Harold Reginald Peat (July 12, 1893 – 1960) was a Canadian soldier and author.
Harold R. Peat | |
|---|---|
 Private Peat | |
| Born | July 12, 1893 |
| Died | 1960 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | soldier,author |
Biography
editBorn in Jamaica in 1893, and emigrated to Toronto with his mother, Peat was educated privately and at boarding school in Kingston, Jamaica.
He served as a private in the 3rd Battalion of the First Canadian Contingent during World War I. He was hit by an explosive bullet and lost his right arm.[1] While recuperating in a hospital, he became pen-mate with Louisa Watson Small, a British writer. Louisa Watson Small was born in Keady, Armagh, Ireland and educated at Queens College, Belfast and the University of London.[2] In August 1916 they married.
Louisa helped Harold write Private Peat (1917), a memoir of his experiences during World War I and after. He described himself as an ardent Prohibitionist but in the book he said he did not think the rum ration controversially issued to Canadian troops was dangerous.[3] The book was on the New York Times bestseller list in 1918 and 1919. The film Private Peat (1918) was directed by Edward José based on the book with Peat starring as himself, Miriam Fouche, and William Sorelle acted in the movie with Peat. The screenplay was written by Charles E. Whittaker and it was released by the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation.[4]
The couple lectured and toured, promoting their books, which included The Inexcusable Lie (1923), a treatise against nationalism and destructive patriotism that wastes the youth of nations.
With their three young daughters, Peat and Louisa toured the United States, both lecturing on the Redpath Chautauqua Circuit. Peat was also a contributor to various magazines and traveled to Australia and New Zealand during this period.[5] One of several grandchildren, L. Peat O'Neil, is a travel writer and new media writer.
Peat ran a Speakers Bureau in New York before and after WWII. Peat's speakers included Winston Churchill, Robert E. Peary, Lady Baden-Powell, Thomas Mann, William Patrick Hitler, Lillian Hellman, Ilka Chase, H.G. Wells, Alice Longworth, and Jesse Stuart among others.
Louisa Watson Small Peat died in 1953.
Harold's second wife, Grace Sims Peat, was a graduate of the University of Alabama and a pilot. Papers from the Peat Lecture Bureau are found at the University of Alabama, along with papers of Grace Sims Peat.[6]
Peat retired to Jamaica after WWII and ran Columbus Inn, a beach resort hotel from 1948 to 1953. Peat renamed Dry Harbor to Discovery Bay, St. Ann's Parish, Jamaica.[7]
Works
edit- Publications about Harold R. Peat
- Harold Ross, The Talk of the Town, "From Captain to Private.," The New Yorker, October 17, 1942, p. 13
- Brush, Philippa Mary, 1999. "This Feminine Invasion: Women and the Workplace in Canadian Magazines, 1900-1930." Edmonton: PhD Diss., University of Alberta
References
edit- ^ Edmonton Bulletin, November 13, 1915, p. 5; Peat, Private Peat (1917)
- ^ A. Lawrence, Who's Who among North American Authors, vol. 2, 1925
- ^ Blairmore Enterprise, April 13, 1917, p. 4
- ^ Private Peet at IMDb
- ^ http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/traveling-culture/chau1/pdf/peat/6/brochure.pd[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.lib.ua.edu/content/findingaids/indexsql.php?alpha=p. Archived 2009-04-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ St. Ann's Parish Council, http://www.mlge.gov.jm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=47 Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine
External links
edit
- Works by Harold Reginald Peat at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Harold R. Peat at the Internet Archive
- https://web.archive.org/web/20110811174928/http://archive.wmlnj.org/TheWestfieldLeader/1918/1918-11-20/pg_0005.pdf
- http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/traveling-culture/chau1/pdf/peat/2/brochure.pdf Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
- University of Alabama Libraries Archived 2016-04-01 at the Wayback Machine
- Online Archive of California
- The New Yorker
- Media History in Canada Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Internet Movie Database "Private Peat"
- Harold R. Peat and paraphernalia concerning his writings(archived)