Archive of Scottish war poet who died in battle to go under the hammer The archive of a “talented” Edinburgh war poet who died in 1917 before seeing his work published is set to be auctioned.
“Our forthcoming sale puts a human face on the suffering of war and presents a rare opportunity to own a piece of First World War literary and social history.”.
James Alexander Mann, known to all as Hamish, was a schoolboy at George Watson’s College before serving in the Royal Highlanders, Black Watch during the First World War.
Cathy Tait, head of rare books and manuscripts at auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull said: “This is a very moving archive penned by a talented writer who never got to see his work published.
He instead took on a voluntary position at Craigleith Military Hospital in Edinburgh, now the site of the Western General Hospital, where he helped establish a magazine called the Craigleith Hospital Chronicle.