Joffrey's war

[Chris_Baker]

Stand on a sunny day at the base of the memorial to the 18th (Eastern) Division at Thiepval and look across to the site of the Schwaben Redoubt, just to the right of the Ulster Memorial Tower. See the broad swathe of peaceful farmland, the dense green of Thiepval Wood and the white glint of the tower and the two cemeteries nearby; behind you the clipped lawns of the Thiepval Memorial and the few houses of this rebuilt Somme village. Listen to the skylarks and the sound of school parties on their way from bus to memorial to visitor centre. Then read aloud, while you are there, the chapter from "Joffrey's war" on the period which his unit, the Chatsworth Rifles, spent in this very landscape and mounted an attack against the redoubt in October 1916. It is simply horrifying: a dark and shattered place where even the usually chirpy Sherwood Foresters felt death at every turn, where the remains of men killed in previous months lay all about, and where in their attack many of Joffrey's pals met their end. The contrast between then and now could not be more stark, and I defy anyone to find a more graphic and honest description of the period and not to take a deep breath.

"Joffrey" was the nickname given to Geoffrey Husbands, a Derby lad who spoke with a marginally more polished accent than his battalion comrades who in the main came from the North Nottinghamshire coalfield and the industrial towns of Derbyshire. They had joined the "Chatties" - the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters - as volunteers. This is his memoir, taking us every step from his enlistment in May 1915 to his discharge after the war. He is "every man", a typical young citizen infantry soldier who was willing to do his bit. He is also typical in being in serious action only on two occasions, but spent many months in trench occupation, in patrols and under fire. His accounts of experiencing heavy and sustained bombardment are truly memorable and do much to explain how so many men died, and how many were never found again.

It is perhaps in his descriptions of the ordinary, day to day affairs of a battalion that are of most enduring interest: of endless marching, guard duties, minor matters of administration, inspections, and happy times in billets. As a junior NCO "Joffrey" also explains his duties as an orderly and having responsibility for a section of his beloved 11 Platoon. These matters are of genuine, invaluable historical interest as the memoir is among the very few published works that touch upon these mundane but vital matters and explain how the army actually worked.

But "Joffrey's war" is much more than a simple telling of a soldier's tale. It is a story of relationships, of friends being made and lost, of good and poor officers, of how a single NCO could make a soldier's life tolerable or a torture. Many dozens of individuals are named, and (thanks especially to the editor's notes) shown to be real people: this is no fiction. I found the passages describing action to be surprisingly unemotional, for even as good friends die Husbands expresses his horror and regret in quite measured terms. His writing is nonetheless wholly engaging and the reader almost feels he knows these people and is part of the platoon. Much of the book concerns his time with the "Chatties" until he was wounded at Thiepval, but Joffrey goes on to record his time recovering and being with the Training Reserve at home, then to the sister battalion the Welbeck Rangers and finally the 1/8th Sherwood Foresters in France and Flanders.

This is an extraordinary book and one that anyone with an interest in the soldier's experience on the Western Front should read. It goes a long way to explaining what they did, why they did it and how they saw it through despite everything that was thrown at them. I cannot rate it highly enough.

The book also includes a valuable introduction by Professor Peter Simkins MBE and an excellent "personalia", a series of one paragraph biographies of many of the men who are named in the text.

The publisher's website says that "Joffrey's war" is not available on the High Street: they sell direct at their website www.salientbooks.co.uk

This review first appeared on the Long, Long Trail website a few minutes ago.

[Alan Tucker]

Had the privilege and pleasure of John B at Birmingham WFA today. Spoke on Hiring and Firing. Reckons he has completed 75% of work on generals A-K.

[Bernard_Lewis]

Phew! Sounds a good read. I shall have to get it, then. Creaking bookshelves or not...

Bernard

[Berenice]

One thing I really do not understand is why these publishers/authors do not make these books available as ebooks or kindle downloads on Amazon, at a reasonable price they'd sell way more than a few expensive paperbacks and readers would also profit.

[Chris_Baker]

Maybe small publishers have figured out that there is no viable business in doing so.

[Berenice]

Huh? It costs nothing, literally nothing but the preparation of the text file which is pretty much synonymous with the text file you need for printing. You open a - cost free - publisher account (or author account) on Amazon (and should do it also on Smashwords, because they deliver to the rest of the distribution channels) and upload your book. Finito. All done! It doesn't cost you anything more. At a price of e.g. 4,99 USD you get 70% of the sales price. You don't have to pay anything for having the book on file either.

As to viable business, they may not earn as much as Amanda Hocking who sold her first novels at 0,99 USD and ended up with a couple of million dollars on her bank account, but 70% of 4,99 USD is more than 100% of nothing. Even if they only sold 500 books a month that's still ~1,750 USD and nothing to scorn for the outlay of only a few hours of your time?

[Black Maria]

Phew! Sounds a good read. I shall have to get it, then. Creaking bookshelves or not...

