Key Information
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1940-1991 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent
16 boxes or 0.16 cubic metres
Scope and content
Papers of Barrie Pitt relating to military history, 1940-1991, including draft of book Special Boat Squadron by Pitt, annotated with corrections; draft of book Crucible of War: Western Desert 1941 by Pitt, annotated with corrections; transcripts of radio and television broadcasts on the First and Second World Wars including transcripts of the BBC 1 series 'Grand Strategy' on the Second World War, 1972; scripts and other papers relating to the BBC TV series, 'The Great War', 1964 and transcripts of 'European Service: General News Talk' 26 Jun 1964-20 Aug 1964; correspondence chiefly on the subject of historical research; photographs of Malta during the Second World War; copy photographs used by Pitt to illustrate his books and articles, chiefly photographs of the North African Campaign, to illustrate Pitt's book Crucible of War: Western Desert, 1941, also photographs of Adolf Hitler, Albrecht Kesselring; Sicily, 1943 and aerial warfare, Malta, 1940-1943; papers used for research including press cuttings, magazines and magazine cuttings, offprints of articles and correspondence notably on the subject of Europe 1900-1914 and the Middle East; papers relating to Basil Liddell Hart including photographs, draft articles by Liddell Hart, copies of Liddell Hart's correspondence and press cuttings; draft papers by Eric Dorman O'Gowen and related correspondence and copies of British History Illustrated.
System of arrangement
Original order
General Information
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born, 1918; educated, Portsmouth Southern Grammar School; bank clerk, 1935; served in Army, Second World War; surveyor, 1946; began writing, 1954; Information Officer, Atomic Energy Authority, 1961; Historical Consultant to the BBC series 'The Great War', 1963; editor, Purnell's History of the Second World War, 1964; editor in chief, Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War Two, 1967; editor in chief, Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century, 1971; editor, Purnell's History of the First World War, 1969; editor, British History Illustrated, 1974-1978; consultant editor, The Military History of World War Two, 1986; died, 2006.
Repository
Custodial history
Presented to the centre by Barrie Pitt, 1994.
Conditions governing access
Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied from open material for research purposes only.
Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, via the Archives.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Uploaded finding aid
Existence and location of originals
Please note: We require 7 days notice to retrieve this collection as part, or all of it, is held off-campus. Read more ›
Alternative identifier(s)
Place access points
People and Organisations
- Hart, Sir Basil Henry Liddell, 1895-1970, Knight, Captain, military historian (Subject)
- Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945, Chancellor of Germany (Subject)
- Kesselring, Albert, 1885-1960, German Field Marshal (Subject)
- O'Gowan, Eric Edward, 1895-1969, Major General (Subject)
- BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (Subject)
Genre access points
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000.
Script(s)
Archivist's note
Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.
Sources: Who's Who