68 replies to this topic

[MichaelBully]

I am reading 'Testament of Youth'  yet again at a deliberately slow pace in order to really absorb as much detail as possible. I have reached the point where Vera is setting off for Malta on board HMS BRITANIC. I have found this on line article about Vera Brittain's stay in Malta, working as a VAD nurse. Michael Bully

http://petrabianchi....rabrittain.html

[MichaelBully]

Still looking at the 'Testament of Youth'  Malta chapter -'Tawny Island' -really impressed by the opening poem, which Vera wrote in 1932, at the time that she was working on 'Testament of Youth'.

WE SHALL COME NO MORE

So then we came to the Island,
Lissom and young, with the radiant sun in our faces;
Anchored in long quiet lines the ships were waiting
Giants asleep in the peace of the dark-blue harbour.
Ashore we leapt, to seek the magic adventure
Up the valley at noontide
Where shimmering lay the fields of asphodel.

O Captain of our Voyage,
What of the Dead?
Dead days, dead hopes, dead loves, dead dreams, dead sorrows-
O Captain of our Voyage
Do the Dead walk again?

To-day we look for the Island,
Older, a little tired, our confidence, waning;
On the Ocean bed the shattered ships lie crumbling
Where lost men's bones gleam white in the shrouded silence
The Island waits, but we shall never find it,
Nor see the dark-blue harbour
Where twilight falls on fields of asphodel.

[Charles Fair]

I understand from talking to Philomena Badsey (as in wife of Stephen Badsey) at the GWF conference that she is writing a PhD in which Vera features.  I'm not exactly sure of the subject but its to do with the women's experience of the war/VADs etc.  A gathered that key question for Philomena is the extent to which VB's experience is typical given the relative dearth of memoirs by women of the period compared with those of combatants.  It should be interesting.

[MichaelBully]

I know that Sue Light , amongst other GWF members, have been doing some quite intensive research into the lives and experiences of VAD nurses. Heard a fascinating talk on the subject by Sue in 2010.  Yes there is a danger that Vera Brittain's work  is cited as somehow being typical  simply because it is published and accessible compared with other material.
I can imagine that Vera, as a Feminst, would welcome research into the lives of  VAD nurses and women's experiences during the Great War in general and not would have wanted to have been cited as some defintive source.
It was the sense that women's lives during the Great War were being marginalised in later writing that led her to write 'Testament of Youth'.
Hope that Philomena's work can be published in book form later.

Charles Fair, on 04 April 2012 - 09:54 PM, said:

I understand from talking to Philomena Badsey (as in wife of Stephen Badsey) at the GWF conference that she is writing a PhD in which Vera features.  I'm not exactly sure of the subject but its to do with the women's experience of the war/VADs etc.  A gathered that key question for Philomena is the extent to which VB's experience is typical given the relative dearth of memoirs by women of the period compared with those of combatants.  It should be interesting.

[Sue Light]

Charles Fair, on 04 April 2012 - 09:54 PM, said:

  I'm not exactly sure of the subject but its to do with the women's experience of the war/VADs etc.  A gathered that key question for Philomena is the extent to which VB's experience is typical given the relative dearth of memoirs by women of the period compared with those of combatants.  It should be interesting.

Can I also recommend 'Fighting Different Wars' by Janet S. K. Watson - definitely one of my Desert Island books.  It never seems to have gained great popularity, but is a multi-faceted account of work, service and memory during the Great War.  And a truly excellent chapter on 'A Family at War: the Beales of Standen' which follows the lives of members of a well-heeled Sussex family with several VAD members among them.

Fighting Different Wars

Sue

[MichaelBully]

Much as I rate 'Testament of Youth' perhaps one factor we have to take into account is that  for most of the book Vera Brittian focuses on her relationship with Roland Leighton, Geoffrey Thurlow, Victor Richardson, and Edward Brittain : In other words during the Great War the individuals that Vera were closest to were male. This changes towards the end of the book  in the  early 1920's when Vera Brittain became such close friends with Winifred Holtby.

The friendships with other VAD nurses such as 'Betty' and 'Hope Milroy'  are secondary. So this might not make 'Testament of Youth' so signifcant a source when looking at the experiences of the VAD nurses during the Great War.

Looking forward to your talk at the WFA AGM Sue.

Regards, Michael Bully

[Sue Light]

MichaelBully, on 06 April 2012 - 09:23 AM, said:

Looking forward to your talk at the WFA AGM Sue.

Probably more than I am, though being a woman most of my problems revolve around the terrors of looking like the back of a bus!   I'll look forward to seeing you there.

Regards   ---   Sue

[Michelle Young]

I wish I could get to hear your talk Sue but have to take no 1 son back to Uni that day......

