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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Author Barrie Pitt has died


Greenwoodman

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Barrie Pitt, author of "Zeebrugge", "Coronel and Falkland" and "1918 - The Last Act" died on 15th April. His obituary was in the Telegraph today.

It also made the on-line version, which is here:-

Barrie Pitt

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That is sad news. I suppose that 1918: The Last Act is now seen as being rather dated, but when it was first published it was a great coverage of the events of that year at a time when there was very little Great War literature available.

Gareth

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It was reprinted recently Gareth in the Pen & Sword Military Classics series, and "Zeebrugge" came out in Cassell Military Paperbacks, both in 2003 I believe.

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A great loss. I blame him for all this. His book '1918' hooked me. I took it out of the local library in June 1964 at the height of the 50th anniversary interest. I had just finished my A level Modern History and wanted to know what happened after August 4 1914, the date my A level syllabus ended. I could not put his book down and neither could I bring myself to return it to the library. Today it has pride of place on my bookshelf with 42 years of unpaid fines @ 3d a week accrued.

Barrie also wrote large chunks of Purnell's History of WW1.

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Yes, I'm sorry to hear of Barrie Pitt's death too. He was quite ubiquitous as a pundit on military history documentaries in the 1970's - and wasn't he also one of the contributing writer/researchers on the BBC's ground-breaking 1964 series 'The Great War', along with Terraine and Barnett?

On a lighter note, I had to smile with guilty recognition at the tale Hedley's overdue book - though I can only rack up thirty-six years of overdue fines for a book on the exploration of Africa - plus what it would cost in postage to send it back to Australia!

Ciao,

GAC

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I have a World Book club hardback reprint of 1918 which cost me a fiver a few years ago. A good book, well written.

Here's to him.

Aye

Malcolm

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The Desert Generals is one of my favourites, too. Sad news.

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The Last Act: Barrie Pitt, 2006.

How sad that he did not live to see the 90th Anniversary of the events he described.

Yet another great historian goes to the great PRO in the sky, where deadlines are long and no communique, note or diary entry is ever unfindable, bombed or lost... :(

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