For You the War is Over

by

Dan Billany and David Dowie

For You the War is Over was the title Dan and David wanted for their book, sadly it was published as The Cage. And with that decision, the underlying implications of their choice of title lost. Dan Billany with his friend David had another war to fight, and that fight has continued for a shamefully long time.

Taken from Dan Billany and David Dowie's original manuscripts, now in the Imperial War Museum. In May 1949 Longman's published The Cage and generated a run of very favourable reviews; however it was only a partial representation of the work intended by the authors to be called For You the War is Over.

Dr Paul Skrebels has been restoring the work to its original state, and in the foreword to the book Dr Skrebels explains —

Two principal tasks were in involved in the restoration of For You the War is Over.The first was to revise the text of the 1949 edition so that it more accurately reflects the final draft of the manuscript. Thus previously omitted passages have been reintegrated, while other sections altered or amended in various ways have been returned to their original form. Second, the illustrations - hitherto unavailable to the public have been included.The thumbnail sketches have been placed in or around the text as close as possible to their original positions, at least as far as the transcription from longhand to word-processed typescript allows, while the larger scenes of prison-camp life return to their key roles as text in their own right. In addition, certain other portraits and scenes from the notebooks, although apparently not intended by the authors for inclusion,, have been employed to add variety and depth to the largely unembellished latter part of the work, and so provide some balance to the much illustrated episodes of the earlier part. Another stage of the project will entail the addition of notes and appendices drawn from the notebooks, earlier drafts and other works by Billany and Dowie, as well as broader background and contextual information as aids for contemporary readers and researchers.

There is no question that The Cage, even in its first published form, is a remarkable work and a noteworthy addition to the canon of WWII and PoW literature. It is hoped that in its restored form as For You the War is Over it will be recognised both as a unique and groundbreaking tour-de-force in war writing, and for its potential to contribute even further to our understanding and appreciation of that body of work and of the times and the people who helped to create it.

Had Dan returned to England it would have been another quarter-of-a-century before the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act started the long, still incomplete search for equality and dignity. In other words, he would have been faced with exactly the same problems as before. Dan is a hero to us because he fought against ALL injustice and prejudice, but within his short life he never lived to see a world more understanding of his true nature. Had he done so I believe that he would, in his writings, been as great a champion of Gay Rights as he had been of other oppressed groups. Because of the harsh times that he lived in, however, he ended up fighting for everybody but himself. In different circumstances, we believe he would have promoted gay rights with the same inspirational fervour. But like so many of his, and later, generations, it took him a while to come to terms with the injustice that society was imposing on him simply because of his sexuality. Like thousands of others of his generation known and unknown he was a true hero just by living day by day in a hostile world.

By Colin Livett