The Diaries of Ronnie Tritton

The diary kept by Ronnie Tritton is a revealing and often frank record of the internal conflicts at the Public Relations Department of the War Office and the Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Ronnie Tritton was recruited in 1940 for the position of War Office Publicity Officer by Major-General Beith, Director of Public Relations at the War Office, to transform the dysfunctional department. The first civilian to hold the post, it was hoped his professional skills gained in Public Relations for the Savoy Hotel Group would be a valuable tool to overcome the British Army's negativity towards the use of any form of visual publicity. Internal conflicts between the service film units, the newsreel companies and the Americans proved a difficult balancing act for Tritton, as these diaries reveal. They are also an invaluable source of evidence not only for the growth and war effort of the Army Film Unit/Army Film & Photographic Unit, but also for the newsreels.