| Description |
1 online resource (xxviii, 194 pages) : illustrations, maps |
| Series |
The publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society ; v. 88 |
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Publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society ; v. 88
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| Contents |
Intro -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- EDITORIAL PREFACE -- INTRODUCTION -- The Diarist and his Diary -- Bedfordshire in the 1930s and 1940s -- THE DIARY -- Part One: Destination Bedford, September to October 1941 -- Part Two: Billeted in Luton, October to November 1941 -- Part Three: A Long Winter, November 1941 to March 1942 -- Part Four: Good Days, Bad Days, April to May 1942 -- EPILOGUE -- Appendix A: Conchie Culture -- Appendix B: The BBC Symphony Orchestra Moves to Bedford -- Appendix C: Mass-Observation -- INDEX |
| Summary |
Denis Argent, a professional journalist, joined the British Army in 1940 at the age of 23. He was already writing for Mass Observation, the innovative research organisation founded in 1937. During most of his first two years in uniform, when he was billeted in Bedford and Luton, he kept a remarkably detailed and probing diary. He wrote of street life and other aspects of the Home Front in Luton and Bedford, where the BBC's Symphony Orchestra had relocated shortly before he arrived; daily military routine; bomb disposal; transport; women, sex and leisure; his political views and cultural interests (he loved music and was widely read); the crucial importance of leave to see his girlfriend; and his fellow conscientious objectors - he was in the Non-Combatant Corps, though he later chose to take up arms. <br><br>Denis Argent had a keen and observant reporter's eye. He was also highly attuned to the modernist intellectual culture of his time. His is a wartime diary that is perceptive, colourful, wide-ranging, sometimes amusing, and very well written |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL |
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Print version record |
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digitized 2014 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL |
| Subject |
Argent, Denis, 1917-2008 -- Diaries
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Argent, Denis, 1917-2008 |
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Soldiers -- Great Britain -- Diaries
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, British.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Social aspects -- England -- Bedfordshire
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Social aspects
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Soldiers
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Soldat
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Alltag
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Weltkrieg 1939-1945
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England -- Bedfordshire
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Great Britain
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Bedfordshire
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| Genre/Form |
autobiographies (literary works)
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Personal narratives
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Autobiographies
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Diaries
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Personal narratives
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Autobiographies.
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Personal narratives.
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Autobiographies.
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Récits personnels.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Malcolmson, Patricia, 1944-
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Malcolmson, Robert W
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Bedfordshire Historical Record Society
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| ISBN |
9781800107762 |
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1800107765 |
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