Lieutenants

[susan kitchen]

I'm grasping at straws here but has anyone heard of, or read a new book about Lieutenants and how short their life span was and their role in the War. Stephen, my husband saw something in a newspaper very briefly about such a book with a long title. But circumstances were that he couldn't get all the details. I was hoping someone may know what it was.

Susan

[Paul Reed]

This is it, waiting to get my copy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Six-Weeks-Gallant-British-Officer/dp/0297860062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288216527&sr=8-1

[John_Hartley]

Isnt the six week subaltern one of the war myths?

[susan kitchen]

This is it, waiting to get my copy.

http://www.amazon.co...88216527&sr=8-1

Thanks. I can stop calling my husband all the names under the sun for not making a point of getting the title.

Susan

[Muerrisch]

Isnt the six week subaltern one of the war myths?

I do hope the author has some evidence!

Between us we could surely do some calculations for our "pet" units?

I will have a look at 2RWF data base.

[Muerrisch]

OK, Urban myth it is.

2nd RWF, as heavily committed as any, F&F throughout, first dozen officers alphabetically who were either KiA or DoW who dies as subalterns with the battalion. Omits all subs. promoted or posted out of battalion, who by definition did not die with battalion.

Average length of survival with the battalion: 32 weeks

Shortest: 1 week

Longest: 80 weeks [2 of]

number under 7 weeks: 4 men

Cobblers!

I can easily crunch the rest of the alphabet, only got to D with the above

[truthergw]

When being trained as a signaller in TA. ( A few years ago, admittedly) , we were assured that the life of a signaller in the Great War was 9 minutes. I expect they were just trying to encourage us. A bit of arithmetic made me dubious but I wasn't about to tell a sergeant it was rubbish. Even if I did sit in a lorry cab with him in real life.

[John_Hartley]

Middlebrooke also has some debunking in an appendix to "Kaisers Battle" (although he was debunking the "3 week subaltern" myth - which is, presumbaly, a sub-plot of the genre.

Easily to hand, I only have the details of the 26 officers of 17th Manchester who went overseas with the Battalion in November 1915. 18 survived the war - of the eight killed, four were 1/7/16 casualties.

[Chris_Baker]

I don't get the feeling, but based only on the Amazon blurb, that there's too much debunking going on in the book. Quite the opposite. I shall be interested in any feedback from GWF members.

[dfaulder]

Post moved to the other thread

David

[susan kitchen]

I probably don't know what i'm talking about but wasn't there some change to the role the Officers in 1917 relating to the postion they took. Instead of leading their men didn't they go with the second wave of men. That way surely it would provent some getting killed sooner. Perhaps i'm thinking of something else.

If i'm talking rubbish i wont be offended if you say so.

Susan