Contemporary inscription - January 23rd 1945 "For Tess"

1944. Allen & Unwin. Second Series. An Anthology from the Services with contributions from J Aistrop, P Ledward, J Maclaren-Ross, Jocelyn Brooke, J Gawsworth, Paul Scott, A Lewis, A Rook, J Pudney, M Lindsay, H Corby, L Little, etc. (J Maclaren-Ross, J Brooke, J Gawsworth, Paul Scott, A Lewis, A Rook, J Pudney, M Lindsay, H Corby, L Little.)

Foreward- "This is the second of our series presenting the creative work of men and women in the Services... An even greater proportion of the material in the present volume has been supplied by the young, and is of a kind that should fortify the above opinion. Some people consider it bad taste, if not defeatist, to criticise conditions in wartime. Our attitude is that so long as we in Britain, including those nonBritishers who willingly associate with us, spiritually as well as in arms, remain human in spite of being numbered, docketed, uniformed and in most ways deprived of personality, we should express ourselves when, how and as bluntly as we please.
If the time comes when even this is officially disallowed, then fighting, suffering and sacrifice will have been all in vain. The poem by Paul Scott has appeared in the Favil Press anthology POETS NOW, and we would like to thank the publishers for their permission to use it."