[Great War] Autobiographies Anonymous

[clive_hughes]

I'll add ones which I hope haven't been mentioned before, from my bookshelves (excluding a few interesting but Welsh-language ones!):

if you like Sasson's Infantry Officer you should get the complete trilogy (sometimes sold as such) - Memoirs of a Foxhunting Man which does end in 1914 when he was in the yeomanry; and Sherston's Progress which covers the latter part of his WW1 experiences.

Donald L.Richter (Ed.), Lionel Sotheby's Great War (1997) Edited letters and diaries (with background commentary) as a subaltern late 1914-Sept 1915, Argylls attached 1st & 2nd Black Watch. Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, killed at Loos. An Etonian, and still a boy with a head full of Public-school values and outlook. Someone who genuinely wanted to write "Floreat Etona!" but who wasn't a caricature.

C.P.Clayton, The Hungry One (1978), Officer, Welsh Regiment March 1915-1919 with the First Division. Seems to be an account based on his diaries which remained unpublished till (after his death) 1970s.

Morgan Watcyn-Williams, From Khaki To Cloth (1948) A bit different but good. Posthumously-published autobiography of a South Walian student for the Nonconformist ministry who decided to join up in a Public Schools outfit. Later commissioned, served with 10th RWF 1916-17 before being invalided with trench fever. Awarded MC. Went on into post-War as a Presbyterian Minister having to deal with pastoral issues such as soldiers' pensions claims and unbelief caused by the war.

William Fisher, Requiem For Will (1997) A small paperback, starts with his description of having to clear the Senghenydd coal mine of bodies after the 1913 disaster. Diaries; disguised his tuberculosis to serve with a Siege Company of the Royal Anglesey RE in France 1915-18, became NCO. Outlook of a politicized miner dissatisfied with the miitary/establishment "system" and its shortcomings, but prepared to work -and rise - within it. Died of his ailment 1920s.

Lord Silsoe, Sixty Years A Welsh Territorial (1976) Bedfordshire lawyer, joined as subaltern 6th RWF 1914 and served with it in Gallipoli and Palestine, including 53rd Division Staff. Stayed on (as title implies) in the new TA and served with it in the UK WW2 and beyond.

William Carr, A Time To Leave The Ploughshares (1985). Account by an officer, RFA France 1917-18.

E.P.F.Lynch, Somme Mud - reworked diaries/recollections as an Australian infantryman in France 1916-18. Content is vivid but this one seems to come in for criticism in some Forum comments, I'm not sure exactly why.

J.Ivor Hanson, Plough & Scatter (2009). Edited diary account of a schoolboy from Port Talbot showing a genuinely interesting progression in attitude from eager youngster 1914 to RFA recruit 1916, training UK then signaller in France 1917-19, by which time he is disillusioned.

M.L.Walkinton, Twice in a Lifetime (1980). Biographical account of a soldier 16th London Regiment 1914, commissioned to the Lincolns and then MGC. Served again as a colonel with the Royal Sussex Regt. BEF 1940.

John Jackson, Private 12768 (2004). Cameron Highlanders 1915-18.

Clive

[WilliamRev]

Thanks for these Clive: there are one or two there which I haven't come across before, so I (and many of my fellow addicts no doubt) are most grateful!

William

[hooge1]

Hi William,

I understand what you going through I am also addicted to Great War Memoirs, in fact I bought two signed memoirs this week, I can't help it either. A British memoir that although was wrote in the 1960s must be read is "Of Those We Loved" by Dick Reed the recollection of events of this man is astounding. The best ever memoir I have read is "To The Last Ridge" by Jimmy Downing again I can't recommend this one enough, although its an Australian memoir, its written around 1919 and is a masterpiece., and if you only read one book ever on the Great War, for me it would have to be this one.

Regards

Nick

[WilliamRev]

Hi Nick

Many thanks for those recommendations. Until a year ago I was thoroughly annoyed by the way that the Australians appeared to me to have hi-jacked the Battle of Polygon Wood (to the exclusion of the British divisions which fought every bit as hard 26th-28th Sept '17 and don't seem to get a look in when it comes to written histories such as Nigel Cave's Battlefield Europe book). but.....

...then I discovered that my Scottish grandfather (see avatar) had four Australian cousins, all brothers and privates in the Australian divisions, two of whom were killed (one at Arras, one at, yes, Polygon Wood 26th Sept '17). So I am now fascinated to learn more about the Australian infantry in WW1, and so have just this moment ordered a (very cheap - £3.50 including postage) copy of Jimmy Downing's book on Amazon.

William

[Marilyne]

Just got a copy of "Sapper Martin" ... second hand on amazon for really nothing... there goes my promise of nit buying any more books until I've finished those I have...

