Rugbeians in the Great War - Review

Rugbeians in the Great War

Pen & Sword Books

As author Daniel J McLean points out, "3,252 Rugbeians served in the Great War, of whom 687 were killed. This represents twenty-one per cent of the total, almost twice the national average."

I have a growing interest in public school contributions to the war effort and as far as Rugby School is concerned, I was already very familiar with the seven volumes of "Memorials of Rugbeians who fell in the Great War" which were published between 1916 and 1923. Indeed, most of the men whose portraits feature in those seven volumes also appear on my British Army Ancestors website. The Memorials volumes are extraordinary tributes to those Rugbeians who died in the service of their country during the First World War, and whilst this new volume from Pen & Sword draws on some of these biographies, and uses some of the photos, the scope is far wider and in places much more detailed; putting the service of individual Rugbeians into the context of the war as a whole.

There are helpful appendices and a useful index and bibliography; essentials in my book but sadly often overlooked these days. The author, a former teacher, has obviously also had access to the school archives and there are some, I'm guessing, previously unpublished photos of pupils and staff which add to the book's overall appeal.

Images of the National Archives Armistice - Review

Images of the National Archives Armistice

Louise Bell

Pen & Sword, £14.99

As Louise Bell notes in her introduction to this slim but useful volume, "This book will highlight key documents from the collections at The National Archives relating to the Armistice and the aftermath of the First World War. Many of these images will have been rarely seen and will provide key glimpses into what was happening in 1918 and beyond."

And so they do. This paperback book only runs to 132 pages but there are some extremely useful chapters on treaties, demobilisation, women's uniformed services, disability, Peace Day, The Unknown Warrior and The Cenotaph.

I have to admit to being a bit of a cenotaph nut.I have collected hundreds of postcards of the cenotaph over the years and so learning more about its evolution and the different cenotaph versions worldwide is always going to find a ready audience with me. But I also found the chapter on disability extremely informative and thought-provoking and, since reading this book, I have made my own forays into the LAB (labour) files at The National Archives which Louise Bell references.

I regard this useful book as a platform for further study, and as such I will definitely be returning to it again, and again...

The Armistice & The Aftermath - The Story in Art

The Armistice & The Aftermath

The Story in Art

John Fairley

Pen & Sword Books Ltd £25

If you're quick enough and follow the link on this page you'll be able to buy this book for £20 rather than the £30 published price. This is a good 'coffee-table' art book and the format of it permits many of the paintings inside to be shown as full-colour portraits that occupy an entire page. 

If I have criticisms, they are that the ordering of the artwork is a little haphazard and I would also have been more inclined to say less about the artwork and let the art itself do the talking, filling those extra pages with more art. Some of the photography could have been better - I'm thinking of the section devoted to Lutyens and his work - and for that matter not all of the paintings in this book would have made it past my selection criteria. Just because a piece of art depicts scenes from, or personalities connected with, the First World War does not automatically make it good art. 

At the end of the day this is an interesting pot pourri that should probably be in every school library and every civic library, assuming that there are any of the latter left.

Shooting the Somme - Review

Shooting the Somme

Bob Carruthers

Pen & Sword Books - £25

Actually, the vast majority of this book is a re-print of Geoffrey H Malins's "How I filmed the War". The only original content here is Section 1 which takes up a mere 44 pages of the 344 page total. So somewhat disappointing that there is so little background to what has become regarded as iconic footage over the years; and of that background there are a number of pages taken up with an overview of the Battle of the Somme itself. 

If you didn't already have a copy of Malin's book then this would be worth buying. Other than that, much of the information contained in section one - and more besides - could almost certainly be gleaned online.

