Papers of Ernest Dickinson (1897-1977), Nottingham poet

The collection comprises a series of war poems by Ernest Dickinson. They are gathered in a booklet of 14 pages, which is stapled, and features an original watercolour of the Sea of Galilee and surrounding countryside on its cover. The watercolour is by Ernest Dickinson; a note inside the cover describes the location. There are ten poems in the book: 'Firing Squad', 'No Compromise', 'No Olive Branch', 'Damascus Interlude', 'Ass Through Jerusalem', 'Baptised in Jordan', 'Fear', 'Still in the Dark', and 'Fragrance After Fighting'. An accompanying letter, dated 4 December 1973, to the Nottingham poet Connie Ford is also present.

Ernest Dickinson was born in 1897 and served with the British Army in the First Nottinghamshire Artillery in the First World War. He saw action in the Middle East. After the war he worked for Boots as an accountant, dealing particularly with pensions. When the NHS was founded, his role transitioned into the civil service where he remained until his retirement. He privately published a number of collections of his poetry in the 1960s and was an active member of the Nottingham Poetry Society in the 1960s and 1970s. He lived in Devonshire Crescent, Sherwood, Nottingham from the late 1920s until the 1970s. Ernest and his wife, Dorothy, had two children. As well as being a poet, Dickinson was also an accomplished artist. Privately published collections of his work include: 'Donkey brays on Parnassus' (Nottingham, 1961), 'Montmartre: Mount of Temptation' (Nottingham, 1963); 'Dickolympians' (Nottingham, 1966); and 'A Joseph Coat' (Nottingham, 1968). He died in 1977.

No archival arrangement has been necessary.

Accessible to all readers.

This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

Good

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

The collection was given to the University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in August 2002.

Papers of Connie Ford, poet (Ref: CF)