The Real 'Testament of Youth'

During the first year of the First World War, Vera Brittain went from studying English Literature at Oxford to nursing for the war effort. By the end of the war she had lost two male friends, her fiance and her brother, Edward. By this time, she had also evolved from the sister who encouraged her brother to sign up for duty to the ‘outstanding feminist pacifist of her generation.' In this episode, James speaks to Caroline Kennedy-Pipe from Loughborough University about Vera's life, her route into pacifism and her efforts against warfare before and during the Second World War.© Somerville College Archive