Book title - B.E.F. 1914

[MikeyH]

Saw a book on a stall the other day, was 'The Lost Army' or 'The Missing Army' or something similar, published by Batsford in 1964 I am fairly sure.

It covered the B.E.F campaign of 1914, the vendor said it was 'scarce'.  I bought 'Farewell

Leicester Square' instead.  Anyone know the correct title?  Have Googled without success.

 

Mike.

[paulgranger]

'The Vanished Army' by Tim Carew, I would suggest. A good read, but very much of it's time. See also 'Wipers' by the same author.

[GWF1967]

1 hour ago, MikeyH said:

Saw a book on a stall the other day, was 'The Lost Army' or 'The Missing Army' or something similar, published by Batsford in 1964 I am fairly sure.

It covered the B.E.F campaign of 1914, the vendor said it was 'scarce'.  I bought 'Farewell

Leicester Square' instead.  Anyone know the correct title?  Have Googled without success.

 

Mike.

"The unreturning Army" by Huntly Gordon is another possibility. 

Edited 19 February , 2018 by GWF1967

[MikeyH]

23 hours ago, paulgranger said:

'The Vanished Army' by Tim Carew, I would suggest. A good read, but very much of it's time. See also 'Wipers' by the same author.

 

Paul,

Yes, that's the one, very many thanks.

Mike.

Edited 20 February , 2018 by MikeyH

[paulgranger]

You're welcome

[David Filsell]

Forget about the book - not simply out of date but contains quotations from a soldier, presented as fact, which I believe were actually borrowed from a radio play. No notes, refs or sources. A good read. Not in my opinion.There a far better books on the topic, not least Farewell Leicester Square for starters.

[Black Maria]

One of the first WW1 books that I read as a teenager . It may now be outdated but I enjoyed reading it , I think I  would describe it as 'atmospheric'

It's also got a fab jacket !

 

[MikeyH]

On 19/02/2018 at 20:24, David Filsell said:

Forget about the book - not simply out of date but contains quotations from a soldier, presented as fact, which I believe were actually borrowed from a radio play. No notes, refs or sources. A good read. Not in my opinion.There a far better books on the topic, not least Farewell Leicester Square for starters.

 

David,

 

It was the dust jacket that drew me to 'The Vanished Army', but went for 'Farewell Leicester Square' as had seen favourable references to it on the GWF.

Both modestly priced first editions at £8 and £5 respectively. 

 

Mike.

Edited 21 February , 2018 by MikeyH

[David Filsell]

BM,

Not simply out dated, but, even in respect of its publication date, lazy hack workl

[Black Maria]

54 minutes ago, David Filsell said:

BM,

Not simply out dated, but, even in respect of its publication date, lazy hack workl

Yes , no doubt you are right but i still remember nostalgically that battered and tea stained old library copy I read years ago and how it captured

my imagination and made me want to find out more about the early days of the B.E.F  .

Edited 22 February , 2018 by Black Maria

[Black Maria]

Why I like 'The Vanished Army' is that it tells the story of the first three months of the war from the viewpoint of the soldier , it won't

tell you where X Coy was located at X pm on X day . But it will give you a flavour of what it was like for the ordinary tommy during

those momentous weeks from August till November . In the acknowledgement section of the book the author lists 43 'Old Contemptibles'

who helped him with the book ( 13 officers 30 other ranks ). He himself was an ex soldier who won the M.C in Burma during WW2 and

his obvious love and respect of the British Army and it's traditions shines through in his writing . The book has both humour and pathos

and to me it is a fine tribute to the Old Contemptibles , one of the photos in the book has always stood out for me . It is the last one in the

book and it shows the 1st Queen's ( Royal West Surrey) Regiment a thousand strong on the parade ground before they left for France in

August 1914 , the photo underneath shows the same battalion on parade three months later , now only about thirty men are left.

 

To the OP who was faced with the choice of 'The Vanished Army ' or ' Farewell Leicester Square' I would say .. buy both !

 

 

 

[593jones]

I've always had a great affection for 'The Vanished Army'.  I first read it well over forty years ago and must say it made a great impression on my.  I know now that there are much better books on the subject, but I still think it is a most enjoyable read; as Black Maria said, Tim Carew's affection for the army and his respect for the Old Contemptibles is clear.  I'm happy to keep my copy and to keep dipping into it.

[David Filsell]

Good points, no disagreement.  It was when I tried to find references to support his assertions some 20 years ago - from memory the book is unreferenced - that I realised actualite often seemed rather different to the 'facts' he presented.

Edited 23 February , 2018 by David Filsell

[Steven Broomfield]

18 hours ago, 593jones said:

I've always had a great affection for 'The Vanished Army'.  I first read it well over forty years ago and must say it made a great impression on my. 

 

Do tell: on your what?

 

I still have a battered old p/b copy somewhere in my (ahem), 'Extensive Library' and, like others, I remember it fondly as one of those books which set me on the slippery slope of what Mrs Broomfield laughingly refers to as my obsession with the GW. Remember that in those far-off days, most books about the GW were written by journalists or ex-soldiers ... there was very little academic study, so people like Tim Carew were lonely voices in an uncaring world.

[593jones]

6 hours ago, Steven Broomfield said:

 

Do tell: on your what?

 

I still have a battered old p/b copy somewhere in my (ahem), 'Extensive Library' and, like others, I remember it fondly as one of those books which set me on the slippery slope of what Mrs Broomfield laughingly refers to as my obsession with the GW. Remember that in those far-off days, most books about the GW were written by journalists or ex-soldiers ... there was very little academic study, so people like Tim Carew were lonely voices in an uncaring world.

 

I could reply, 'on my  unformed young mind',  however it  would be more accurate to confess to my inability to check my posts and note the difference between 'me' and 'my'.  Mea culpa!

 

I had the paperback copy too, until it wore out, but I was able to replace it with a first edition hardback acquired from Ebay which I still have, and have every intention of keeping.

 

As David Filsell says, the book is unreferenced regarding any quotes used, I have often wondered if the letter from a Brandenberg Grenadier he quotes, regarding the killing of civilians was real or not.  I have always had my doubts about that.

[Sapper D.]

On ‎21‎-‎2‎-‎2018 at 11:19, MikeyH said:

 

David,

 

It was the dust jacket that drew me to 'The Vanished Army', but went for 'Farewell Leicester Square' as had seen favourable references to it on the GWF.

Both modestly priced first editions at £8 and £5 respectively. 

 

Mike.

 

I bought myself a FLS yesterday for under GBP 3,= @ Amazon