Heeeeeeeeeeelp!!!!!

MM.

[hooge1]

Hi Nick

Many thanks for those recommendations. Until a year ago I was thoroughly annoyed by the way that the Australians appeared to me to have hi-jacked the Battle of Polygon Wood (to the exclusion of the British divisions which fought every bit as hard 26th-28th Sept '17 and don't seem to get a look in when it comes to written histories such as Nigel Cave's Battlefield Europe book). but.....

...then I discovered that my Scottish grandfather (see avatar) had four Australian cousins, all brothers and privates in the Australian divisions, two of whom were killed (one at Arras, one at, yes, Polygon Wood 26th Sept '17). So I am now fascinated to learn more about the Australian infantry in WW1, and so have just this moment ordered a (very cheap - £3.50 including postage) copy of Jimmy Downing's book on Amazon.

William

Hi William,

You may find the odd snipe at imperial troops in Downing's book but that's just unit rivalry. The Australians and Canadians are often referred to as being the troops who could be relied on to crack a tough nut. Which I feel often belittles the huge casualties that the British took, so I know where your coming from.

As a man, the British were as good as any; the difference was the class system which didn't exist within in the Australians or Canadians armies. There was no class distinction between officers and men in those armies, where possible those men were given the information required to take their objectives. The vast majority of the time the man in the British ranks hadn't got a clue what was going on. People may argue this point however it was true, upstairs and downstairs just transferred to the front lines. And the major impact that had, was once an officer was killed everything ground to a halt cos nobody knew what to do next, and this is where I believe the Canadians and Australians had a unique advantage, and why they could be relied on to crack a hard nut.

Interestingly enough until near the end of the war the majority of Canadian ranks were British born, I don't know the percentage for Australian troops but no doubt that was quite high as well. So your success and fighting prowess on the battlefield had nothing to do with your nationality, I would say it had more to do knowing what's going on, before then being thrown in to the chaos of battle.

In any case, regardless of what modern historians might like to portray Australians and Canadians who were there; would be well aware of the sacrifice of British troops in preparing the way for taking the likes of Passchendaele and other likewise objectives.

A little snippet from "The Journal of Private Fraser", a jock fighting with the Canadians, gives an idea of respect men had for the bravery of other troops regardless of cap badge.

Sgt West came rushing down exclaiming the that the enemy had occupied the crater. One of the two imperial machine-gun sergeants, belonging to the Shropshires, not much more than 18 years of age, overhearing these remarks, at once turned to his companion and ejaculated (dodgy use of English Language) "Cor blimey, the Canadians have lost our trenches, lets go up and shift the Bosches." Promptly shouldering their half clogged gun and all their ammunition, an odd drum or two, straight away made for the front. It was only by the expostulations of our men, who calmed them by saying the ground was not lost, that they retraced their steps. These earnest, gallant fellows, put sixteen days without relief one was said to have received the DCM but was killed afterwards.

I think I've gone off on a tangent here?? at least I recommended another memoir!

Nick

[Marilyne]

Just a question... our Addict Nb 1 lists Bernard Martin's "Poor Bloody Infantry" in his initial list. I found the most current copy of 1987, but does anyone know if this is the original publishing date (I guess not...) and if I'm right, WHEN it was first published??

MM.

[hooge1]

1987 was when it was first published there are some first editions here.

Regards

Nick

[Marilyne]

Thank you, Nick !!

MM.

[WilliamRev]

I have just finished J.F. Lucy's memoir "There's a Devil in the Drum": I expect that this memoir is known to most members of the forum. It is recommended to anyone who is interested in British infantry in the very earliest stages of the war, the irish regiments, and in particular the relationship between protestant Ulstermen and their catholic southern comrades (Lucy was from Cork but in the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles, an Ulster-based regiment). For almost all of the book he was an N.C.O., which makes it a refreshing change from all those memoirs by junior officers. Also refreshing are his positive thoughts about the New Army, keen and eager to learn, compared with the Regular Army.

The book, well written by a born-raconteur, rattles along at breakneck speed and is a very easy read.

William

[WilliamRev]

On a different thread, Dust Jacket Collector has posted a link to his splendid website: here, which has quite a number of memoirs that hadn't come to my notice before. Thanks, DJC.

William

Edited to correct faulty link

[WilliamRev]

I have just finished reading "A Brass Hat in No Man's Land" by Brigadier General Frank Cozier. This is a famous memoir, but for those who haven't come across it, Crozier was an Ulsterman who, as a Major then a Lieut. Col., trained up a battalion of the Irish Rifles, and led them at Thiepval on the first two days of the battle of the Somme. He went on to command a brigade; always a "hands-on" commander he is constantly ready to die, and thinks that all Brigadiers should go out into No Man's Land at night to see the ground over which he requires his men to attack.

