do [you] feel about things now? More cheered up? What you need to do is to get outside yourself - the world - not be so bitter!' She defends her 'philosophy of "laughter" ' of which Gawsworth does not approve, and concludes 'Hope India treats you well - cheerio John - take care of yourself + I'll watch for your name - some really good poetry.'

"Poems and Verses / 1929-193- / [Printed.], approximately 50 pages, oblong quarto ledger, disbound. It comprises printed poems, numbered 4-56 (1-3 perhaps on pages torn out and lost), extracted from magazines with heavy annotations, changes, and corrections in Gawsworth's hand, publishing date and information (e.g. "Suppressed in Confession first issue") usually given.

"Addresses & Readers, March 133", Notebook (Address Book), octavo, alphabetical, Gawsworth's bookplate (manor house. "T. Fytton Armstrong") and ownership inscription with Denmark Street address, enclosures (business cards etc). Approximately 80 pages used. Entries from Literature abound, as do booksellers, and include: Stella Benson, family, H.E. Bates, Robert Bridges, Beerbohm, Gordon Craig, Alfred Douglas, Lawrence Durrell, the Foyles, A.E. Housman, Wyndham Lewis, Shane Leslie, Arthur Machen.

"Verses by John Gawsworth / October 28/ 1/ 1938// London/ 33 Great James's Street/ W.C. 1" , Approximately 66 pages octavo. Poems, some numbered I-VI, some heavily worked, and, at back, several pages listing "Vocabulary used in the Asiatic Translations of E. Powys Mathers contained in Coloured Stars and The Garden of Bright Waters Noted Down January 2 1938".

"Fragments", no date ([a scribbled poem is dated 1940], Approximately 50 pages used, octavo notebook. Bulk of poems numbered 1-112.

"Verse Notebook VIII" Fifty Verses [5 December 1940-18 December 1940], 12mo, approximately 140 pages used, with notes and poems (e.g. note "With Nina Hamnett in Pedros", later "An Interlude" discussing Augustus John, 3 pages with John as a subject for poems also, and describing a visit to "George Egerton", 3 pages).

Box 4

"Verse Notebook Eighteen / John Gawsworth / Verse / RAF.Series / 1406-1597", [1941], paginated 6-229, other pages used before and after, quarto. War Poems. "After Duty" and "Verses to Valerie" ("Valerian Verses"). It includes instructions in the event of his death - to be sent to agent who was to pursue publication of selection; photographs of women or woman ("Carissima Valeria")

"Verse Notebook Twenty. Verses /1598-1700 / [11 October 1941-28 March 1942]/ (with odds and ends of a later date)", paginated 1-168, quarto. It includes the series of poems entitled "After Duty" and "Miscellaneous Doggerel 1934-1942".

"Commonplace Volumes Number One / Personal Notebook / Extracts-Notes-Verses-Etc/ Compiled by John Gawsworth / (September 1941-March 1942)", paginated 1-252 with additional pages used before and after, quarto. Enclosures. Includes "Contents Page", "The Muses of J.G." (list of dedicatees etc) and a list of RAF Poets with examples and "Dates of Poems of J.G." 1932-1941 ("Poems", "New Poems", "The Mind of Man", "Marlow Hall", "After Duty"), "Bibliography of the Poems of John Gawsworth"

"Commonplace Volumes Number Two / Personal Notebook / Extracts-Notes-Verses-Etc,/ Compiled by John Gawsworth / (April 1942- )", disbound, paginated 141-232, most unused, with newspaper clippings.

"Stray Notes in Italy / 1943-1944 / Mainly Concerning the writers / Benedetto Croce / Umberto Fraccacreta/ Romualdo Pantine / Giuseppe Ungaretti / Sibilla Alesamo", quarto, paper wraps, missing back, approximately 50 pages used but includes added material. It includes a few photographs of the Invasion of Italy; newspaper clippings, ephemera, notes on Italian writers, lists of works and writers, especially Italian poets, several pages of "Journal concerning Umberto Fraccareta", a booklist, enclosures.

