1916<\/u><\/b> 1918<\/u><\/b> 1944<\/u><\/b> As for the status of LOTR<\/i>: “Not a line on it was possible for a year. One of the results […], was that I managed to bring this (great) work to within sight of conclusion and am now about to conclude it, disregarding all other calls, as far as is possible.” He hopes that Unwin is still has “some mild interest n it, in spite of paper shortage – at any rate as a possible future. […] I have still only one copy, and that needs revision as the thing nears its end. […] In any case, I fear, the story has grown too long and unjuvenile.” He is grateful for the cheque Unwin sent him, as he is still laboring “under debts, mainly due to trying to complete a family’s education after war had taken most of one’s means: not an uncommon experience.” <\/p>\n 1947<\/u><\/b> 1952<\/u><\/b> Margery Kathleen Mary (aka Susan) Dagnall, one of the two women responsible for getting The Hobbit<\/i> on its way to being published, dies in a car accident at Weybridge, England. <\/p>\n 1955<\/u><\/b> 1958<\/u><\/b> <\/p>\n
July 1<\/b> – The Battle of the Somme begins<\/a>. Lieutenant Robert Quilter Gilson of the Cambridgeshire (11th) Battalion, Suffolk Brigade<\/a>, close friend of Tolkien from King Edward’s and member of the “T.C.B.S.”, is killed by a bursting shell while leading his platoon into No Man’s Land<\/a>. <\/p>\n
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June 29<\/b> – While still recovering from the effects of Trench Fever he contracted two years earlier in France, Tolkien contracts gastritis at Brocton Camp and is subsequently hospitalized in Hull. <\/p>\n
June 29<\/b> – Letter to Stanley Unwin (#74) – While expressing his delight at the news that Unwin’s son, Rayner, will return from his leave and will be able to meet with Tolkien, the mention that Rayner is now a naval cadet brings out some bittersweet feelings in Tolkien: his son Christopher, having been called up into the Royal Air Force in July of the previous year, is now stationed in an air training school in Kroonstaad, in his father’s homeland, the “Oranje Vrystaat” (Orange Free State), South Africa. “… the fact that it was my native land does not seem to recommend it to him.” He informs Unwin that his other son, Michael, “a much damaged soldier”, is currently at Trinity “trying to do some work and recover a shadow of his old health.” (Michael was no longer fit for military service due to a “severe shock to nervous system due to prolonged exposure to enemy action”.<\/font> <\/p>\n
June 30<\/b> – Tolkien writes to Warren Hamilton Lewis<\/a> (Jack’s brother) to say that he is praying for his recovery (Warnie<\/a> is in Convent Hospital of Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda, Ireland) and that he is sending him typescripts of Book IV of LOTR<\/i>. <\/p>\n
July 1<\/b> – Rayner Unwin writes to Tolkien, asking him to send one of his copies of the transcript of LOTR<\/i> so that the publishing house can “refresh our memories and get a definite idea of the best treatment for it.” He assures Tolkien that “we do want<\/i> to publish for you, it’s only ways and means that have held us up. So please let us have the Ring now and when you are able the Silmarillion too (I’ve never read it at all you see) and by the time you are freer we shall be ready to discuss it” (HarperCollins archives). <\/p>\n
June 29<\/b> – Letter to Naomi Mitchison (#164) – Tolkien updates her on the status of LOTR: “I have had a very grueling time, with far more work than I could really cope with, plus<\/i> Vol.III. I am feeling as flat as a burst tyre; but may revive when (or if, as promised) the final proofs of Vol.III arrive tomorrow.” <\/p>\n
June<\/b> – In an lengthy undated letter to Forrest J. Ackerman (#210), Tolkien picks apart Morton Grady Zimmerman’s storyline for the animated film of LOTR<\/i>. Some excerpts: <\/p>\n
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