Written in the present tense, with digressions into the past, this is a quirky memoir which is well worth reading for the insights it gives into Irish domestic politics and the Great War, and for the mentality of a senior officer who believes that he is involved in the final war in history. First published in 1930, Crozier includes an epilogue set 200 hundred years after the war has ended, in which incredulous children, now in an age when all international quarrels are settled in court, inquire about the very nature of this "war" that used to happen long ago.

I bought my copy (a 1968 Library Association reprint, hardback) second hand on Amazon, using the Forum fund-raising link of course , for £10 plus postage, so there are cheapish copies around, although one or two sellers seem to want a hundred pounds or more. Eek!

William

[hazelclark]

On a different thread, Dust Jacket Collector has posted a link to his splendid website: here, which has quite a number of memoirs that hadn't come to my notice before. Thanks, DJC.

William

Edited to correct faulty link

thanks for this!

Hazel

[Dust Jacket Collector]

It is truly staggering the number of memoirs that were published. Even after some 40 years of collecting them I come across new titles on an almost weekly basis. None of the standard bibliographies do more than scratch the surface. Many were published locally in small editions and fell foul of the paper shortages around the time of the second war. Plus the general indifference to the Great War that persisted well into the 1960s. Keep checking my site & I'll try to have something new for you every week!!

[kenf48]

Interesting observation by A.A. Gill writing in the Sunday Times and his largely complimentary review of the Wipers Times that,

'Our view of the Great War is based on a handful of poems and 1960s revisionist historians. There are hundreds of First World War memoirs, but few are in print, because they tend to be relentlessly upbeat. light-hearted and self-deprecating which doesn't fit with the current orthodoxy. We dismiss their jocularity as a sort of shell shock, an inability to confront the subconscious truth.

Thats a patronising dismissal though of those that were actually there."

That struck a chord, allowing for the fact as Fussell notes that all memoirs are fiction the 'war books' of the immediate post war era, many of them 'lost', have so much more to offer than 'rediscovered' and edited memoirs or contemporary fiction published in the twenty first century.

Ken

[charlesmessenger]

I have just finished reading "A Brass Hat in No Man's Land" by Brigadier General Frank Cozier. This is a famous memoir, but for those who haven't come across it, Crozier was an Ulsterman who, as a Major then a Lieut. Col., trained up a battalion of the Irish Rifles, and led them at Thiepval on the first two days of the battle of the Somme. He went on to command a brigade; always a "hands-on" commander he is constantly ready to die, and thinks that all Brigadiers should go out into No Man's Land at night to see the ground over which he requires his men to attack.

Written in the present tense, with digressions into the past, this is a quirky memoir which is well worth reading for the insights it gives into Irish domestic politics and the Great War, and for the mentality of a senior officer who believes that he is involved in the final war in history. First published in 1930, Crozier includes an epilogue set 200 hundred years after the war has ended, in which incredulous children, now in an age when all international quarrels are settled in court, inquire about the very nature of this "war" that used to happen long ago.

I bought my copy (a 1968 Library Association reprint, hardback) second hand on Amazon, using the Forum fund-raising link of course , for £10 plus postage, so there are cheapish copies around, although one or two sellers seem to want a hundred pounds or more. Eek!

William

William

You may be interested to know that I have written a biography of Crozier which is to be published by Pen & Sword in November under the title Broken Sword. It identifies many of the characters in Brasshat, as well as pointing out where he was economical with the truth.

Charles M

[stiletto_33853]

From Verse to Worse - Lionel Lord Tennyson

[Dust Jacket Collector]

WilliamYou may be interested to know that I have written a biography of Crozier which is to be published by Pen & Sword in November under the title Broken Sword. It identifies many of the characters in Brasshat, as well as pointing out where he was economical with the truth.Charles M

Please let me know when your book comes out. Crozier is certainly a fascinating character. Who else would publish a book titled 'The Men I Killed" . Can't wait to read it. I hope it does well.

[Jim Hastings]

From Verse to Worse - Lionel Lord Tennyson

I was just reading about him last night Andy, in Malcolm Brown's '1914' . High price on Amazon, hopefully one to be reprinted soon

All the best, Jim

[kenneth505]

Interesting observation by A.A. Gill writing in the Sunday Times and his largely complimentary review of the Wipers Times that,

'Our view of the Great War is based on a handful of poems and 1960s revisionist historians. There are hundreds of First World War memoirs, but few are in print, because they tend to be relentlessly upbeat. light-hearted and self-deprecating which doesn't fit with the current orthodoxy. We dismiss their jocularity as a sort of shell shock, an inability to confront the subconscious truth.

