Diaries of Anthony Heap, 1928-1985. The intention of the diarist does not seem to have been to record all the details of his life nor of the world around him. Some major world events are noted, and it is possible to derive some idea of life in London during the Second World War though not of the progress of that war. He recorded the deaths of statesmen and of people connected with the theatre of whom he wrote brief obituaries. He also recorded strikes and similar national events. From the 1960s the increasing cost of living receives frequent comment. Local and national elections are noted.
On the personal side the events which the diarist recorded, apart from reviews of performances and books, fall into a few main categories. He recorded expenditure and savings; his physical ailments (including the near-fatal attack of peritonitis which led to him being in hospital at the outbreak of war and which, with a later rupture, rendered him unfit for military service); the scouting and outdoor activities which he pursued as a youth and young man; his friendships, both male and (far fewer) female, and his family; and the weather.
From 1937 (Acc 2243/10) the diaries are kept in bound notebooks which the diarist paginated. The diarist recorded his attempts to secure a supply of these. The first diary is a pocket diary (Acc 2243/1) issued by Henekys Ltd., wine merchants, and the Sound and third (Acc 2243/2-3) Boy Scouts pocket diaries. Those for 1931-1932 are bound notebooks (Acc 2243/4-5) and those for 1933-1936 (Acc 2243/6-9) are Letts's office desk diaries. The first and second diaries are written in pencil, the third in ink, and the fourth and fifth in ink and indelible pencil. All the others are in ink. Every diary has been covered in brown paper by the diarist. All are in very good condition. There is evidence that the diarist corrected some entries throughout (usually spelling) but it is not known when.
