The Scorer Posted 26 January , 2017 Share Posted 26 January , 2017 On 12/04/2016 at 09:49, Gareth Davies said: Following The Tanks by Philippe Gorczynski is being republished sometime soon. Is there any more news on when this is to be reprinted, please? I see that Abe Books have one for sale at £495 plus postage and packing. Mind you, it is a presentation copy signed by the author to Judith and David Cohen, so that's not bad .... but even, so it's out of my price range! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 26 January , 2017 Author Share Posted 26 January , 2017 I am seeing him in a couple of weeks, I'll ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 26 January , 2017 Share Posted 26 January , 2017 1 hour ago, Gareth Davies said: I am seeing him in a couple of weeks, I'll ask. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johntaylor Posted 26 January , 2017 Share Posted 26 January , 2017 (edited) Hi, regarding the two books by William Watson, they are both excellent but as you say, only the second one involves tanks. I don't want to put you off buying the reprints, but they are both available online so you can get a flavour of them first. The first was originally published as Adventures of a Despatch Rider and describes his experiences in the first part of the war: https://archive.org/details/advdespatchrider00watsuoft The second, which is one of the classic accounts of tank action in the Great War, was originally called A Company of Tanks: https://archive.org/details/companyoftanks00watsrich I'm afraid I haven't read the Bourlon Wood book - must put that on my own list. All the best, John Edited 26 January , 2017 by johntaylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 26 January , 2017 Share Posted 26 January , 2017 Thanks very much - I'll have to have to have a look at those links. This is Amazon's review of "A Wood Called Bourlon": "After the great victory in the famous tank battle at Cambrai in 1917 the church bells, having been silent for three years, rang out joyously all over Britain. But within ten days triumph had turned to disaster. How did this happen and why? William Moore, a distinguished First World War historian, attempts to explain what went wrong. All the advantages gained were thrown away; thousands of British troops were captured and hundreds of guns were lost. Mr Moore has studied the evidence (much of it previously unpublished) contained in the inevitable enquiry that followed the disaster and he seeks to answer a number of questions. Was Field-Marshal Haig really as dour as he has been portrayed or was he a reckless gambler and was General Byng, whose troops and guns were captured, really a brilliant planner or a haughty aristocrat dedicated to proving that cavalry still had a place on the battlefield? Any why were they both obsessed with capturing Bourlon Ridge on which stood the sinister Bourlon Wood? A Highland Division, a Welsh Brigade, a Yorkshire Division (twice), the Guards, Ulstermen, Lancashiremen, Londoners and Midlanders - all were drawn into the maelstrom in an attempt to consolidate the Cambrai victory. They failed. It was left to the Canadians to carry the Bourlon position in one of the finest feats of arms of the Great War. The British were always reputed to take a perverse interest in their own military blunders. This strange episode is one that most people have been happy to forget. All those involved in high places sought to make excuses: some indulged in a profound exercise of duplicity implying that the soldiers alone were to blame. Mr Moore's book throws new light on a dark episode in British Military History." I don't know who wrote the review, but it does seem as if things did go wrong - although as I know nothing about what happened, I can't say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 26 January , 2017 Share Posted 26 January , 2017 It's not a review as such, it's a straight lift of the publishers blurb from the dustjacket of the hardback edition. The book is still worth a read iirc, but it's been a long time since I looked at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 27 January , 2017 Share Posted 27 January , 2017 11 hours ago, paulgranger said: It's not a review as such, it's a straight lift of the publishers blurb from the dustjacket of the hardback edition. The book is still worth a read iirc, but it's been a long time since I looked at it. Ah, a fair comment, and thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 15 February , 2017 Share Posted 15 February , 2017 On 26/01/2017 at 09:03, Gareth Davies said: I am seeing him in a couple of weeks, I'll ask. Sorry to nag, but have you any news, please? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 15 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 15 February , 2017 I'm hoping to see him tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPT Posted 15 February , 2017 Share Posted 15 February , 2017 Marginally on topic, a few links to old tank books which may be of interest to those who do not wish to waste a potential tank day. Tanks in the Great War (Brevet Colonel JFC Fuller DSO - 1920) - https://archive.org/details/cu31924027835168 A Company of Tanks (Major WHL Watson DSO SCM - 1920) - https://archive.org/details/companyoftanks00watsrich The Tank in Action (Captain DG Browne MC - 1920) - https://archive.org/details/tankinaction00browrich Life in a Tank (Captain Richard Haigh MC - 1918) - https://archive.org/details/lifeintank00haiguoft The "Tanks" (Colonel E.D. Swinton CB DSO - 1918) - https://archive.org/details/tanksbyrequestwi00swin_0 Tank Tales (Major Stephen Foot and Eric Wood) - https://archive.org/details/tanktales00foot Pop them on fullscreen and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 16 February , 2017 Share Posted 16 February , 2017 More online Tank books, click on the coloured text. Eyewitness. Being Personal Reminiscences of Certain Phases of the Great War, Including the Genesis of the Tank by Major-General Sir Ernest D Swinton, R E (Retired) 1933 Hathi Trust Digital Library Tanks, 1914-1918; the Log-Book of a Pioneer by Liuetenant-Colonel Sir Albert G Stern 1919. Missing at least the first illustration. 