[Literature of North Africa] "John Gawsworth of The Royal Society of Literature North African Literature - Notes (Miscellaneous 1943 1944) . . .", Notebook, octavo, paginated to176, mainly in French. An attempt at a comprehensive survey of literature in North Africa, past and contemporary. He starts with what appears to be a reading list, then there are discussions of authors and literature. Pages 153-176 contain a substantial list of writers with a little detail (such as whether dead, address, sometimes a work or other detail), a less organised list appears pages.122-129. Page 101 "Pellegrin's Census 1920". Other lists appear before, mixed with information and discussion of writers and books. For example pages 42-43 contain information about Arthur Pellegrin, including works, with lengthy quotation on potential unity of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.

[Egypt] "Verse Book Twenty Five / John Gawsworth // Verses in Egypt / 26 August -23 November / 1944 / With a Supplement / of Six Verses frm / Italy", approximately 115 pages, 12mo, poems numbered I-LXIV with (additional?) "Farewell to Georgius" and "Supplement:Last Selected Verses from Italy".

John Gawsworth// Stray Notes / in / Egypt/ 1944 / Mainly concerning the Writers / Assene Yergath / Jean Moscatelli / Alimed Rassim / Raoul Parme / Ivo Barbitch / Tewfik El Hakim". Signed photo of Yergath. Enclosed a list of "Overseas / Articles, Poems / & Interviews [by] John Gawsworth", Prose and Verse (periodical publications). Enclosed: Newspaper clippings, drafts of letters, poems by Louis Fleri written out and commented on by Gawsworth.

"Mediterranea Libra", letterbook, approximately 120 pages used, quarto, poems dated 1942-1945, some ticked (published?)

Box 5

"Jean Gawsworth/ Le Livre d'Estelle/ Tome Deuxieme // 1948 / 50 Wentworth Road, N.W.11 / Londres, Diary [1939], approximately 120 pages, quarto, full leather decorated goat, some pages loose. Comprising: Poems (Livre d'Estelle) numbered 1-40 (and oddly 61-101), place and date(?) of writing (for example Café Royal, 7p.m. 2/3/48), other poems numbered 102-105; Poems by Rhys Davies, 6pages; copies by Gawsworth of 33 letters, apparently unpublished, from Havelock Ellis to Jacob Schwartz, bookseller, on his works (publishing), reading (e.g. Joyce) and many other items provided by Schwartz, his editing, his manuscripts. Followed by two letters from Hardy which appear in the Collected Letters, and others of lesser interest; Poems numbered 1-7.

Photograph of Giuseppe Ungaretti (by Jorge) inscribed below by the subject to Gawsworth (1944), photograph approximately12 x 12cm, total 17 x 12cm.

Photograph of Romualdo Pantini inscribed below by the subject to Gawsworth ([191[4?]2], photograph approximately 10 x 15, total including margins approximately 22 x 16 cm.

[Soho Life; Bohemian] Laura del Rivo, "The Layabout Life", extracted from Man About Town, volume1, No. 4, December 1960, stuck in a folder (one page detached) with a "Realm of Redonda ex libris John Gawsworth (1912- ) (H.M. King Juan 1, 1947- )" laid down on front cover, [5]pages., folio. The explanation of this creation is in the inscription of the inside back cover: "[Gawsworth's hand] Of this Especial Edition of Opus I of [Laura del Rivo | Gawsworth, Lyricist of Love] has prepared himself One copy which the author has most kindly autograph: [signed] Laura del Rivo . . ." She was soon to publish The Furnished Room (1961) "a neglected classic of bohemian existence set in London of the fifties."

No title, [Commonplace Book], n.d., approximately 160 pages used, folio. Comprising: Screenplay ("Hollywood Fantasia"); Poems; brief Dramatic Sketch entitled "The Olympics"; reflections; Poems based on months; shipping programme for "Clan Cameron"

Miscellaneous

---. "Gawsworth's Numbered Verse Notebooks Traced, June 1969" List

---. "Silence Must Tell. . ." Printed verse written for death of [King George VI?]. Photocopy. On the verso "Vote of Confidence" in Gawsworth's hand?

---. An invitation to a ball to the RAF in February 1943. In French

---. A letter to Gawsworth from Flt. Lt. A. G. Shingles, D.F.C., R.A.F. in response to a telegram from Gawsworth, telling him that he will not be mobilised. November 7, 1956. ALS

---. "The Beggar of Oxford Street." Poem. Written in pencil "by Frank Grimley." TMs with holographic emendations in ink in Gawsworth's hand

---. Poem fragment. TM, AM. Various markings.

---. "Personal Message From the Army Commander, Sicily, September 1943," with various marking on the back and a poem fragment