Michelle

[Sue Light]

Never mind Michelle - just remember, there will be someone there taking a video of the proceedings, with the intent of publishing it on the web, and exposing every fault I possess.  You will be able to sit back in the comfort of your own home at some later date and thoroughly enjoy the spectacle  

Sue

Edit:  That really should have been

[MichaelBully]

You'll be fine Sue !  I've heard you speak  before- for the Sussex WFA in 2010- and was impressed. It's also a positive development that the Western Front Association are recognising the research into the experiences of VAD nurses, which you have added so much to.
Sorry you're can't make the WFA AGM Michelle.
Regards, Michael

Sue Light, on 06 April 2012 - 07:04 PM, said:

Never mind Michelle - just remember, there will be someone there taking a video of the proceedings, with the intent of publishing it on the web, and exposing every fault I possess.  You will be able to sit back in the comfort of your own home at some later date and thoroughly enjoy the spectacle  

Sue

Edit:  That really should have been

[Melvin Hurst]

MichaelBully, on 04 April 2012 - 07:19 PM, said:

I am reading 'Testament of Youth'  yet again at a deliberately slow pace in order to really absorb as much detail as possible. I have reached the point where Vera is setting off for Malta on board HMS BRITANIC. I have found this on line article about Vera Brittain's stay in Malta, working as a VAD nurse. Michael Bully

http://petrabianchi....rabrittain.html

Michael,

Once you have re-read it you should watch the superb BBC adaptation of the book from 1979, starring Cheryl Campbell as Vera. The effect on Vera of the deaths of those closest to her was movingly portrayed, and Cheryl Campbell rightly won a BAFTA for best actress in the role.

You can order the DVD from Amazon.

Melvin

[MichaelBully]

Hello Melvin, I have watched 'Testament of Youth'  on 'You Tube'.  I was impressed by the series. I have a couple of minor criticisms, firstly that the actors playing, Edward Brittain, Roland Leighton, Geoffrey Thurlowe, Victor Richardson, however talented, were so much older than the characters they played. A central theme of 'Testament of Youth' is that Vera Brittain was writing from 1929-1933 about how the sacrifices her generation of young people had to make so this emphasis got a bit a lost.
Secondly, Vera is portrayed as being a bit dizzy when responding to  war breaking out.  Her diary as featured in 'Chronicle of Youth' shows that Vera had a very decent grasp of international politics.
But overall yes, agree that the BBC adaptation has a lot going for it. There is a version of 'Testament of Youth' in the making at present.
Regards,
Michael Bully

Melvin Hurst, on 12 April 2012 - 06:56 AM, said:

Michael,

Once you have re-read it you should watch the superb BBC adaptation of the book from 1979, starring Cheryl Campbell as Vera. The effect on Vera of the deaths of those closest to her was movingly portrayed, and Cheryl Campbell rightly won a BAFTA for best actress in the role.

You can order the DVD from Amazon.

Melvin

[MichaelBully]

After hearing Sue Light's superb talk at the Western Front Association AGM yesterday ( 'No Talk too Great: VADs and the Great War' )  14th April 2012, really has got me thinking again about of 'Testament of Youth'.  What so many people remember from the book are the losses that Vera Brittain had to endure regarding the men that she was so close to.. It is also worth remembering how much that Vera Brittain gave -along with all the other VAD nurses- to the war effort.
I particularly remember reading the account in 'Testament of Youth' of how Vera Brittain was nursing the soldiers suffering from the effects of mustard gas. To have to spend so many hours of each day witnessing such human suffering must have been very harrowing .

[Magnumbellum]

It was, indeed, and that was what impelled her, immediately after the war, to throw herself into work for the League of Nations Union. She initially saw the League as the great hope for humankind,

It was only after hearing Dick Sheppard, George Lansbury, Donald Soper and Laurence Housman at a rally in Dorchester in 1936 (where she was the fifith member of the panel)  that she began to realise that there had to be persoanl renunciation war. In January 1937 she joined the Peace Pledge Union.

[Melvin Hurst]

MichaelBully, on 13 April 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

Hello Melvin, I have watched 'Testament of Youth'  on 'You Tube'.  I was impressed by the series. I have a couple of minor criticisms, firstly that the actors playing, Edward Brittain, Roland Leighton, Geoffrey Thurlowe, Victor Richardson, however talented, were so much older than the characters they played. A central theme of 'Testament of Youth' is that Vera Brittain was writing from 1929-1933 about how the sacrifices her generation of young people had to make so this emphasis got a bit a lost.
Secondly, Vera is portrayed as being a bit dizzy when responding to  war breaking out.  Her diary as featured in 'Chronicle of Youth' shows that Vera had a very decent grasp of international politics.
But overall yes, agree that the BBC adaptation has a lot going for it. There is a version of 'Testament of Youth' in the making at present.
Regards,
Michael Bully

Michael,

Yes, you are probably right about the ages of the male characters, and about Vera's understanding of what the war was about, but compared with the liberties taken in some films and TV adaptations these days, a little bit of artistic licence is acceptable, I think.