2nd file Both Archive.org The Fighting Tanks since 1916 by Ralph Ernest Jones, Robert Joseph Icks and George Howard Rarey 1933. Hathi Trust Digital Library. Also available as a pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version Cheers Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 16 February , 2017 Share Posted 16 February , 2017 22 hours ago, Gareth Davies said: I'm hoping to see him tomorrow. Thanks very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 16 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 16 February , 2017 I didn't see him, he had to go to Mauberge. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 16 February , 2017 Share Posted 16 February , 2017 6 hours ago, Gareth Davies said: I didn't see him, he had to go to Mauberge. Sorry. Okay, no problems - do you know roughly when you're likely to be able to see him, please? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 12 March , 2017 Share Posted 12 March , 2017 On 2/16/2017 at 20:50, The Scorer said: Okay, no problems - do you know roughly when you're likely to be able to see him, please? Thanks. Sorry to nag, but have you any news for me about this, please? Thanks. Incidentally, I see that the copy that was for sale on Abe Books isn't there any more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 12 March , 2017 Author Share Posted 12 March , 2017 I will email him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 12 March , 2017 Author Share Posted 12 March , 2017 The answer from Philippe is that they are working on the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 13 March , 2017 Share Posted 13 March , 2017 18 hours ago, Gareth Davies said: The answer from Philippe is that they are working on the update. Thanks very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 27 April , 2017 Share Posted 27 April , 2017 Well, I have managed to read a couple of the tank books in the last few weeks, and I thought that I would share my thoughts on them with you. Firstly, I thought that A Company of Tanks by W H L Watson was an excellent book. It was written as we know by someone who was there in the thick of things, and it shows. There's a lot of detail of what it was like to work with the early tanks and take them into action, and Major Watson doesn't hold back when criticising the top brass. There's some useful information on the end of the war and the occupation forces as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Next, I read A Wood Called Bourlon - The Cover Up after Cambrai by William Moore. Maybe I was easily misled by the subtitle, but I expected more of a case to be made for a cover up. Of the 24 chapters, only a maximum of four or five contain anything that could be described as an examination of what the author thinks was a cover up, and I really don't think that he makes his case very well at all. Having said that, though, it is a book that is full of the detail of the various battles before, during and after Cambrai, and it's worth reading for that. A strange aspect is that there's quite a lot about the Francqueville family, who owned Bourlon Wood for several hundred years before the First World War - and still do so. It's quite interesting, but of limited interest and, dare I say it, relevance. The third tank book was one that I picked up in Lincoln on my recent visit there. This is The Landships of Lincoln by Richard Pullen, and it tells the story of the development of the tank in and around the city. This is the second edition, and contains a lot of information about the birth of the tank, the people behind it and what happened later. I would recommend it, despite some avoidable spelling errors early in the book, but these don't affect very much the worth of the book. Finally, one I haven't read. On the back cover of W H L Watson's book is a reference to The Tank in Action during the First World War by D G Browne. It is described as "Possibly THE book of the tank during the Great War", which is some claim .... does anyone know anything about this, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidearm Posted 27 April , 2017 Share Posted 27 April , 2017 Browne commanded the tank 'Gina' on the first day of Third Ypres, and was later a Tank Corps Reconnaissance Officer. It's full of detail and definitely worth reading and re-reading. You should be able to find free downloadable copies on line. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 28 April , 2017 Share Posted 28 April , 2017 4 hours ago, Sidearm said: Browne commanded the tank 'Gina' on the first day of Third Ypres, and was later a Tank Corps Reconnaissance Officer. It's full of detail and definitely worth reading and re-reading. You should be able to find free downloadable copies on line. Gwyn The link for the online copy is given in post 35, copied here Cheers Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 1 May , 2017 Share Posted 1 May , 2017 On 4/27/2017 at 22:21, Sidearm said: Browne commanded the tank 'Gina' on the first day of Third Ypres, and was later a Tank Corps Reconnaissance Officer. It's full of detail and definitely worth reading and re-reading. You should be able to find free downloadable copies on line. Gwyn On 4/28/2017 at 03:14, Maureene said: The link for the online copy is given in post 35, copied here Cheers Maureen Thank you, both; I see there are quite a few copies available on Amazon, so it's on the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James A Pratt III Posted 6 May , 2017 Share Posted 6 May , 2017 David Fletcher of the Tank museum has written a number of books on tanks no mention of him so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 6 May , 2017 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2017 7 minutes ago, James A Pratt III said: David Fletcher of the Tank museum has written a number of books on tanks no mention of him so far. No, because this thread is about forthcoming books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyH Posted 17 July , 2017 Share Posted 17 July , 2017 'A Company of Tanks' by William Henry Low Watson, is now available as an Audiobook, read by Stephen Low Watson who is the authors grandson. The recording is 6hr 51m long. published as a download from:- audible.co.uk at £19.39. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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