PITT, Barrie William Edward (1918-2006)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0099 KCLMA Pitt B
Held at	: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma ›
Full title	: PITT, Barrie William Edward (1918-2006)
Date(s)	: 1940-1991
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 16 boxes or 0.16 cubic metres
Name of creator(s)	: Pitt | Barrie William Edward | 1918-2006 | author and editor of military histories

Context

Administrative/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.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

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.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Original order

Conditions governing access:

Open. Visitors are required to provide proof of ID and sign an undertaking form.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be provided for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archives and Information Management, King's College London.

Finding aids:

Box list available in the reading room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Presented to the centre by Barrie Pitt, 1994.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.
Sources: Who's Who

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Jun 2008