The family of eminent historian Correlli Barnett has paid tribute to the man who was unafraid to push boundaries and challenge the conventional wisdom of established history books.
Mr Barnett, of East Carleton, near Norwich, was one of the nation’s most respected and award-winning military historians.
He spent the better part of half a century challenging conceptions of the First and Second World Wars which he believed warped our understanding of those conflicts and resulting post-war policy.
Born Correlli Douglas Barnett and known as 'Bill', he was born on June 28, 1927, in Norbury, South London.
He excelled at school and went on to study modern history at Oxford. He originally arrived in Norfolk to join a local firm of advertising agents.
A man who did not shy away from being outspoken, he shone an uncomfortable light on lionised military leaders but became widely admired by experts for his forensic analysis of major events in British and world history.
He would go on to receive nationwide fame with his book The Desert Generals, published in 1960, in which he was brave enough to criticise certain national heroes, most notably Field Marshal Montgomery.
Veterans of the Eighth Army were furious with Barnett's interpretations, but many historians sided with him after examining his carefully thought-out arguments.
As well as scrutinising how Britain fared in wars, he explored the country's role in the world and how opportunities were missed.
Margaret Thatcher was a keen admirer of many of his views, but he never showed affiliation to any political party.
When Mr Barnett published The Collapse of British Power, the reaction was like a storm of lightning - down one fork was a hullabaloo of indignant denial and ruffled feathers, down the other the acclaim of recognition, revelation and a shared, long-suppressed judgment.
As a consultant for the BBC's 1960s series The Great War, he won the Screenwriters Guild award. He worked closely with the BBC on other projects, including the 1970s series The Commanders.
Speaking from the garden of his Norfolk country house, home for more than 60 years, in 2013, he reflected with pride and affection on his key role in the epic, 26-episode series, The Great War.
Co-scripted with fellow military historian John Terraine, the BBC production, narrated by Sir Michael Redgrave, won critical as well as popular acclaim with its compelling mix of previously unseen footage and wealth of vivid eyewitness accounts from an army of veterans.
At the time, Mr Barnett said: “It was great fun.
“I vastly enjoyed it, but although we were delighted about the impact it made, we really didn’t have much time to think about it because life was so hectic.
“It was pretty bloody stimulating.”
No less stimulating was the thought of challenging notions about the First World War which had held sway for the best part of 30 years.
From their “tactical headquarters”, established in The Uxbridge Arms in Notting Hill, Mr Barnett and his “old chum” Terraine “fought out” the war’s great strategic arguments all over again with the series’ producer-director Tony Essex, an innovative documentary maker who initially held fast to the traditional view of the war.
By the time the series was made, the view of the Great War was already established, in that the fighting had been absolutely futile.
But Mr Barrnett swam against the tide and set out with the intention to change this perception by asking if the generals could have done things differently.
It was a theme which he returned to in his latest and last book - The Lords of War, re-issued as Leadership in War: From Lincoln to Churchill.
And in 1991, he won the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award for ‘Engage the Enemy More Closely - A Study of the Royal Navy in the Second World War'.
He published many more books and was appointed fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, where he served as the first Keeper of the Archives from 1976 to 1995.
In this post he was responsible for building up the Centre’s wealth of 20th century collections, securing the Churchill Papers for the nation and negotiating the arrival of Margaret Thatcher’s archive.
The current director, Allen Packwood, said: “Bill was the architect of the Churchill Archives Centre. It would not be the resource it is today without his leadership. His enthusiasm, positivity and sheer bloody mindedness were what was needed to build a world class institution.”
Keith Simpson, military historian and former Broadland MP, had been the director of the Security Studies Institute at Cranfield University from 1991 to 1997.
During this time Mr Barnett was awarded an honorary doctorate DSc from Cranfield University.
He said: “Bill Barnett was a stimulating historian who as a young man wrote books challenging accepted wisdom.
“He encouraged young people and loved to engage in thought-provoking discussions. His books on British power were recommended reading for Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet.
“A great historian.”
Mr Barnett was appointed CBE in 1997.
He died at his home in East Carleton on July 10 at the age of 95.
He leaves behind his daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Following a private funeral, Mr Barnett was buried at St Mary's Churchyard in East Carleton with his wife Ruth.
A memorial service will take place at Churchill College Cambridge on Monday, October 24 at 3.30pm.
In accordance with his wishes this will be secular and fun, and will take the form of a discussion of his life and legacy. All are welcome.
- To pay tribute to a loved one email norfolktributes@archant.co.uk
- To read more obituaries and tributes join the Facebook group Norfolk's Loved & Lost.
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