On a television production note, there was a remarkable scene where Vera is walking along the beach with Roland Leighton, just before he leaves for France. It must last for several minutes, and was clearly filmed in one sequence. For the actors to portray that scene in one take, and for nobody to appear at sea in the background and spoil the shot, is quite remarkable.

Melvin

[MichaelBully]

Yes, Vera Brittain's support for Pacificism was gradual. After the success of 'Testament of Youth' following its publication in 1933, Vera Brittain was to undergo what we would now call 'life events'; the death of her best friend Winifred Holtby and the suicide of Vera Brittain's father, both in 1935. Vera also became increasingly drawn to the Christian faith later in the 1930's-compared with the agnosticism of 'Testament of Youth'. And , as MB has stated, joining the PPU, which was a commitment that she kept to the end of her life.
'Testament of Youth' does not mention the No Conscription Fellowship or opposition to the Great War during its course.  
Regards, MB

Magnumbellum, on 15 April 2012 - 02:06 PM, said:

It was, indeed, and that was what impelled her, immediately after the war, to throw herself into work for the League of Nations Union. She initially saw the League as the great hope for humankind,

It was only after hearing Dick Sheppard, George Lansbury, Donald Soper and Laurence Housman at a rally in Dorchester in 1936 (where she was the fifith member of the panel)  that she began to realise that there had to be persoanl renunciation war. In January 1937 she joined the Peace Pledge Union.

[MichaelBully]

Yes point taken Melvin, but I stated that my observations were 'minor criticisms'.  Well it looks like 'Testament of Youth- the movie' will be ready in the near future. The makers will have to compact the story somewhat compared with a five episode series. Regards, Michael Bully

Melvin Hurst, on 18 April 2012 - 05:05 AM, said:

Michael,

Yes, you are probably right about the ages of the male characters, and about Vera's understanding of what the war was about, but compared with the liberties taken in some films and TV adaptations these days, a little bit of artistic licence is acceptable, I think.

On a television production note, there was a remarkable scene where Vera is walking along the beach with Roland Leighton, just before he leaves for France. It must last for several minutes, and was clearly filmed in one sequence. For the actors to portray that scene in one take, and for nobody to appear at sea in the background and spoil the shot, is quite remarkable.

Melvin

[hesmond]

have just started watching the series , my Mrs read the book last year ,shes a nurse and gave the book ago so i had 2 weeks of listining to her communtary as she went through the book , as a present i bought her the DVD ,intrestingly when first shown in 1979 she was a student nurse and the same age as Vera was in 1914 ,i completly missed it as it was not my thing ,but have now started to watch it and am halfway through and have found it very good ,as you say its the ages of the real characters in 1914/1915 that strikes me now ,have promised the Mrs to give the book ago when finished the series ,and have been exploring around where Leighton was killed in 1915 ,Etaples is not far from me and am always passing through , when considering the spirt in which the book was written and the events to come i have  much sympethy with Vera Brittian

[MichaelBully]

I have been thinking again about 'Testament of Youth' after reading Sir Harry Lauder's 'A Minstrel In France'
Sir Harry's son ( and only child)  Captain John Lauder , was killed in action 28th December 1916.
Sir Harry's grief partly took the form of wanting to kill Germans in revenge. He settled for touring on the Western Front to boost morale . His book got me thinking how Vera's grief at losing the young men close to her was very different. At a very early stage of the Great War she seemed to be very aware of how German families were also losing loved ones. Vera also spent part of her time as a VAD nurse caring for German casualties, and this lack of hatred towards Germans and Austrians who killed men that she loved is quite endearing.
Always pleased to discuss 'Testament of Youth'.
Regards
Michael Bully

hesmond, on 12 March 2013 - 08:29 PM, said:

have just started watching the series , my Mrs read the book last year ,shes a nurse and gave the book ago so i had 2 weeks of listining to her communtary as she went through the book , as a present i bought her the DVD ,intrestingly when first shown in 1979 she was a student nurse and the same age as Vera was in 1914 ,i completly missed it as it was not my thing ,but have now started to watch it and am halfway through and have found it very good ,as you say its the ages of the real characters in 1914/1915 that strikes me now ,have promised the Mrs to give the book ago when finished the series ,and have been exploring around where Leighton was killed in 1915 ,Etaples is not far from me and am always passing through , when considering the spirt in which the book was written and the events to come i have  much sympethy with Vera Brittian