The Soldiers' Peace - Book Review

The Soldiers' Peace

Michael Senior

Pen & Sword Books Ltd, £25

Just when you thought that there could not possibly be another book on the Great War that sheds new light on that awful conflict, along comes one that does. The Soldiers' Peace ticks all the boxes for me, every single one of them: 

• it covers a topic that has not been done to death
• it is written in an engaging and free-flowing style that is easy to read
• the events described follow a logical and chronological path
• there are useful appendices that augment the text that has gone before
• there are clear footnotes laid out by chapter
• there is a useful bibliography
• there is an index

You'd be surprised at how many of what I regard as these basic must-haves are missing from works of historical fact. Not in this book. Michael Senior has researched his topic well and he writes authoritatively about it. It's a fascinating subject too, dealing with the demobilization of the British Army at the end of the First World War. As the dustwrapper informs us, "In November 1918... the British Army numbered 3.75 million. One year later that number was reduced to 890,000." The Soldiers' Peace tells you how that was achieved.

1918 - The Decisive Year... Richard Van Emden

1918 - The Decisive Year in Soldiers' Own Words & Photographs

Richard Van Emden

Pen & Sword Books; £30

You can't blame Richard Van Emden for having one last Big Push with First World War non-fiction. Now that the centenary commemorations are drawing to a close, the opportunities to monetise the war will also dwindle. For that matter, Richard VE has authored some cracking books over the years, picking up the mantle where Martin Middlebrook and Lyn MacDonald left off, and cleverly interleaving veteran narratives with his compelling re-telling of the events. He does that very well and he must count himself fortunate to have spoken to so many veterans while there was still time.

For those familiar with Van Emden's work I don't think there will be a lot to be learned from the narrative. Many of the veterans' names will be familiar from other works, and there are also familiar accounts from long-published works by the likes of Stephen Graham, Aubrey Smith, Rudolf Binding, Lancelot Spicer... Admittedly, it takes skill to weave these narratives together and Richard is a past master at doing so.

So much for the words, it is the photographs that really stand out for me in this volume. Just as those of us whose interest was kindled in the Great War decades ago are overly familiar with War Letters to a Wife and A Medico's Luck in the War, so too are we used to seeing those same images of stretcher bearers struggling through mud or a skeleton with its arm across its skull at the bottom of a trench. Thankfully, those images do not get a re-run in this volume. What we do have are many photos that have been published for the first time and that show images not just of allied troops but of German soldiers as well. For the most part these are photographs that were "taken by soldiers on their own illegally held cameras" and they are wonderful - if occasionally shocking - to behold.

There will be those who buy this book for whom this is an entry into the Great War, and for those people this will be a terrific introduction: top authors, previously unseen photos, first hand veteran accounts and a skillful narrator in the shape of Van Emden. It has it all. I'm only giving my copy away because after four and a half years I feel somewhat battle fatigued. I can't wait for Peace to descend.

The Ambulance Drivers - Hemingway & Dos Passos

Most English literature students in this country will be familiar with the work of Ernest Hemingway, less so with the work of John Dos Passos. It was nearly a hundred years ago, that the two budding authors embarked for Europe from America to do their bit in the Great World War. This new book by James McGrath Morris charts the two men's journeys - both in the literal sense, as they travelled across France, Italy and later, Spain; and in the developmental sense as they launched successful careers as authors.

The Ambulance Drivers (both men served in this capacity in the First World War) charts the development of the two authors and, later, their falling out. 

This is a good re-telling of two stories, with a particular focus on the years 1918 to 1937. Unhappily, and ironically given their First World War roles as ambulance drivers, both men had unlucky - and in John Dos Passos's case, tragic - relationships with motorised vehicles. In 1930 Hemingway ran his car off the road, with Dos Passos in it, and 17 years later, Dos Passos, temporarily dazzled by the sun, crashed his car into parked truck, killing his wife instantly and blinding himself in his right eye. Nevertheless, these incidents do not dominate the narrative which instead, and rightly so, focuses on the men's early years, their relationships with those around them, and their relationship with each other.

As well as a compelling narrative, there are some great photos in this book: the handsome lady-killer looks of Ernest Hemingway contrasting with the more geeky John Dos Passos.

This is a well-researched book made all the more helpful by copious notes and a good bibliography. For Hemingway and Dos Passos fans, this will be a must-read. For others, like me, who knew little (or nothing in the case of Dos Passos) about these two men, the book is a compelling examination of an at-times frail, turbulent and broken friendship.

