Guest Desmond6 Posted 1 March , 2004 Share Posted 1 March , 2004 I've read the book above. Found it very good - handy size for computer table research and date-fixing etc. Seems a good overall starting point for anyone seeking the broad view of the Irish regts in GW. For my purposes (war memorial research) it seems an excellent 'companion volume' - what do others with irish regt. interests think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinbelfast Posted 1 March , 2004 Share Posted 1 March , 2004 Des....where did you get the book...I've never heard of it! mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Desmond6 Posted 3 March , 2004 Share Posted 3 March , 2004 Hit the library! It's by a guy called Tom Johnstone. Covers 36th 10th and 16th. Good battlefield detail IMHO - excellent combined operations effort on these units. Plus good early war stuff on regulars. Particularly good for me on operations in Salonika etc. I did not detect any political correctness - just a good solid account which is very easily read. You should find this book in the 'local studies section' - I have seen it in Easons. There's also a very good book - at a huge price of £22 - in Easons which covers the thorny subject of discipline in irish units in GW. Have asked local studies to order it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 3 March , 2004 Share Posted 3 March , 2004 it's available through Naval & Military press also. It's a good book, I found it a little dry at first but then really enjoyed it. Take care, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Desmond6 Posted 3 March , 2004 Share Posted 3 March , 2004 I also liked Ireland's Forgotten Soldiers which dealt with the 16th Div. only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 3 March , 2004 Share Posted 3 March , 2004 Hi Desmond, I tried searching for this title and couldn't find anything. Is that the full title? Could you please post the author and publisher. Thank you, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koyli Posted 3 March , 2004 Share Posted 3 March , 2004 Hi Neil, The title : Irelands' unknown soldiers ( the 16th irish division in the great war) Author : Terence Denman Publisher : the irish academic press. isbn 0-7165-2495-3 There's another book on Irish soldiers : The title :Irish voices from the great war author : Myles Dungan. Publisher The Irish academic press isbn 0-7165-2573-9 KOYLI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 3 March , 2004 Share Posted 3 March , 2004 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 3 March , 2004 Share Posted 3 March , 2004 I did not detect any political correctness Desmond, Johnstone was also one of the co-authors of ‘The Cross on the Sword’ which is a history of Roman Catholic chaplains in the British armed forces. Whatever one’s views re ‘PC’, I concur with your opening remarks [01 Mar 04] “an excellent companion volume.” Regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Desmond6 Posted 4 March , 2004 Share Posted 4 March , 2004 Michael - Johnstone just tells it like it is/was. By political correctness I mean the backstage nationalist/unionist politics are kept to a minimum and the details of the various units' training, deployment and actions - the main purpose of the book - are very well covered. Given the possibilities for argument on the political correctness of unionist/nationalist viewpoints then and now it was probably the wrong term to use! As a side note, my research into the recruitment pattrns in my own home town - which is famous for its pro-union sentiment and outlook - have thrown up some very surprising results. For example in one street you will find catholics and protestants living side by side in equally dreadful post Victorian conditions. One assumes that they had to live harmoniously - most of the time at least - but when it came to joining up ... the Devlins and McNallys went to the Connaught Rangers etc. while the McDowells and Thompsons etc went to the Ulster Div. This demonstrates that the polarisation which now exists in terms of 'Prod Area'/ 'Catholic Area' did not exist - in the mill town of Ballymena at least - in the pre-Great War period. It suggests that the sense of adventure and peer pressure played as great a role in spurring recruitment as did the political overtures of Carson and Redmond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 4 March , 2004 Share Posted 4 March , 2004 Desmond, I have to agree that “tells it as it was” is probably the better term in this particular case. Speaking personally, one of my biggest problems in looking at this period is in trying to do so through my grandfather’s eyes, rather than with my own, which, in more recent years, have picked up all sorts of influences of which he and his contemporaries could have known nothing. Best regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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