TONY’S WAR by BRITTA VON ZWEIGBERGK BOOK DETAILS

CATEGORY: History / WW2 / Aviation / Biography
PAPERBACK: 270 pages
LANGUAGE: English
ISBN: 9781843862918
PUBLISHER: Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie (2007)

SYNOPSIS: Tony’s War charts the changing world of the early twentieth century. The prelude to conflict and the deprivations and difficulties that stemmed from it.

Emerging from the social fabric of pre war thirties London and a family at last reunited after being torn apart in earlier years through tragedy, Nita Howatson, drama student at the Italia Conti school met Slade Art student Tony Zweigbergk in Fitzrovia. Their subsequent love affair was set against a backdrop of trauma and conflict.

Squadron Leader of No.1 Squadron, Tony’s skill as a pilot earned him the DFC and a daring reputation as a fighter pilot of consummate skill, - with his Canadian fellow pilot ‘Moose’ Mossop, they made a formidable team with their sorties across the channel during 1943/4. Transferred to Squadron 245 in the last year or so of the war, he was part of the British Expeditionary Force that culminated in Germany’s defeat.

Geoffrey Wellum, author of ‘First Light’ reviewing ‘Tony’s War’ writes; ‘This well written, detailed and deeply researched book of the days leading up to World War 11 and of air operations of a Typhoon Squadron in the war itself is a work of exceptional authenticity and makes compelling reading’.

TONY’S PEACE by BRITTA VON ZWEIGBERGK BOOK DETAILS

CATEGORY: Biography /History /Aviation
PAPERBACK: 420 pages
LANGUAGE: English
ISBN: 9781843865360
PUBLISHER: Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie (2010)

SYNOPSIS: A sequel to ‘Tony’s War’ in which the social history of post WW2 years are explored, particularly the difficulties of returning to civilian life after the dangers of flying as a fighter pilot throughout the war.

Domesticity seemed very prosaic after living on the edge of possible death for so long and after losing so many friends and fellow pilots throughout the war years. It proved particularly difficult for Tony as domestic tranquillity continued to be an elusive goal.

Civil Aviation had its own challenges however and during the late forties and early fifties, helping newly independent nations like India and Burma to run their own airlines proved something of an interesting diversion for a time as did the success of Silver City Airways and its car ferry business. But although the war was over, conflict of a different kind,was not.

Reviews of ‘Tony’s Peace’ include:

‘This book is to be highly recommended, as much for its emotional and human content as for the vivid picture it paints of a nation recovering resolutely from the devastation of war’.

BOOK DETAILS

CATEGORY: Local / Asylum History
PAPERBACK: 390 pages
LANGUAGE: English
ISBN: 0954094719
PUBLISHER: Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
SYNOPSIS: The book was the result of several years hard work and research by Britta von Zweigbergk and Michael Armstrong and was published by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust in August 2004.

One readers review:

‘A warm and interesting history of a community’
‘This book, written by Britta von Zweigbergk and Michael Armstrong provides a

comprehensive, interesting and at times, amusing history of Bexley Hospital. It follows the hospitals development within the context of social changes to the mental health system, and looks at staff and patients and how they adapted to a particular way of life in the hospital. Britta von Zweigbergk worked as an art therapist within Bexley Hospital walls and her observations on the characters with whom she shared her time, bring the building to life. A fabulous book’.

- Mrs Whitton

Dr Dominic Beer in a foreword to the book writes;
‘This book will give the reader some valuable insights into the life of such an institution, and how we can learn from its history and where we go from here’.

BOOK DETAILS

CATEGORY: Art
HARDBACK: 55 pages
LANGUAGE: English
ISBN: 0953591018
PUBLISHER: The Cynthia Pell Account (Evelyn Williams and Natalie Dower)
SYNOPSIS: Published in 2000 to accompany an exhibition of the Bexley Hospital Drawings, held at the Boundary Gallery, St. Johns Wood, London in the same year ‘In July 1999, three artists, Natalie Dower, Paula Rego and Evelyn Williams with Cynthia Pell’s sister Barbara arranged an exhibition at the Orleans House Gallery of all Cynthia’s then known work.

