andigger Posted 11 February , 2005 Share Posted 11 February , 2005 On my continuous search for more and more WWI books I have come across some posts about Tim Carew and his works 'The Vanished Army' and 'Wipers'. The majority of the comments were positive about his works, but there was one accusation which seemed to be a pretty heafty charge. "Avoid both books by Tim Carew - I know at least one personal account he used which was lifted, uncredited, from a radio play!" Is this true, and should his books be read with a skeptical eye? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted 11 February , 2005 Share Posted 11 February , 2005 Andy...this author is a former member of the British army in WWII and has written a delightful little thing called "How the Regiments Got Their Nicknames" It is, of course, a regurgitation of old myths, apocryphal stories and even some truths I suppose. (There are some personal vignettes of his military service which are quite humorous.) It is a fun read, but I would not consider it an unrefutable reference. His credentials are impressive: policeman, OR, gurkha officer with MC for Burma, but....I think I might be a little leery of any of his "scholarly" works. I am not trying to bash an author, but I think there are other books published dealing with WWI with more credence. DrB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeppoSapone Posted 11 February , 2005 Share Posted 11 February , 2005 Andy...this author is a former member of the British army in WWII and has written a delightful little thing called "How the Regiments Got Their Nicknames" It is, of course, a regurgitation of old myths, apocryphal stories and even some truths I suppose. (There are some personal vignettes of his military service which are quite humorous.) It is a fun read, but I would not consider it an unrefutable reference. His credentials are impressive: policeman, OR, gurkha officer with MC for Burma, but....I think I might be a little leery of any of his "scholarly" works. I am not trying to bash an author, but I think there are other books published dealing with WWI with more credence. DrB He is/was? a soldier who picked up a pen, not an academic. His autobiography "All This and a Medal Too" is an enjoyable read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeppoSapone Posted 11 February , 2005 Share Posted 11 February , 2005 He is/was? a soldier who picked up a pen, not an academic. It seems that he is still alive, aged 95. Source: http://www.hongkongwardiary.com/pages/514700/index.htm The site is a very interesting one, all about the "Fall of Hong Kong". Anyone with an interest in the individual soldiers of WW2 should have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scarletto Posted 11 February , 2005 Share Posted 11 February , 2005 Well i like tim carews books, he might have 'added' other peoples words, however i know quite a few writers who are just as 'guilty' of doing that, as with any book i keep an open mind, and go off and read someone elses, so if you read Ascolis book, then read Carews, then Kates or Lynns. Im in the process of trying to put together a list of 'Old Contemptible' books that i have or are available, Carews have to be there for they do contain solid fact or experiences, and as has been said he was a soldier not an academic. as an ex-author myself i like his style, easy to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 13 February , 2005 Share Posted 13 February , 2005 As the guy who posted a crit of Tim Carew perhaps I should justify my comments. The books to which I referred - The Vanished Army 1964 and Wipers 1974 - remain very readable. Carew was clearly a good soldier. However neither book in my opinion meets modern tests of scholarship - bibliography limited, footnotes are not provided and in one case I found - quite by accident - that it appeared that he had lifted a verbatim speech from a pre war radio play and included it in his text as reported speech. I just do not rate the books highly as trustworthy history - as stories they are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andigger Posted 13 February , 2005 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2005 Thanks David for adding your critique here. I didn't want to call you out from the orignal quote, but yes yours is the one I pulled from another thread. I think these opinions could lead to a good debate. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pdenby@ninetynorth.com Posted 28 February , 2005 Share Posted 28 February , 2005 Could you tell me whether there is reference in Tim Carew's book to a dog - or any other character - called Togo Willstrop? I was told years ago that one of his books included the name. My father was a Ghurka officer in Princess Alexandra's 1/3 in Burma during WW2 - I believe Tim Carew was a fellow officer. My mother remembers meeting the Carew's once after the war in London and I believe this is when they found out about the name in the book but I have been unsuccessful in finding out which book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andigger Posted 23 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 23 March , 2006 The Vanished Army is the book of the moment for me... after first posting about it over a year ago! This was an interesting debate and thought I'd bring it beack up to see what people have to say this go 'round. To be honest I am just starting and can say little other than I like his style. Its obvious he knows a lot of 'coloquial' history about the regiments as DrB points out (I know this isn't the right word, but can think of nothing better at the moment). Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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