Fujdog Posted 5 May , 2017 Share Posted 5 May , 2017 Exciting news that the Ball diaries have resurfaced and are to be made public: http://www.nottinghampost.com/take-a-peek-into-the-diary-of-nottingham-s-victoria-cross-hero-100-years-on/story-30313265-detail/story.html Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 5 May , 2017 Share Posted 5 May , 2017 Yes, it's a great shame that the diaries have stayed remained unseen for so long. I received an email from Colin Pengelly this morning, Ball's latest biographer, quite upset because he feels that it has to some extent devalued all his careful research. I disagreed, because Colin quoted many of Ball's letters to his father, which showed the real man behind the myth of the innocent, unworldly young man, flying with a piece of auntie's cake in one hand and the joystick in the other. I believe that in this respect Colin's biography was honest, unlike Chaz Bowyer's, Albert Ball VC. Chaz knew of the content of the letters, but against the advice, indeed urging, of his publishers he chose to suppress them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fujdog Posted 5 May , 2017 Author Share Posted 5 May , 2017 Alex, I saw your post on the Aerodrome about your meeting with 56 Squadron when a woman's glove turned up in Ball's coat pocket... I would have loved to been a fly on the wall at that moment. There's an awful lot of ground between hero and zero; it'll be fascinating to get a fuller picture of the man. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 6 May , 2017 Share Posted 6 May , 2017 14 hours ago, Fujdog said: Alex, I saw your post on the Aerodrome about your meeting with 56 Squadron when a woman's glove turned up in Ball's coat pocket... I would have loved to been a fly on the wall at that moment. There's an awful lot of ground between hero and zero; it'll be fascinating to get a fuller picture of the man. Jill Yes, my late wife tried the glove on after confirming for the Sqdn CO that it was positively a glove from that era. Colin's biography will give you a fuller picture of Albert. I recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils d Posted 6 May , 2017 Share Posted 6 May , 2017 20 hours ago, alex revell said: Yes, it's a great shame that the diaries have stayed remained unseen for so long. I received an email from Colin Pengelly this morning, Ball's latest biographer, quite upset because he feels that it has to some extent devalued all his careful research. I disagreed, because Colin quoted many of Ball's letters to his father, which showed the real man behind the myth of the innocent, unworldly young man, flying with a piece of auntie's cake in one hand and the joystick in the other. I believe that in this respect Colin's biography was honest, unlike Chaz Bowyer's, Albert Ball VC. Chaz knew of the content of the letters, but against the advice, indeed urging, of his publishers he chose to suppress them. You have to feel for Colin Pengelly.This news comes so soon after his good biography.He must be feeling as sick as a chip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fujdog Posted 6 May , 2017 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2017 10 hours ago, nils d said: You have to feel for Colin Pengelly.This news comes so soon after his good biography.He must be feeling as sick as a chip. Biographer's nightmare :-( 10 hours ago, alex revell said: Yes, my late wife tried the glove on after confirming for the Sqdn CO that it was positively a glove from that era. Colin's biography will give you a fuller picture of Albert. I recommend it. I've been reading backwards - first Colin's, then the Bowyer, then back to the Briscoe and Stannard and enjoyed all of them. Got the Kiernan one still to do if I can find it. Is that all of them or do I need to start getting a life? I guess it'll take a while for diaries to actually to become available and they'll complement rather than weaken the biographies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 6 January , 2020 Share Posted 6 January , 2020 On 05/05/2017 at 14:50, alex revell said: Yes, it's a great shame that the diaries have stayed remained unseen for so long. I received an email from Colin Pengelly this morning, Ball's latest biographer, quite upset because he feels that it has to some extent devalued all his careful research. I disagreed, because Colin quoted many of Ball's letters to his father, which showed the real man behind the myth of the innocent, unworldly young man, flying with a piece of auntie's cake in one hand and the joystick in the other. I believe that in this respect Colin's biography was honest, unlike Chaz Bowyer's, Albert Ball VC. Chaz knew of the content of the letters, but against the advice, indeed urging, of his publishers he chose to suppress them. Just resurrecting this thread… finished reading Colin Pengelly's book on Albert Ball and I just HAVE to say that I quite agree with Alex: the effort put into the research and wanting to paint the most accurate picture possible of this young war hero is remarkable. The book is amazing!! Thanks Colin, very well done! M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 7 January , 2020 Share Posted 7 January , 2020 Marilyne, Yes, I think that in writing a biography it's an historical imperative for an author to give a full picture of the man or woman, warts and all. One of the problems I had with The Happy Warrior, my recent biography of James McCudden VC,was that I couldn't find anybody who had anything nasty to say about him. His fellow instructors at Ayr thought he was rather aloof and distant because he was rarely seen in the Mess, but this was because he was busy in the evenings writing Five Years in The Royal Flying Corps. The only person I found who had any criticism was Maxwell Coote who flew with Mac in 56 Squadron. He said, to quote: '' Of course, the trouble with McCudden was that he just wasn't officer material.' But Coote was a dreadful snob, whose criteria of officer material seemed to be on what school one had attended and what knife one used at dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 19 January , 2020 Share Posted 19 January , 2020 Looks like you wrote quite a nice book... will try to find it and fit it into my list... M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 19 January , 2020 Share Posted 19 January , 2020 Marilyne The Happy Warrior is available on Amazon. If you enjoyed Colin's book on Ball I'm sure you'll find it of interest. