Call Number:

C0433

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 11 boxes
• 6.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Ernest Gordon Papers, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1950-1979 (inclusive)

Creator:

Gordon, Ernest, 1916-2002

Form:

Correspondence -- 20th century, Manuscripts -- 20th century., photographs -- 20th century, and Sermons -- 20th century.

Abstract:

Consists of manuscripts (and related correspondence) of works by Princeton chaplain Ernest Gordon that chronicle his World War II Japanese prisoner-of-war experience and his chaplaincy at Princeton University.

Ernest Gordon was a former Presbyterian dean of the chapel at Princeton University. During World War II, he was a Japanese prisoner of war and helped build the infamous "Bridge Over the River Kwai."

The collection consists of manuscripts of Gordon's writings and related correspondence: 1) the original autograph and typed manuscripts, galley proofs, and photographs of Through the Valley of the Kwai (1962), an account of Gordon's personal experiences during three-and-a-half years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Thailand during World War II and how those experiences led him to a vocation in the ministry; 2) typescripts of Meet Me at the Door (1969), based on Gordon's early years counseling students during his chaplaincy at Princeton; 3) unprocessed manuscripts of other works, including "Odyssey by the River Kwai" and "Nudged by Love," and correspondence with publishers and from readers/fans of Gordon's work; 4) Gordon's sermons, from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Unprocessed: Boxes 1-4 contain literary works and related correspondence; Boxes 5-7 contain miscellaneous sermons; Box 8 contains chronological sermons (1956-1962).