Thats a patronising dismissal though of those that were actually there."

That struck a chord, allowing for the fact as Fussell notes that all memoirs are fiction the 'war books' of the immediate post war era, many of them 'lost', have so much more to offer than 'rediscovered' and edited memoirs or contemporary fiction published in the twenty first century.

Ken

Good quote Ken, and this is why I continue to hope that efforts to digitize much of the books that are destined to oblivion continue. Not discounting the efforts of Dust Jacket Collector et al, there are just too many and more access would be great.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

I have to disagree with A. A. Gill's suggestion that most memoirs are out of print because they were relentlessly upbeat. In my readings I find that the majority are neither excessively jolly nor unduly despairing but merely accounts of soldiering on in the best way they could. Yes there were soldiers like Carrington, Pollard, Crozier etc. who rather enjoyed the whole experience and a similar number who found it utterly ghastly, but most seemed to have faced it all with a level of stoicism we'd find hard to summon up today.

There does seem to be rather a tendency to lump together all the writers who described the horrors of the War as being disillusioned but I think this gives a false perspective to many of these accounts. Even when one reads say Wyn Griffiths account of the scene in Mametz Wood, surely one of the most terrible descriptions in print, one comes away with a view of a brave man who has looked into Hell but is still determined to carry on.

[Marilyne]

Had to think about us all here on friday... a colleague of mine gave us an experience brief about her work... at the Military Center for Addiction... think she would take our case????

MM.

[hooge1]

I have to disagree with A. A. Gill's suggestion that most memoirs are out of print because they were relentlessly upbeat. In my readings I find that the majority are neither excessively jolly nor unduly despairing but merely accounts of soldiering on in the best way they could. Yes there were soldiers like Carrington, Pollard, Crozier etc. who rather enjoyed the whole experience and a similar number who found it utterly ghastly, but most seemed to have faced it all with a level of stoicism we'd find hard to summon up today.

There does seem to be rather a tendency to lump together all the writers who described the horrors of the War as being disillusioned but I think this gives a false perspective to many of these accounts. Even when one reads say Wyn Griffiths account of the scene in Mametz Wood, surely one of the most terrible descriptions in print, one comes away with a view of a brave man who has looked into Hell but is still determined to carry on.

I totally agree with with what your saying - my view of the Great War is based upon the many memoirs/ diaries I have read and I also don't agree with the Gill's quote. Your war service experience differed on many levels where you served, what your job was, when you served, rank etc. But to me were losing the point and trying to re write history with rose tinted spectacles, this only belittles the efforts of men who were pushed beyond normal endurance but made the best of it, cos they had to.

Although privileged to have had a servant whilst in the trenches and there by having a different war to the men, a quote from Anthony Eden in his memoir "Another World" is worthy of a mention:

"It may be that as the years were also for some of us the years when we were young, we have been apt to confuse the two and even feel a sigh of regret when thinking of that time. The truth is that grief, and the sadness of parting, and the sorrows that seem eternal are mitigated by time, but they leave their memories and their scars and we would not have had it otherwise"

[WilliamRev]

I have just read "With a machine gun to Cambrai" after it was recommended by several people on this thread. Written in a straightforward manner many years later, (he appears to have just read Robert Graves' "Goodbye to all that" which he mentions a few times), Coppard joined the army at the outbreak of war, aged sixteen and a half, was a private in the West Surrey Regiment, then a private and later an NCO in the Machine Gun Corps in the 12th Division.

What I found fascinating was his training - he keeps getting bits of kit stolen and is always short of money - when he has some wages he frequently gets lured into gambling it away, and he is always hungry. Once on the Western Front his descriptions of the Machine Gun Corps in action make this required reading for anyone who is researching this unit, especially the use of barrage-fire when his machine-gun was required to fir 15,000 rounds in a few hours.

I found his occasional little rants about generals or the use of the tank rather tiresome - they read as though these are opinions he has picked up in later years in the pub, but otherwise this is a moving little book that rings true in every way.

It is a small book - just 135 pages, and when it arrived from Amazon (second-hand) I did wonder if it was worth the £11.51 that I had paid for it. Well it was, although I now see that copies are at least £20.

William

[Black Maria]

It is a small book - just 135 pages, and when it arrived from Amazon (second-hand) I did wonder if it was worth the £11.51 that I had paid for it. Well it was, although I now see that copies are at least £20.

William

I would agree, it is worth every penny, it is one of the first memoirs I read and one of the best.