The Ambulance Drivers is published by Da Capo Press at $27 or less. Read more here on the Da Capo Press website and order here from Amazon.

Brighton & Norwich in The Great War

Pen & Sword's Towns and Cities in the Great War series has a lot to commend it, and I've just finished reading a couple of recent additions: Brighton in the Great War (Pen and Sword, £14.99) and Norwich in the Great War (Pen and Sword, £12.99).

Brighton in the Great War

At 266 pages, this is one of the better value books in this series. Of particular interest to me are the sections dealing with the military and auxiliary hospitals in the town. The vast majority of the men who found themselves transferred out to Chailey's two auxiliary hospitals had originally been treated at the 2nd Eastern General Hospital in Dyke Road. That hospital is well-covered in this book, as are many others, including the Kitchener Hospital and the Brighton Pavilion, transformed as a hospital to treat Indian troops. The author must have spent many hours on this particular research project and has mad good use of contemporary reports published in local newspapers and elsewhere. This is an easy and compelling read.

Norwich in the Great War

This volume, slightly cheaper than the Brighton in The Great War, also has a 50 per cent lower page count. That's a shame because Norwich was an important hub in this part of England and I would have thought that there would have been plenty more relevant information that could have usefully been published here. The Norfolk Regiment, for instance, is barely touched upon, and yet the city of Norwich provided two companies for the 4th Battalion (Territorial Force), and one battalion for the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion (TF). The Norfolk Yeomanry was also headquartered in the city, and Norwich provided one of the regiment's four squadrons. None of these men have a voice in this book. The author also asserts that the Norfolk Regiment's nickname, "Holy Boys", owes its origins to the city of Norwich having many churches. More colourful - and, I have to say, plausible - origins of the nickname which the author might have added are that it was gained when a) the men sold their bibles during the Peninsula Wars to buy drink or b) Spanish soldiers mistook the figure of Britannia on the men's badges for the Virgin Mary.

Local effort in the Great War

I have several of the books in Pen and Sword's Towns and Cities series but it is really pot luck as to whether the author has gone the extra mile to really get under the skin of the place during the Great War. Douglas D'Enno has done so for Brighton, Stephen Browning could have done more for Norwich. Having said that, both books - and books in the series in general - are full of evocative photos, many published in book format for the first time, and there are plenty of snippets of information which help to paint a picture of the time. Were I living in Brighton or Norwich with only a passing interest in local history I would still consider both books essential additions to my library. I just might feel I'd got better value if I lived in Brighton.

I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information. 

The Monocled Mutineer

First published in 1978, nearly forty years on, this is a timely and welcome re-print of a modern classic. My own copy of this book dates to 1986 and the paperback re-print issued to coincide with the BBC drama of the same name. It tells the story of a revolt; a mutiny even, by British and Commonwealth troops at Etaples in Northern France in 1917, and the charismatic and elusive Private Percy Toplis, the eponymous Monocled Mutineer. This Souvenir Press edition contains a new introduction by John Fairley, one of the co-authors, and new epilogue. That aside, the text is largely unchanged apart from some minor updates (inckluding the curious omission of the paragraph that dealt with acknowledgements to Murray Allison, Jill Barron, Tony Timmington and Richard Cackett).

Since this book was first published, many thousands of records have become available on line, and hundreds of new books have been written that cover aspects of the Great War in enormous depth. Hundreds of thousands of men passed through the hated "Bull Ring" at Etaples and The Monocled Mutineer probably gives the best overall account of the place. For this fact alone, the book is well-worth getting hold of.

If I have any criticism it is that more could have been done to make this work more accessible. An index would have been useful, and perhaps footnotes and a bibliography. The front cover photograph of troops in the trenches is credited to the Royal British Legion but who does the photo depict and which regiment were they serving with? Such detail could have been added without too much fuss and would have made the work more complete.

Nevertheless, this book will find a new audience - and deservedly so - as we approach the 100th anniversary of the mutiny in 2017.

I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.