Description
Object description
A collection of diaries and papers relating to his time as a war correspondent for the BBC, consisting: a small ms BBC diary for 1942, with few and brief entries until 29 October 1942 when he accompanied the invasion force heading to North Africa for Operation Torch, then more detailed entries covering leaving Liverpool, entering the Clyde, descriptions of the convoy, food, weather, activities on board, learning of destination and make-up of Divisions, hearing of the landings on 8 November 1942, disembarking on 13 November and moving to Maison Blanche (Dar El Beïda), Algiers, travelling with US broadcaster Charles Collingwood, writing and broadcasts, moving to Souk el Arba, Tunisia, via Constantine, Bone and Souk Ahras, flying back to Algiers, buying a Ford car to try to get to the front, mechanical problems with the car, seeing planes flying overhead, and tank attacks at Medjaz el Bab, frustrations of not getting enough news to broadcast; a notebook continuing his diary into 1943, which also includes lists of his broadcasts (November 1942 – April 1943), with dates, subject and number of words, lists of names, ranks, and units of people he met, notes for broadcasts/information (December 1942 – January 1943); two BBC memos (2pp, 3 September 1939), from BBC Defence Executive to all staff regarding Air Raid Warnings, and Assistant Director of Office Administration to all staff regarding Billeting; a BBC Internal Circulating Memo from the Administrative Officer to R F Dunnett, on the subject of expenses while he was abroad (1 page, 22 October 1942); a carbon copy of a note by journalist Godfrey Talbot, giving advice, just before D-Day, on the qualities needed in broadcasting from the battlefront as a BBC observer, with good hints and tips about keeping the broadcasts fresh for listeners (2 pages, 5 June 1944); a ts transcription of a broadcast of an account recorded in Glasgow, entitled "Escape to Ballachulish" by James Wilson, about his being captured by the Germans in May 1940 and his escape to the UK via Spain (August 1940); a ts script of a broadcast, recorded in Glasgow, entitled "The Capture of Rudolph Hess" with details of Dunnett's interview with the Scottish ploughman and his mother who witnessed Rudolph Hess parachute onto their land, and their impressions of him (2pp, 13 May 1941); a ts transcription of an interview recorded in Glasgow between Dunnett and Private Daniel McBride about the capture of Rudolf Hess, his arriving at the farm, his initial interview with Hess, and answering questions posed by Dunnett (2pp, 13 May 1941); a ts "Report on a Voyage in an Escort Vessel, September 11-17, 1941", with a covering letter, covering his time in HMS JASON in a convoy from Sheerness, with details of conditions, alarms, watching from the bridge as an enemy bomber attacking, AA guns firing, one of the convoy ships, SS BIRTLEY, hitting a mine and sinking, and ending with entering the Firth of Forth, with descriptions of the crew of JASON, and its Captain, Commander Reginald Ernest Terry (15pp, 23 September 1941); a 'National Service (Armed Forces) Act, 1939, Certificate of Registration' in the name of Robert Forrest Dunnett; his National Service Acts, 1939 to 1941, Grade Card (25 March 1942); 16 carbon copies of despatches from Algiers by Robert Dunnett, transcribed from Telediphone recordings (37pp, 21 November 1942 – 15 June 1942), on the subjects of air raids on Algiers, the speed of the advance, the campaign in Tunisia, an interview with Admiral Francois Darlan, the assassination of Admiral Darlan, interviews with front line troops, interviews with submarine commanders, the Casablanca conference between Churchill and Roosevelt, medical services, the air war against Sicily, and General Hospitals he had visited with details of patients.
Content description
A collection of diaries and papers relating to his time as a war correspondent for the BBC, consisting: a small ms BBC diary for 1942, with few and brief entries until 29 October 1942 when he accompanied the invasion force heading to North Africa for Operation Torch, then more detailed entries covering leaving Liverpool, entering the Clyde, descriptions of the convoy, food, weather, activities on board, learning of destination and make-up of Divisions, hearing of the landings on 8 November 1942, disembarking on 13 November and moving to Maison Blanche (Dar El Beïda), Algiers, travelling with US broadcaster Charles Collingwood, writing and broadcasts, moving to Souk el Arba, Tunisia, via Constantine, Bone and Souk Ahras, flying back to Algiers, buying a Ford car to try to get to the front, mechanical problems with the car, seeing planes flying overhead, and tank attacks at Medjaz el Bab, frustrations of not getting enough news to broadcast; a notebook continuing his diary into 1943, which also includes lists of his broadcasts (November 1942 – April 1943), with dates, subject and number of words, lists of names, ranks, and units of people he met, notes for broadcasts/information (December 1942 – January 1943); two BBC memos (2pp, 3 September 1939), from BBC Defence Executive to all staff regarding Air Raid Warnings, and Assistant Director of Office Administration to all staff regarding Billeting; a BBC Internal Circulating Memo from the Administrative Officer to R F Dunnett, on the subject of expenses while he was abroad (1 page, 22 October 1942); a carbon copy of a note by journalist Godfrey Talbot, giving advice, just before D-Day, on the qualities needed in broadcasting from the battlefront as a BBC observer, with good hints and tips about keeping the broadcasts fresh for listeners (2 pages, 5 June 1944); a ts transcription of a broadcast of an account recorded in Glasgow, entitled "Escape to Ballachulish" by James Wilson, about his being captured by the Germans in May 1940 and his escape to the UK via Spain (August 1940); a ts script of a broadcast, recorded in Glasgow, entitled "The Capture of Rudolph Hess" with details of Dunnett's interview with the Scottish ploughman and his mother who witnessed Rudolph Hess parachute onto their land, and their impressions of him (2pp, 13 May 1941); a ts transcription of an interview recorded in Glasgow between Dunnett and Private Daniel McBride about the capture of Rudolf Hess, his arriving at the farm, his initial interview with Hess, and answering questions posed by Dunnett (2pp, 13 May 1941); a ts "Report on a Voyage in an Escort Vessel, September 11-17, 1941", with a covering letter, covering his time in HMS JASON in a convoy from Sheerness, with details of conditions, alarms, watching from the bridge as an enemy bomber attacking, AA guns firing, one of the convoy ships, SS BIRTLEY, hitting a mine and sinking, and ending with entering the Firth of Forth, with descriptions of the crew of JASON, and its Captain, Commander Reginald Ernest Terry (15pp, 23 September 1941); a 'National Service (Armed Forces) Act, 1939, Certificate of Registration' in the name of Robert Forrest Dunnett; his National Service Acts, 1939 to 1941, Grade Card (25 March 1942); 16 carbon copies of despatches from Algiers by Robert Dunnett, transcribed from Telediphone recordings (37pp, 21 November 1942 – 15 June 1942), on the subjects of air raids on Algiers, the speed of the advance, the campaign in Tunisia, an interview with Admiral Francois Darlan, the assassination of Admiral Darlan, interviews with front line troops, interviews with submarine commanders, the Casablanca conference between Churchill and Roosevelt, medical services, the air war against Sicily, and General Hospitals he had visited with details of patients.
History note
Cataloguer SJO