The man who carried the nation's grief : James Malcolm Lean MBE & the Great War letters /
"'I do feel the loss of my two boys, they was my all ...' wrote grieving father Ernest Watts following the death of his two sons. Like thousands of Australians during World War I, Ernest Watts received his tragic news through the office known as 'Base Records.' This letter w...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Newport, New South Wales :
Big Sky Publishing,
2016.
|
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "'I do feel the loss of my two boys, they was my all ...' wrote grieving father Ernest Watts following the death of his two sons. Like thousands of Australians during World War I, Ernest Watts received his tragic news through the office known as 'Base Records.' This letter was just one in a series of correspondence that lasted the duration of the war and well into the post-war period. Every letter was answered with patience and courtesy and every response carried the same signature, J.M. Lean. The Man who Carried the Nation's Grief describes the extraordinary work of James Lean, whose office at times received over 100 letters a day from distressed families. The letters selected by author Carol Rosenhain are quoted verbatim in all their rawness, the grief, anger and disbelief of the writer signifying wounds that would take years to heal while others never would. Given his crucial role as the link between anxious families and the bureaucracy of the IF, James Lean's remarkable work is a surprising omission from the vast body of World War I literature. Carol Rosenhain's book rectifies this omission with a portrait of Lean himself and the grim task at which he excelled. This is a book that describes the impact of war on families in all its devastating reality. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | 440 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 192552017X 9781925520170 |