World War I Reporter’s Notebook

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/7/2017

Manuscript journal, approx. 60pp. 8vo., a notebook bound in red card boards, containing a report, written by an unnamed British journalist, of the situation of the war in France around the time of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The first twenty pages contain the writer's brief notes, recording the places he visited and the sights he saw during his tour. The remaining pages appear to contain the draft of a newspaper report, assembling the details the writer witnessed into a narrative format. Every other page of this draft is a copy of the previous one, made with carbon paper. The writer describes his journey across the channel to Calais, and from there to the British Army camp at Beaumarais, where he observes bakeries staffed by Chinese laborers, ordnance storage areas and other depots. He describes a lecture given by a French officer, which explains the motivations of France and her tactical choices at the start of the war, as well as the necessity of relocating the majority of her industrial infrastructure away from areas under German occupation. He next describes travelling to the town of Arque and visiting an airfield there, where he interviews the commander "... who informed us his men & himself were responsible for 28 Bosche machines in a fortnight, 11 of which were the day before & in addition he himself had brought down two that very morning...". Travelling to the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, he describes the scene that greets him: "... The place is one mass of shell holes and trenches where bones and sculls [sic] can be seen. Also the crosses which are the graves of the British soldiers ... we had a good view of Noulette ... Gavendry, Grenay, Leavin and Souchey which was taken & retaken 12 times. Of course there is scarcely one stone on another in these villages. I saw several sculls & skeleton feet projecting from the ground. Devastation everywhere, & not a civilian inhabitant..." He also drafts an introduction for his essay, which includes the following admonition: "... We here on our island home are sometimes apt to get careless & not consider what the boys on sea or land are doing for us, & some allow their selfish nature to get the better of them & strive to make profit out of this terrible war by going on strike & hold up the munitions of war & hereby endanger the lives of those at the front & hence their brothers & wives at home..." The journal is written entirely in pencil, and bears expected age wear, else very good and completely legible.

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