J B Priestley: A Soldier's Cause

J B Priestley was an author, playwright, broadcaster and social commentator. Best known for his plays such as 'An Inspector Calls' and his postscript radio broadcasts during the Second World War, his work commonly explored social and economic inequality.
In this short film, Dr Will Butler, Head of Military Records at The National Archives, uses Priestley’s service record to highlight how his experiences on the battlefield during the First World War shaped his ideas on social reform.
'Literary Lives' traces the footsteps, through the marks they left in our records, of some of our nation’s famous, and less famous, authors, spotlighting moments in their lives that have shaped them into the characters we know them to be today.

[@robinwitting2023]

I never knew the details of Priestley's service in WWI. I remember reading how he attended a regimental reunion in 1930's and was asking, 'Where's so an so and where's so an so?' and being told they couldn't attend because they didn't have a suit to wear. This is fascinating. I wrote to him back in the 1970's and still have his reply brief and pleasant as it is. Robin Witting England

[@susantheobald6926]

Thank you for this film.

[@sglenny001]

I true legend

[@nohacksjustac839]

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