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smith Posted 20 January , 2020 Share Posted 20 January , 2020 I'll toot Alex's horn! Marilyne, "The Happy Warrior" is a wonderful book, brilliantly researched and also very readable. I thoroughly recommend picking up a copy as I have no doubt you would enjoy it. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 20 January , 2020 Share Posted 20 January , 2020 Hi Smith, Thanks for tooting my horn, much appreciated. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eaglesnest Posted 8 April , 2023 Share Posted 8 April , 2023 These are historically interesting. They ought to be published and made public. Does anyone know if there is something going on to make this happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maricourt Posted 25 February Share Posted 25 February Dear Forum Members, Has there been any further information on the Albert Ball diaries - either published or donated/loaned to a museum? Any information appreciated. Maricourt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieT Posted 17 March Share Posted 17 March Hello all! I happened to stumble upon this forum and became a member and I am curious to know if anyone has found more on Captain Ball's diary whereabouts. I am currently writing a research paper focusing on First World War aviation for my favorite class, and Captain Ball is one of the subjects. I read Colin Pengelly's book on Ball (I must say it is done very well, I am impressed and I read it twice!) and was wondering if anyone could also give me more information on the encounter with Lothar von Richthofen which ultimately ended Ball's life. If I can recall from Pengelly's book, Richthofen said the aircraft was a Sopwith triplane, although Ball would have been flying an SE5 at that point in time. Also, if Pengelly is apart of this forum, where did you access Ball's archives? I could find that Nottingham archives has the letter contents in the description, but not photo of the letters available between Ball and his father. In regards to the diary, I wonder if it would be worth kindly reaching out to the family? I plan to continue research after my paper. Thank you! Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin kenf48 Posted 17 March Admin Share Posted 17 March 42 minutes ago, KatieT said: I am curious to know if anyone has found more on Captain Ball's diary Welcome to the GWF @alex revellis an active member of the forum and my tag should alert them to your post. You can also use the Personal Message system just click on the name an open the dialog box 'Message' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieT Posted 17 March Share Posted 17 March 40 minutes ago, kenf48 said: Welcome to the GWF @alex revellis an active member of the forum and my tag should alert them to your post. You can also use the Personal Message system just click on the name an open the dialog box 'Message' Thank you, I am glad to be here! I am grateful that you alerted Alex about my post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Renault Posted 17 April Share Posted 17 April (edited) On 17/03/2024 at 13:14, KatieT said: Hello all! I happened to stumble upon this forum and became a member and I am curious to know if anyone has found more on Captain Ball's diary whereabouts. I am currently writing a research paper focusing on First World War aviation for my favorite class, and Captain Ball is one of the subjects. I read Colin Pengelly's book on Ball (I must say it is done very well, I am impressed and I read it twice!) and was wondering if anyone could also give me more information on the encounter with Lothar von Richthofen which ultimately ended Ball's life. If I can recall from Pengelly's book, Richthofen said the aircraft was a Sopwith triplane, although Ball would have been flying an SE5 at that point in time. Also, if Pengelly is apart of this forum, where did you access Ball's archives? I could find that Nottingham archives has the letter contents in the description, but not photo of the letters available between Ball and his father. In regards to the diary, I wonder if it would be worth kindly reaching out to the family? I plan to continue research after my paper. Thank you! Katie Hello Katie- I do not know if you still need any assistance with your issues, but do please let me know if you are. I am currently in the closing stages of a PhD thesis about First World War aviation and I have a considerable amount of experience and archival work related to British aces of that war, and there is plenty I would be willing to discuss about Albert Ball. A bunch of my published work and lectures for the RAF Museum are up online if you need proof of my credentials1 Let me know if you want to talk more. Edited 17 April by Max Renault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieT Posted Tuesday at 17:04 Share Posted Tuesday at 17:04 On 17/04/2024 at 11:49, Max Renault said: Hello Katie- I do not know if you still need any assistance with your issues, but do please let me know if you are. I am currently in the closing stages of a PhD thesis about First World War aviation and I have a considerable amount of experience and archival work related to British aces of that war, and there is plenty I would be willing to discuss about Albert Ball. A bunch of my published work and lectures for the RAF Museum are up online if you need proof of my credentials1 Let me know if you want to talk more. Good afternoon Max, I hope all is well, I really appreciate you reaching out! Yes, I do still need assistance with my research, and I would absolutely love to speak to you about work related to Ball. I will be abroad in England for my fall semester, and I plan to visit the Nottingham archives then. I will also be there this summer so I could try to then as well. No worries your credentials, although, I would be happy to see some of your work as well as your dissertation when you have finished! Hope to speak soon, Katie Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Renault Posted Tuesday at 17:09 Share Posted Tuesday at 17:09 4 minutes ago, KatieT said: Good afternoon Max, I hope all is well, I really appreciate you reaching out! Yes, I do still need assistance with my research, and I would absolutely love to speak to you about work related to Ball. I will be abroad in England for my fall semester, and I plan to visit the Nottingham archives then. I will also be there this summer so I could try to then as well. No worries your credentials, although, I would be happy to see some of your work as well as your dissertation when you have finished! Hope to speak soon, Katie Tyson I'll send a contact message Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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