Guide to the Papers of Denis Warner

Series 1. General correspondence, 1950-97

The series comprises correspondence on a wide range of subjects including Warner's research for and publications of his books and articles, his editorship of The Pacific Defence Reporter, Indo-Chinese refugees, Asian politics, overseas visits, personal news, his application for a grant from the Australian War Memorial and letters of congratulations upon receiving an O.B.E. (1971) and a C.M.G. (1983).

Warner had arranged the correspondence in this series in alphabetical order and the Library has maintained this arrangement and the titles of the files.

Than major correspondents include Claude Arnould, The Australian, Friedrich Bechtle, Robert Brand, Correspondents World Wide, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, Phan Quang Dan, Clare Hollingworth, Richard Hughes, International Herald Tribune, Tim Leimert, Lachlan McDonald, Melbourne Herald, Quarterly Journal of Military History, Reader's Digest, The Reporter, Michael Richardson, Sadao Seno and Warner's publishers and literary agents (Hutchinson, Allen and Unwin, Penguin Books and Goodman Associates). Copies of his letters are often included.

For other correspondence with the publishers and literary agents see Series 7-9.

Series 2. Untitled correspondence, 1950-97

The untitled correspondence files in this series have been arranged into chronological order by the Library. Most of the letters relate to Warner's research for his books.

The correspondents include Geoffrey Fairbairn, Vincent Buckley, J. A. C Mackie, Robert Furlonger, Richard Woolcott, Tran Van Dinh, Cyril Pearl, Christopher Koch (concerning Warner's review of The year of living dangerously), Leslie Shoemaker, Dora Alves, E. Fursdon, Peter Job and Allen & Unwin.

Series 3. Asian Pacific Defence Reporter correspondence, 1983-96

Warner was the editor of the Asian Pacific Defence Reporter between 1981 and 1995. The series comprises business correspondence (mostly with the Managing Director, Peter Isaacson and Robert Hiroguchi) and some financial papers. The Library has preserved the arrangement of the papers within the files and the titles of the files.

Series 4. Notebooks, c. 1949-88

The series comprises reporter's notebooks on various subjects. Some of the notes were written in shorthand.

Series 5. Manuscripts of books

The series comprises typescripts of seven of Warner's books.

Series 6. Reviews of books

The series comprises reviews (mostly newspaper cuttings) of books written by Warner and his wife, Peggy.

Series 7. The tide at sunrise: a history of the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 (1974), 1967-76

The book, written by Denis and Peggy Warner, was first published in 1974 in New York by Charterhouse Books.

The series comprises correspondence (1967-76) with the publishers and literary agents and research material (notes, photocopies and cuttings) pertaining to the book. The correspondents include Angus and Robertson, Charterhouse Books, Laurence Pollinger Ltd, Simon & Schuster and John Cushman Associates.

Series 8. The sacred warrior: Japan's suicide legions (1982), 1979-90

The sacred warrior was written by Dennis and Peggy Warner and Commander Sadao Seno. Warner was a war correspondent on board a ship that suffered two kamikaze attacks at the end of the War, while Seno was in command of a Japanese midget submarine. The book contains recollections of Warner, Seno and other survivors of the Japanese attack.

The series comprises correspondence (1979-1990) and research material (notes, photocopies and cuttings) pertaining to the book. The correspondents include Oxford University Press, Collier Macmillan, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., Hiroshi Taguchi, Sadao Seno and Kern Associates.

Series 9. Disaster in the Pacific: new light on the battle of Savo Island (1992), 1980-92

During the night of 8 August 1942 the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the patrolling Allied forces near Savo Island. There were heavy loss of lives and the Canberra and three American ships (USS Quincy, USS Vincennes and USS Astoria) were attacked and sunk by the Japanese. The Disaster in the Pacific recounts the battle in the Solomon Islands.

The series comprises correspondence (1980-92) and research material (notes, photocopies and cuttings) pertaining to the book. The correspondents include Nancy Milne, Allen & Unwin and Goodman Associates.

Series 10. Research material on Japan, 1945-90

The series includes notes, photocopies and cuttings that were used by Warner for his writings on Japan. The files in this Series have been kept separately from the papers found in Series 7 and 8. The Library has preserved this arrangement.

Series 11. Miscellaneous research material, 1944-85

The series includes notes, cuttings and photocopies. Some of the cuttings are articles written by Warner when he was a war correspondent for the Herald newspaper.

Series 12. Papers on Wilfred Burchett, 1951-98

The Australian foreign correspondent Wilfred Burchett (1911-1983) was known for his first hand reports from Asian battlefields. His most famous article was the account of the devastation of Hiroshima caused by the atomic bomb in 1945. Warner encountered Burchett in a number of countries. The mutual antipathy between the two men was well known and is recalled in some detail in Warner's book Not always on horseback.

In 1969 Burchett sued the Herald and Weekly Times Limited and Denis Warner in the Supreme Court of Victoria for publishing a defamatory article (published on 4 February 1969). The article contained the statement Wilfred Burchett wanted to come home after the Korean War to hand over details of germ warfare to the Australian Government. His offer was refused. In his biography, Not always on horse back, Warner wrote that the Court found that the article was defamatory but was a fair report published for the information of the public of the proceedings in the Senate.

The series contains notes, cuttings, photocopies, affidavits, summaries of interviews, correspondence and court orders relating to Wilfred Burchett, germ warfare and the Burchett v Kane case (1973).