Bernard

I am sure you won't be disapointed.I'm reading it at the moment,it's superb.

[Chris_Baker]

Even if they only sold 500 books a month that's still ~1,750 USD and nothing to scorn for the outlay of only a few hours of your time?

It's purely a question of volume of sales. Even high-selling military histories sell a few hundred copies - not per month, but total lifetime sales. The maths says that even if this was doubled or tripled by the ebook route, we are not talking of a significant income stream.

[Berenice]

It still makes no sense, Chris. I would buy this book right now, if I could download it to my kindle and it had an acceptable price. I do know a bit of what I am talking here, unless these people OWN a press and have such a high volume of other orders that they can easily command paper prices, they will NOT make more on a hard copy for 20 USD as opposed to an e-book of 5 or 7 USD. There's currently no way around this and I doubt it will change soon.

Thus, even if they sell only 100 e-books all put together they will most likely earn more on these than on the printed matter. If those 100 are on top of what they sell e.g. in Europe, because now people on other continents also get interested with an easy and low-cost means and above all immediate means to get that book, then they will earn ON TOP of their printed sales.

This is very basic knowledge among most younger authors these days and all the competitive small publishers. It's a recent development, so I am not accusing anyone here, just stating there is an obvious ommission of a sales route and going there would benefit them as well as the authors. Yesterday Sue recommended "More Than Bombs and Bandages, Australian Army nurses at work in World War I" to me, I went on Amazon, saw it is available as a kindle e-book and immediately downloaded it. I am reading it as we speak. I would have done the same with "Joffrey's War" because the blurb is intriguing me, but a) it is too expensive in printed form for my current raw book intake, b ) payment route is a problem for me at this time as well due security reasons, and c) delivery will be protracted and difficult to where I am at right now. So, who says I will be interested still in a year or two? I am sure I am not the sole person with such basic acquirement policies. E.g. you can count on many Americans who might buy if they could do it through comfortable Amazon.

The point is, with e-books it is NOT a matter of volume. Any one single sold e-book does earn you money. I've myself two minor booklets (totally different field of expertise) on sale, just to say I intimately know what I am talking here, and these are really a limited audience only. They sell each at a steady 15-30 sales a month, they cost me zilch to put up for sale, nothing to maintain, and manage to rake up enough money so I can indulge myself a bit.

So why not put them up on principle? It's the work of 2-3 hours at most and you have more of an audience than otherwise. It also would be a service to others interested in said historical information.

[Chris_Baker]

I'm not disagreeing with you - but tell it to the publishers!

[Berenice]

I might ;-)

[richardIII]

Just finished reading this truely excellent book. I take the point about Kindle etc. but this book is worth whatever it costs and is a must have for anyone wanting to read about the wartime experience of a very 'ordinary' private soldier. There is not much actual fighting but the day to day acounts in and out of the lines are so clear and you almost feel there when he is with his men on outpost duty in front of the lines. He also gives very good descriptions of friends and others, be they officers or NCOs, he comes in contact with.

I cannot recommed this book highly enough.

Richard

[aengland]

Just arrived in the post this morning...... I am going to deny myself and wait for Christmas Day until I open it.... something to look forward to other than slippers, gadgets for the car, socks and cheap aftershave. Given the reviews above then I am in for a good Christmas day! I might open a beer as well.... just the one mind!

Andrew

[richardIII]

Andrew,

I am sure you wont be disapointed,

best wishes,

Richard

[Bernard_Lewis]

Had a letter off Pen and Sword this week that said that in future all their new 'paperbacks' will be released as e-books simultaneously, whilst hardbacks will be issued as ebooks six months after publication.

They add that, over time, they will be uploading backlist titles too, focusing on those genres where the digital market is stronger.

Bernard

[Black Maria]

I have not seen many copies of this excellent book available since it was published , but today whilst searching for another title I noticed

there are very good copies ( or copy) of the paperback edition selling for £4.69 on e-bay and £5.29 on Amazon ( inc p&p) . It looks like the same

company selling them so they may not have more than one copy or they may have bought a few . So if anyone has been looking for a copy or

you read the review on this thread and want one , now may be the time to buy . There are only two hardback copies on Abe which are £75 , so

the paperback looks good value .

[WilliamRev]

As I have mentioned in another thread, I have just [14 July 2021] spoken to the publisher, Salient Books, and they have plenty of copies of Joffrey's War available:  paperback is £15.99, and hardback is £25. Postage for either is £3.50 to UK addresses, and £6.20 abroad (the WFA review which is online gets this a little wrong suggesting that postage to UK is £6.20 rather than £3.50), If you want to buy a copy a link is HERE. I have just ordered a hardback copy myself. (Salient Books refuse to deal with Amazon, so it cannot be bought from them ).

William 

Edited 15 July , 2021 by WilliamRev
factual correction

[WilliamRev]

Here is the review of Joffrey's War: A Sherwood Forester in the Great War that appeared in the Western Front Association's journal, Stand To.

