ASA1 Posted 15 March , 2012 Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Allen Whitty had a long and distinguished career with the 3rd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment from 1884 until 1921. His diary covers his time on active service onthe western front from the beginning of the war right up until the post-Armistice occupation. The diary is presented as it was written, interspersed with brief notes about the battalion's movements in the context ofthe overall campaign. Of particular note are the sections on the retreat from Mons (the confusion of the troops is evident) and the anticipation of the German March offensive in 1918. The diary entries themselves are very factual and to the point, ranging from one line to short paragraphs when the battalion are involved in major battles. Whitty's personal opinions rarely shine through although there are exceptions to this, particularly when he writes about men who were 'shot at dawn'. As the battalion Quartermaster Whitty's experiences are different to those of many other diarists, as although frequently in the frontline he was not engaged in the fighting. However the diary provides a valuable insight into the work of the Quartermaster and particularly the trials faced in organising food and supplies for the frontline troops, especially early on in the war. The perilsof shellfire and the disruption it can cause to the supply chain are the subject of many entries, and Whitty himself had a few narrow escapes. During the course of his diary Whitty refers to many individuals in the battalion (usually officer casualties or changes in command); endnotes provide handy additional information about them. The book is modestly illustrated with a few pictures of Whitty as well as the 3rd Worcestershire Battalion inthe frontline. There are also a few small maps although greater detail on these would have been beneficial. The battalion war diary could also have been better utilised to complement the diary entries. Whilst Whitty's diary may lack some of the experience of combat that many readers seek in books of this genre, it provides a useful introduction to one of the lesser documented aspects of the war and for that must be commended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 15 March , 2012 Share Posted 15 March , 2012 Thank you for this review. I note the mention of the retreat from Mons. What was the date for the first entry in the diary? Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASA1 Posted 16 March , 2012 Author Share Posted 16 March , 2012 The diary starts on 13th August when the battalion were mobilised, landing in France two days later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 16 March , 2012 Share Posted 16 March , 2012 Thanks. Looks very good so onto the list it goes Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rclarke Posted 25 November , 2014 Share Posted 25 November , 2014 I have just finished reading this book which I came upon when searching for information on 3 Worcestershires for village purposes. Whitty seems to have been an incredibly modest man, who decided not to bin the diary which he believed would be of little interest to the world in general. How wrong he was. It provides great insight into an aspect of the war which often seems overlooked but which was crucial to the operation. A compassionate and considerate career soldier, whose wife succumbed to influenza epidemic. Highly recommended educational read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 15 December , 2020 Share Posted 15 December , 2020 I have just purchased a copy of this book , i had it on my list of books to buy when suddenly all the copies on Amazon were sold . I ordered a copy from the publishers but they have gone out of business it would seem , so i then ordered a copy from a dealer and that went missing in the post . The only other copy was on ABE at £40 , but it seems that now some copies have found their way on to the net so if anyone is interested this would seem the time to get one ( or any other books from Reveille Press on the net as it doesn't look like they will be printing any more ) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 15 December , 2020 Share Posted 15 December , 2020 A rather off-beat publishing operation-publicity obviously was not their forte (Nor filing deposit copies under the Deposit Libraries Act either) but their website is still up and running- with a "Sale" -about £2 off each title. What is the SP for them going out of business???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 15 December , 2020 Share Posted 15 December , 2020 A rather off-beat publishing operation-publicity obviously was not their forte (Nor filing deposit copies under the Deposit Libraries Act either) but their website is still up and running- with a "Sale" -about £2 off each title. What is the SP for them going out of business???? I ordered some books from them in February and other than a slight delay due to reprinting a title it went okay . Then in June i ordered this title and nothing happened , it just showed 'new order' on logging into the website though the money went through okay from PayPal . So i tried e-mailing Reveille Press and Tommies Guides and got no reply . I took it up with PayPal and eventually received a refund , so i assume they couldn't get in touch with them either . The sale was on when i ordered from them and my order from June is still showing as 'new order' . It would be interesting to know if anyone else has managed to order direct from them recently ( and received their order ! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 15 December , 2020 Share Posted 15 December , 2020 24 minutes ago, Black Maria said: I ordered some books from them in February and other than a slight delay due to reprinting a title it went okay . Then in June i ordered this title and nothing happened , it just showed 'new order' on logging into the website though the money went through okay from PayPal . So i tried e-mailing Reveille Press and Tommies Guides and got no reply . I took it up with PayPal and eventually received a refund , so i assume they couldn't get in touch with them either . The sale was on when i ordered from them and my order from June is still showing as 'new order' . It would be interesting to know if anyone else has managed to order direct from them recently ( and received their order ! ) Thanks. Let's hope they are up and going. The parent company Tommy's Guides is up to date at Companies House-usually markers such as late filing, proposal to strike off would come up if something was in bad shape. Their last confirmation statement was in May this year. Would not like to see a publisher of books that interest you are I go dark. Fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 15 December , 2020 Share Posted 15 December , 2020 Thanks. Let's hope they are up and going. The parent company Tommy's Guides is up to date at Companies House-usually markers such as late filing, proposal to strike off would come up if something was in bad shape. Their last confirmation statement was in May this year. Would not like to see a publisher of books that interest you are I go dark. Fingers crossed. Yes , lets hope they are still up and running . I've recently bought the Reveille Press titles that interest me ( from other sites ) as I've noticed the numbers available on some titles are getting very low . One title i was interested in suddenly went from a few available to just one ( the ones on E-Bay , Abe and Amazon all went very quickly ) so maybe others are finding it difficult getting them direct from the publisher . