Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1959 (Creation)
Level of description
Ffeil / File
Extent and medium
1 envelope
Context area
Name of creator
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
First edition of poet and translator Vernon Watkins's collection of poems Cypress and Acacia, published by Faber & Faber in 1959, the frontispiece inscribed in Watkins's hand: 'for Maurice Zarb, a true friend of unfailing kindness, in gratitude [signed] Vernon'.
Together with:
Letter, 1959, from Vernon Watkins to Maurice Zarb, which references Watkins's family, the poems titled 'A Man with a Field' and 'The Scythe' (both of which appear in the enclosed volume) and Watkins's and Zarb's work at Bletchley Park (see note below) during the Second World War. For Cypress and Acadia see, for example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cypress-Acacia-Vernon-Watkins/dp/0571036872.
(Undated) photocopied typescript of a critical analysis by Vernon Watkins titled 'The Poetry of Wilfred Owen'. According to a note which originally accompanied this sub-archive, this item was given to Tony Curtis by Vernon Watkins in 1966 when Watkins was tutor to Curtis at the then University College, Swansea (for further material relating to Curtis's period of study at University College, Swansea, see April 2016 papers under heading University College, Swansea).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Cypress and Acacia: Original pagination.
'The Poetry of Wilfred Owen': Original pagination.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
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Notes area
Note
Born in Maesteg, Welsh poet and translator Vernon Watkins was a close friend of fellow poet Dylan Thomas. During the Second World War, Watkins worked as a cryptographer at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, which served as the principal centre of Allied code-breaking operations. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Watkins) For Bletchley Park see, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bletchley_Park.
See also Vernon Watkins Manuscripts (https://archives.library.wales/index.php/vernon-watkins-manuscripts), Jeff Towns (Dylan Thomas) Collection (https://archives.library.wales/index.php/jeff-towns-dylan-thomas-collection-2) and Papurau Dr Iorwerth Hughes Jones (https://archives.library.wales/index.php/papurau-dr-iorwerth-hughes-jones) within the National Library of Wales's collections.
For Maurice Zarb see, for example: https://bletchleypark.org.uk/roll-of-honour/certificate/10164/
Born in Oswestry, poet and soldier Wilfred Owen was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His vivid descriptions of the horrors of trenches and gas warfare stood in contrast to the public perception of war at the time and to the confidently patriotic verse written by earlier war poets such as Rupert Brooke. Owen was killed in action on 4 November 1918, a week before the war's end, at the age of 25. Most of his work - which includes the poems 'Anthem for Doomed Youth', 'Dulce et Decorum est' and 'Futility' - was published posthumously. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Owen)
See also Vernon Watkins Manuscripts (https://archives.library.wales/index.php/vernon-watkins-manuscripts) within the National Library of Wales's collections.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Zarb, Maurice (Subject)
- Watkins, Vernon Phillips, 1906-1967 (Subject)
- Bletchley Park (Estate and former centre of Allied code-breaking operations) (Subject)
- Owen, Wilfred, 1893-1918. (Subject)