Here we have a unique piece of primary source historical material which lay unread until Josephine Jackson discovered it following her mother’s death in 1983.
It consists of a series of letters sent between her mother, Jennie, to her father, Leslie, who was serving in the Army in India (now Pakistan) during the Second World War. For all those with an interest in what army life was like in India this book is a must read. The letters are full of details which will bring home to all readers the reality of the situation in times of war. It is very rare these days that new material like this comes to light and will prove an invaluable source of information to historians and social historians alike – the luxury of the Officers’ Mess, itself, in these war years, compared with the austerity of life in England is a true revelation.
But the book also has an intense personal element. Separated by war and thousands of miles Jennie’s life with her young daughter in England is very different from Leslie’s life of comparative ease in India and, as the letters progress one senses the gradual collapse of the relationship and the poignancy involved. It is rounded off by a highly personal conclusion where Leslie, in a highly moving piece of correspondence, tries to explain to his then adult daughter, his thoughts and feelings.
Complemented by a series of photographs found with the letters, this is a truly marvelous personal account, edited with tremendous skill and genuine feeling by the person who knew the protagonists best of all.
It consists of a series of letters sent between her mother, Jennie, to her father, Leslie, who was serving in the Army in India (now Pakistan) during the Second World War. For all those with an interest in what army life was like in India this book is a must read. The letters are full of details which will bring home to all readers the reality of the situation in times of war. It is very rare these days that new material like this comes to light and will prove an invaluable source of information to historians and social historians alike – the luxury of the Officers’ Mess, itself, in these war years, compared with the austerity of life in England is a true revelation.
But the book also has an intense personal element. Separated by war and thousands of miles Jennie’s life with her young daughter in England is very different from Leslie’s life of comparative ease in India and, as the letters progress one senses the gradual collapse of the relationship and the poignancy involved. It is rounded off by a highly personal conclusion where Leslie, in a highly moving piece of correspondence, tries to explain to his then adult daughter, his thoughts and feelings.
Complemented by a series of photographs found with the letters, this is a truly marvelous personal account, edited with tremendous skill and genuine feeling by the person who knew the protagonists best of all.