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 15 December , 2020 Share Posted 15 December , 2020 11 minutes ago, Black Maria said: I've noticed the numbers available on some titles are getting very low Its not a reliable guide- the main sites,Amazon and Abe, like listers to say how many copies they have available. So,many "POD" books say there are 10 or 20 copies available- but as they are printed on demand, there are actually none physically available at time of ordering. What the system cannot cope with is small publishers-the big boys want huge discounts, extended time to pay (which is then late anyway) and "sale or return". Small publishers-and Reveille looks a spot-on example-are quite often hand-to-mouth and just cannot bend to these terms from Waterstones,Amazon,Blackwells, etc. They tend to add a surcharge and then order the book in-so they are unlikely to say that they hold multiple copies. Small presses- go direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 15 December , 2020 Share Posted 15 December , 2020 Its not a reliable guide- the main sites,Amazon and Abe, like listers to say how many copies they have available. So,many "POD" books say there are 10 or 20 copies available- but as they are printed on demand, there are actually none physically available at time of ordering. What the system cannot cope with is small publishers-the big boys want huge discounts, extended time to pay (which is then late anyway) and "sale or return". Small publishers-and Reveille looks a spot-on example-are quite often hand-to-mouth and just cannot bend to these terms from Waterstones,Amazon,Blackwells, etc. They tend to add a surcharge and then order the book in-so they are unlikely to say that they hold multiple copies. Small presses- go direct. That's interesting . I suppose the only way we will know for sure if everything is well with them is if someone orders a book direct and gets it . It just seems strange that i e-mailed several times and left a question on their website and got no reply nor did PayPal , whereas when i queried my order in February i got a reply straight away from Tommies Guides and my books ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwin astill Posted 16 December , 2020 Share Posted 16 December , 2020 Surprised to see this book (which I edited) mentioned. I tried getting it published by 'mainstream' publishers but they were not interested. As it seemed an item of interest I went to Reveille who duly produced it. I was disappointed with their lack of communication with me thereafter, and in the end gave up. As with the 'Great War Diaries of Brigadier Alexander Johnston' (Pen and Sword) I hoped sales would generate cash for the Worcestershire Regiment's museum. One good thing that came out of it was the Whitty's descendants contacted me and sent some photos of Whitty's shooting trophies. Hope those interested can find a copy as this man deserves to be remembered. Edwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 16 December , 2020 Share Posted 16 December , 2020 32 minutes ago, edwin astill said: Hope those interested can find a copy as this man deserves to be remembered. Edwin Getting it published at all was quite an achievement. We are now in a publishing doldrums as the buzz of the centennial years has passed- I note that Postscript Books, the mail order remainder business (The postal side of the old Sandpiper Books) has 193 Great War titles on its current listing. So getting new stuff published will be that more difficult until even N and M have depleted stocks of their "Sale" titles (if ever!). One thing I would always advise when asked, is to make adequate arrangements before publication as to the fate of the balance of the stock- that is, whether the author/editor has first dibs if the publisher wants to junk or remainder a title. For instance,if Whitty stopped selling, it may have been a precaution to arrange securing the stock as a treat for the Worcesters Museum and its visitors for a while yet. Just a thought... Hope it sells out. ( I have a seasonal vision of a large,rubicund Santa in the grotto at Harrods giving out copies of the book and chortling "Ho,ho,ho-here's a little present for you young lady...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 16 December , 2020 Share Posted 16 December , 2020 Well , well just had an e-mail from Reveille Press to tell me my order from June ( which was refunded by PayPal ) has just shipped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 16 December , 2020 Share Posted 16 December , 2020 31 minutes ago, Black Maria said: Well , well just had an e-mail from Reveille Press to tell me my order from June ( which was refunded by PayPal ) has just shipped There is an old legal maxim which says "There can be no Alsatia in England where the King's writ does not run". Good to know that it should now read "There can be no Alsatia in England where the GWF writ does not run......." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 16 December , 2020 Share Posted 16 December , 2020 There is an old legal maxim which says "There can be no Alsatia in England where the King's writ does not run". Good to know that it should now read "There can be no Alsatia in England where the GWF writ does not run......." Yes , why bother with Watchdog for your consumer problems when we've got the Forum , at least we now know someone must be at the controls there . But i still wouldn't want to chance ordering anything if it's a six months wait ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 16 December , 2020 Share Posted 16 December , 2020 I had not realised the problems with Reveille Press, and thanks to the mention of a title in the Salonika sub forum, I placed an order with them this morning, paying via paypal. I will let you know. I would hope to receive my copy early in January, but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 16 December , 2020 Share Posted 16 December , 2020 Thanks it will be interesting to know , fingers crossed for you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 17 December , 2020 Share Posted 17 December , 2020 I received the copy of 'A Quartermaster at the Front 'today from Reveille Press so looks like normal service may have resumed . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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