johnreed Posted 3 July , 2004 Share Posted 3 July , 2004 I am sending for the following book which might be interesting. Farming and Forestry on the Western Front. Farmer historian Murray Maclean uses a fine collection of the Imperial War Museum photographs to shoe the British Arm'y efforts to grow its own food and obtain timber behind the Front from 1915 to 1919. The book is due out at the end of July. Hardback, 144 pages inc 135 photographs Price £17.95. Free P & P at www.fwi.co.uk/bookshop. I have nothing to do with either the book or the web site. Just sharing the information. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andigger Posted 16 February , 2005 Share Posted 16 February , 2005 This sounds like an area that isn't covered much. How was the book John? What did you learn about the effort. It would seem to make sense that growing what you can closer to the Front would reduce the need of certain food stuffs. However was it pratical? Could enough be grown to make a difference, or did the required equipment negate the benefit of save shipping space? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizM Posted 17 February , 2005 Share Posted 17 February , 2005 If you are visiting Ypres in the near future we have copies of this book in the bookshop had them for a little while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andigger Posted 22 February , 2005 Share Posted 22 February , 2005 I can report this book is in the IWM bookstore now.... saw it myself and we talked about this thread. None of us having a clue about the subject, it was a quick conversation. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 12 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 12 March , 2005 I have now read the book, its full of facinating facts and some wonderful photographs. I have approached the publishers to see if I can reproduce a few on the Forum. Once again an excellent book full of useful facts. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andigger Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 John, Can you tell us a little bit about what the book covers... aside from Farming and Forestry on the western front? I am not sure even what to expect. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 John, Great subject. I have maps showing forests cleared during the 1918 advance and this shows a major operation. Very little known about this subject, so the book is certainly a bonus. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 12 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 12 March , 2005 The book mainly deals with what is required by an Army to sustain a viable campaign on the Western Front, the requirement are quite staggering, I will only touch on a few figures; RE Stores 40,700 tons, Supplies 69,000 tons, Ammunition 56,000 to 61,000 tons, Total Weekly requirements between 193,000 to 198,000 tons. The largest requirement was for forage 36,000 tons. The ever increasing logistical problems cause by the sinking of merchant ships by submarines in the spring of 1916 212 ships were sunki.e. a lot of the food and supplies came from the Dominions and USA direct to the ports in France. In 1917 the Directorate of Agricultural Production was set up and The War Office appointed Brig. Gen. The Earl of Rador to be the Director. It was to be at Roye in France were the farming operations were to commence, it was a site of 45,000 acres, with each farm a block of 5,000 acres, being farmed by a an Agricultural Company comprising of an Officer and 169 OR's, there was an initial agreement to form six Agricultural Companies with the remaining 15,000 acres being worked by one British Labour Company which would be an equviliant of three Agricultural Company. In 1918 94% of the timber needs came from the forests in France. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbarchetta Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 I've got an original photo album of an officer who was obviously part of this side of the war - photos show huge wood fires where they were making charcoal. Did think it looked a pretty cushy number (there are also plenty of photos of him riding his horse etc!), but ultimately someone had to provide this side of things or the front line troops would have been pretty damn cold ! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 14 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 14 March , 2005 I have an Email for the publishers giving me permission to use the material for non-comercial purposes, I am just waiting for permission from the author. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 14 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 14 March , 2005 I have now permission from the author to put on the The Great War Forum any extract from his book so long as I attribute the source and where the book can be obtained. Regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan Posted 2 December , 2005 Share Posted 2 December , 2005 (edited) I have now permission from the author to put on the The Great War Forum any extract from his book so long as I attribute the source and where the book can be obtained. Regards John John Anything on the 224th Canadian Forestry Battalion? Or other Canadian forestry units? Thanks Pascal Edited 2 December , 2005 by Plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Parker Posted 6 December , 2005 Share Posted 6 December , 2005 I purchased a copy of this book at the IWM late last year or early this year. I found it an interesting book because it covers activities of soldiers behind the lines and the quality of photographs was excellent. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the British Army of that period. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beersheba Posted 20 September , 2006 Share Posted 20 September , 2006 I had a quick look at this book over the weekend at the NAM horse event...what a great book.i've ordered 2, one for myself,and one for my aussie saddler...not one picture have i seen before in this book. which is hard to say of most books these days. and the topic is compleately fasinating..shows what the guys got up to, when not on duty,and also the hard work of the other less "glamous" unit like the asc,and pioneer Btns. Well worth the £17.95 for anyone interested in the use of horses and mules during the great war,and also the time the troops spent out of the line. the Author is a nice chap and called me back at length to discuss his work with me. Go get the book guys. Its available at www.oldpond.com Cheers Andy @ history horse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now