To Journey's End and Beyond: the Life and Legacy of R C Sherriff.

[bootneck]

Surrey Heritage has been awarded the money for a First World War commemoration project entitled To Journey's End and Beyond: the Life and Legacy of R C Sherriff. The project will focus on Sherriff's great play ‘Journey’s End’, set in a British dugout on the eve of the great German offensive of March 1918.

Sherriff's papers are held at the Surrey History Centre in Woking, the home of Surrey Heritage, and will be catalogued and preserved as part of the project. Using this unique collection, Surrey Heritage will work with The R C Sherriff Trust, Kingston Grammar School and schools in Elmbridge to bring Sherriff's own experiences on the Western Front to a wider audience, through a newly commissioned play and dramatic workshops. Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn archive conservation and packaging skills to make the precious records accessible to the public.

As a junior officer in the East Surrey Regiment, Sherriff spent four gruelling months on the Western Front until he was wounded at Passchendaele in August 1917. His papers contain hundreds of letters to his parents and friends, which he later used in the writing of ‘Journey's End’. The play was first performed in 1928 with a young Laurence Olivier in the lead role and remains a key part of the literary legacy of the First World War. Sherriff went on to be a successful Hollywood scriptwriter, responsible for such classics as 'The Dambusters' and 'Goodbye Mr Chips'.

For further details about the Sherriff project please see the Exploring Surrey's Past website http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/subjects/military/surreys-first-world-war/sherriff/

[centurion]

Currently reading The Great War Myth and Memory by Dan Todman who suggests that Sherriff meant the play as a celebration of traditional public school ideals and values and it subsequently got intellectually hi jacked (my words) - one original critic (also a WW1 veteran) said that it was not so much about how the Great War was fought as why.

[David Ridgus]

Sherriff was notoriously prickly if anyone described the play as 'anti-war'. I remember reading that he was particularly annoyed if it was bracketed with 'oh what a lovely war'. It's curious in a way that he eulogised the public school officer, because he was initially denied a commission because he was 'only' from a grammar school.

I am currently teaching it to my GCSE class who are loving it. Although recent revivals always seem to err on the mud, blood, horror side, my students are having no difficulty in seeing that it's really about the relationships of the men and how they cope with the war, rather than about the conditions or the rights and wrongs of the war itself.

David

[EastSurrey]

Sherriff wrote an essay on the public schools in the War in a volume called 'Promise of Greatness' ed. G.Panichas,pub. 1968. As well as his essay, there are a number of others of considerable interest in the book.

The decision not to grant him a commission in 1914 was, I think, the right one,as I don't think he had O.T.C. or other relevant experience.Moreover,when he was commissioned in 1916, after service in the Artists' Rifles, he was full of self doubt.

Michael

[David Filsell]

Sherif freely admitted that he was not a good officer (at an annual reunion), but he was an extremely capable playwright and script writer - and left a very generous will to the Scouts Association and his old school

[David Ridgus]

Sherriff wrote an essay on the public schools in the War in a volume called 'Promise of Greatness' ed. G.Panichas,pub. 1968. As well as his essay, there are a number of others of considerable interest in the book.

The decision not to grant him a commission in 1914 was, I think, the right one,as I don't think he had O.T.C. or other relevant experience.Moreover,when he was commissioned in 1916, after service in the Artists' Rifles, he was full of self doubt.

Michael

Michael

I'm sure you're right that he wasn't up to it in 1914, but his own description of his attempt to enlist makes it clear that he was not rejected on any assessment of competency but simply because his school did not appear on the approved list

David

[bootneck]

For anybody who is interested amongst the R C Sherriff archives at the Surrey History Centre there is a file of correspondence, mainly with George A Parichar of Maryland University, relating to Sherriff's contributions to a volume of essays relating to the Great War (Promise of Greatness, NY 1968) entitled 'The English Public Schools in the War'. These papers include the draft article, and cover the period 1967-1968 and can be found under reference 2332/Box 51/12.

regards

Bootneck

[Martin Bennitt]

I understand that "Journey's End" has just been made available for amateur performance, obviously linked to the centenary. No doubt a number of amdram groups will take up the challenge, hoping there are no Forum members in the audience.

Cheers Martin B

[rolt968]

I understand that "Journey's End" has just been made available for amateur performance, obviously linked to the centenary. No doubt a number of amdram groups will take up the challenge, hoping there are no Forum members in the audience.

Cheers Martin B

That's interesting.

The first time I saw Journey's End it was performed by my school's dramatic society (nearly 50 years ago) and very well done. It made a lasting impression.

As you get older you see the play from different characters' points of view.

Roger.

[DaveBrigg]

I saw a production about six years ago, which was well performed and going as expected. Then, at the finale, the lights dimmed and the theatre shook as the noise of explosions was played for what was probably a couple of minutes but felt much longer. It was enough to make me want to get out of the building, and brought the 21st March just a little bit closer.

[rolt968]

The stage direction for the very end says that the dugout collapses. According to the Art of Course Acting it was notorious for not happening or happening too early.

Roger.

[David Filsell]

Journey's End was (is?) particularly popular for school drama groups, not least with public schools whose ethos fitted well with the subject and the characters - although I am sure the author had no intentions of projecting a pro officer/pro public school view. He was recording that which he knew what he saw and experienced. Not least one of the character's neuralgia - with which he was deeply troubled while in the line. As far public school performances were concerned the play had no female characters and hence there was no need to ask the local girls 'boarder' to provide volunteers!

[rolt968]

As I've seen Journey's End over the years, I have empathised/ sympathised with different characters as I've got older. I wondered how it was received in a public school, since I could never empathise with Raleigh.

Roger.