The exhibition and an accompanying book attracted much attention and a BBC

Womans Hour broadcast was heard by Britta von Zweigbergk, art therapist at Bexley Hospital. She had known Cynthia as a patient and a friend and had kept 122 drawings done by her during her four years as a patient up to the time of her death (1973-77).

This book is a companion to the earlier publication and as well as reproducing many of the drawings includes memories of Cynthia by those who cared for her while in Bexley Hospital, including Tom Owen, Brian O’Connor and Britta von Zweigbergk.

Jacky Mahony, former Professional Head of art therapy at Oxleas (1998-2003) has written:
‘..........drawing attention to an example of dignity given to intensely emotional and painful images. Two beautifully presented books give tribute to Expressionist painter Cynthia Pell (Dower and Williams, 1999/2000)

The second companion volume reproduces many of the drawings done by her when a patient in Bexley Hospital during the four years up to her death in 1977. The drawings were given to her friend and art therapist at the time Britta von Zweigbergk, who kept them. Through a series of co incidences Britta was recently instrumental in a retrospective exhibition of Cynthia’s work taking place at the Boundary Gallery and the subsequent publication of the book The drawings presented in such a way as to clearly convey that the work is valued’.

- (Jacky Mahony, Inscape 2/01/2008, ‘Three Commentaries, Looking eperience at three exhibitions’.)

ASYLUM LIVES

A history of mental illness with special emphasis on the late twentieth century. It is a very useful source book for nursing students, art therapists,(particularly art therapy trainees) occupational therapists and all those interested in mental health issues. It particularly explores the anti psychiatry movement in the middle /late twentieth century and schizophrenia and creativity.

It has an extensive appendix with historical details of notable asylums and their inmates - Broadmoor, Bexley, Horton and Bethlem Royal among others.
Artworks are also shown - i.e. Richard Dadd in Bethlem Royal and Broadmoor, Louis Wain in Bethlem Royal, Cynthia Pell in Bexley Hospital plus others.

TALKING ABOUT ART: A Collection of Essays Exploring the Origins, Meaning and Function of Art in Human Society.

Intended as an introduction to a creative and exploratory way of thinking about art as it relates to ourselves, to society and even where it might have emerged from in the first place. The sources used are meant to encourage internal reflection and the desire to explore further.
The questions it asks are universal questions around our very existence and the problems of loneliness, isolation, love, meaning and death. How we relate to each other as humans and how in different ways this can be expressed through art.

PEOPLE AND THEIR PICTURES

The art therapy department in Bexley Hospital Kent (1973-96) developed into a maelstrom of creative activity. For over two decades it attempted to create the possibility of some freedom of choice - a move away from the general ethos of institutionalisation. Over the years it evolved into a place where it was possible to find oneself through personal statements mostly in images, but sometimes in words.

'All corridors lead to the art therapy department' a patient once told me while another observed that the art therapy department and its interior 'reminds me of the inside of my head'
The book explores a small number of interesting, striking and enigmatic pieces of art, by description attempting to relate colours and shapes to moods and feelings, how they emerged in the first place, often not deliberately but past the internal censor and what ultimately the artists made of them.

PICTURES FROM THE EDGE:
A Visual Introduction Art Therapy in Bexley Hospital 1973-1996

This small volume introduces the reader to an alternative language - the language of art, a powerful means of communication - colours, lines and shapes have their own ability to express FEELINGS difficult to express in words. Paradoxically words are used in the exploration of meanings
- suggestions are not definitive like a dictionary, on the contrary, such ideas are flexible and can have multiple meanings, and like dreams are often unpredictable.

It has a companion volume shown on the right, words entirely written in the department by patients and collected by me. Often amusing, profound, tragic, They reflect life in the Asylum during the latter part of the twentieth century.