'None That Go Return-Leighton, Brittain and Friends, and the Lost

[MichaelBully]

'None That Go Return-Leighton, Brittain and Friends, and the Lost Generation 1914-1918'

Don Farr,

Elion and Company 2010 ISBN 978-1-906033-83-5

"Roland Leighton, Edward Brittain, Victor Richardson and Geoffrey Thurlow typify the experiences of many in a world turned upside down by the outbreak of the Great War in early 1914. They were all on the threshold of entry into Oxbridge. Only days later, all thoughts of university cast aside by three of them. They sought instead army commission to serve as infantry subalterns. Geoffrey Thurlow, would complete a term at Oxford before following the same path."

From the publisher’s sleevenotes.

In 1933 Vera enrolled the young four officers -citing their deaths in the Great War- via her famous work 'Testament of Youth' as being part of her understandable fear of further European conflict. 'Testament of Youth' also evokes her own experiences as a VAD nurse and her fear that the new boom in Great War memoir was marginalising the experiences and perspective of women. 'Testament of Youth' as well as being a Feminist text , is integral in creating the notion of a 'lost generation' - " The belief that the enormity of the casualty list, especially among the well-educated and privileged amounted to a loss of a generation in every field," to quote Don Farr.

Hundreds of thousands of readers and television/DVD viewers know about the tragically short life of the four young officers: Roland Leighton, Vera's fiancé, renowned prize winner at Uppingham school, died of wounds incurred on the Western Front at Louvencourt, 23rd December 1915. Geoffrey Thurlow, who never met Roland and did not attend Uppingham School with the others, was killed at Manchy-Le Preux on 23rd April 1917. By then Victor Richardson, the last one of them to reach the 'Front had been blinded by wounds incurred at Arras on 9th April 1917, and died in hospital in London on 9th June 1917. On 15th June 1918, Vera's younger brother Edward, his three closest friends already killed in action, died fighting the Austrians on the Asagio Plateau.

A potential problem with 'Testament of Youth' is that the men themselves had not given any indication that they would want their deaths to be evoked as some sort of posthumous statement against the Great War. Victor particularly seemed to believe that the war was justified. So it is extremely helpful to have the four men reclaimed ultimately as officers-detached from the shadow of the impact of 'Testament of Youth'-,albeit with their own distinct views-as detailed in their correspondence- still honoured.

The author has undertaken extensive research in provincial regimental museums and archives, and at Uppingham School. Though unable to trace Geoffrey Thurlow’s relatives, Don Farr’s project has the support of Victor Richardson’s relatives and Roland Leighton’s nephew David, who writes a foreword to the book.

The values and culture of the early 20th century Public School System, Officer Training Corps, University are explored, and the individual death of each of the four men are detailed meticulously in the context of the War itself, respecting the sacrifice they made. Diagrams, photos, maps, the memorials the men are named on. all work well to this end. The balance between the individuality of the four young men, set against the impersonal world wide conflict that was to claim their lives, is depicted well.

The circumstances surrounding Edward Brittain's death, already explored in Paul Berry and Mark Bostridge's 1995 biography of Vera Brittain; namely that Edward was facing possible court martial for allegedly having homoesexual relations with men under his command, are gone into. Don Farr's view is that there is no reason to suggest that Edward took his own life, or deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire, whilst the 1995 biography is more ambigious in this respect. It might have been useful here to have some references to events at home, in Spring 1918 there was a wave of what would now be called 'homophobia' stimulated by the antics of such popularists as Pemberton-Billing, who was keen to establish a link between homosexuality and a deliberate attempt to sabotage the war effort. Don Farr treats the issue sensitively.

With regard to Victor Richardson being blinded at Arras on 9th April 1917, perhaps some more context exploring how blindness was viewed by soldiers and also by contemporary society would have been helpful.

‘None That Go Return’ has (intentionally ) little to add about Vera Brittain’s life yet the author’s conclusion seems to be that the four young officers were indeed part of a ‘lost generation’ so Vera's sentiments as expressed in ‘Testament of Youth’ seem partly vindicated. This will presumably please admirers of 'Testament of Youth' . And as interest in 'Testament of Youth' increases again, with a new DVD of the 1979 television series, and a possible film version in the near future, it is helpful to have a military historian connecting the lives of the four young officers with the course of the Great War.