 

This book is probably one of the most valuable personal accounts of life as an infantryman in the Great War to have ever been produced. Had it been published when it was written, in the 1930s, it would by now rank alongside Old Soldiers Never Die and Goodbye to All That. But in certain respects it is superior to both of these: it tells (in a detail these and other memoirs cannot come close to matching) of the experiences of the BEF's ‘citizen army', with as much emphasis given to training in the UK as front line warfare.

Geoffrey Husbands ("Joffrey" of the title of the book - this was his nickname) was a well-educated young man who joined up slightly under age as a Kitchener volunteer in the 16th (Service) Battalion, the Sherwood Foresters (Chatsworth Rifles). He served with this battalion until October 1916 when he was injured. Upon recovering from his injuries he saw further front line service in 1917 and 1918. This memoir, which is based on his diaries, reveals in superb detail the life of a ‘typical' infantryman, from enlistment and training to his service in France from 1915 to 1918 and his various periods of convalescence.

Without resorting to a hackneyed re-telling of ‘my war', Husbands' narrative of his war service is truly outstanding in its richness. He describes the friendships he makes and the relationships with those he fails to ‘rub along with', as well as the good, bad and indifferent leadership he encounters. He does not hold back in distinguishing between the men who ‘tried their best' and those who did not. Although he tells us of his friendships, the tales of those he dislikes are even more interesting: the anecdotes he tells of one Commanding Officer, Lt-Col Millward ("Legs Eleven" to the men) and his first Company Sergeant Major "Lardy" Miller are wonderful. The stories of these and other characters are a joy to read.

On every page there is a beautifully told anecdote, a cameo of the war that is revealing, or a character ‘brought to life'. It is difficult to identify any aspect of the war that he does not talk about. He covers subjects including food, discipline (including an execution), camps and estaminets, morale, songs and verse, recreation, billeting, training, medical facilities, bombardments and trench conditions. These examples (and there are many other subjects he talks about) is why this book is so important: it allows us to ‘get inside the mind' of an ordinary soldier of the BEF.

The editors (who are both very well known to WFA members) have done a great job in adding explanatory footnotes to the narrative which helps the modern reader to understand some of Husbands' more oblique references. It is also refreshing to read an account which - although chronological - is not in the format of a diary.

This book works on a number of levels. Most simply it is a superlative narrative of a soldier's service. It is important for those interested in operational history as it gives a level of observational detail into trench warfare that is hard to match. For those interested in social history, it is fascinating to read about life (both in the UK and in France) in the war period; his interpretation of regional dialects is just one interesting aspect of this ‘social' history. The memoir is also a valuable supplement to two battalions' histories (16th and 1/8th Sherwood Foresters - being two of the units with which Husbands served) and is useful as a comparison between New Army and Territorial battalions. The book can also be a useful companion for battlefield visits: the author's footsteps can be retraced and visits to the graves of those he describes can be made.

Unusually for memoirs, Husbands uses the real names of his comrades, and the editors have done a sterling job identifying most of these nearly 400 individuals, and recording their fates; there is a section (‘Personalia') containing potted biographies of these men.

This memoir is, in this reviewer's opinion, something that should be required reading for GCSE/A-level students as - to coin a phrase used by John Terrain - it gives the "True Texture" of the war.

The foreword, by The Western Front Association's President Professor Peter Simkins, which is enlightening as a stand-alone essay, ends "...[this book] as a detailed memoir of life and service in the British Army in the Great War is certain to rank among the very best one is ever likely to read." This is a sentiment I wholeheartedly endorse, and would add that if you buy only one book this year, this should be it.

 

Review submitted by David Tattersfield, WFA Development Trustee

Edited and introduced by J M Bourne and Bob Bushaway, with a foreword by Professor Peter Simkins

Hardback (ISBN 978-0-9564439-8-4) £25 + £3.50 p&p (UK), [£6.20 abroad]

Paperback (ISBN 978-0-9564439-7-7) £15.99 + £3.50 p&p (UK), [£6.20 abroad]

To buy a copy: Salient Books

[Michelle Young]

Might be worth contacting them and asking them to spell Geoffrey correctly in their publicity blurb on their website.......

[WilliamRev]

4 hours ago, Michelle Young said:

Might be worth contacting them and asking them to spell Geoffrey correctly in their publicity blurb on their website.......

I see what you mean! But the several Geoffreys I have known all hate the name, and are all known by something else - Frank, Nick and Billy. In any case it looks as though it is a fascinating book which has somehow passed underneath the radar of many of us.

 

William 

[s.hibbitt]

My Great Uncle served with the  16th Chatsworth Rifles and this book has been invaluable, so much so the book comes along on my trips out there to sit and read extracts of where I am. 

Watching the sun go down sat in Mill Road Cemetery looking down to the Connaught and Thiepval wood's has become an even more special place than it was to reflect.  

There but for the grace of God go I.