n cherry Posted 15 June , 2006 Share Posted 15 June , 2006 Recently as a leap of faith bought a copy of this newly published book on the 56th London Division at Gommecourt July 1916.....it cost £15 and on an initial perusal looks great. Excellent value for the money and to people who know me I don't say this lightly but a book I would have been happy to put my name to. Not published by a 'main stream publisher' and therefore in an limited number I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borden Battery Posted 15 June , 2006 Share Posted 15 June , 2006 The Alan MacDonald Website is also well done. Borden Battery Pro Patria Mori - Gommecourt 'Pro Patria Mori' - the web site - is dedicated to the memory of the men of the BEF and the Imperial German Army who died at Gommecourt on Saturday, 1st July 1916. The London Scottish and seven other battalions of the 56th Division went 'over the top' to storm Gommecourt - a village recognized as the strongest position in the German lines. This very well designed and presented website sets a new standard in documentation, referenced information and in presentation. Pro Patria Mori is broken down into the following links: Home, The Plan, The Place, The Men, The Weapons , The Battle, The Aftermath, Memorials & Graves, Links & Sources. [It is sweet and proper to die for one's country][An Alan MacDonald Website][April 2006] http://www.gommecourt.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armourersergeant Posted 15 June , 2006 Share Posted 15 June , 2006 Is this a wind up!!!!! The author is a member of the forum 'bmac' and has been 'advertising' his book for sometime. Mines coming as a fathers day present. Mind if it gets a good independent review then ity cant be half bad regards Arm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 After months of it sitting there on the shelf, I have at last read "Pro Patria Mori". It's an engrossing and well-paced read. But, before I offer further praise, let me declare an interest. The author, Alan MacDonald, is better known to us here as Bill MacCormick or “bmac”. Bill and I have kept in touch since he supplied me with some information about a couple of my local chaps and he’s been kind enough to mention me in the book’s acknowledgements. Now, I’ll get on with the further praise! The book is subtitled “The 56th (1st London) Division at Gommecourt, 1st July 1916” and, when I read that and realised the book had 517 pages, I wondered if this might not be a bit too long. Or, even, some couple of hundred pages too long. But it isn’t. Certainly, it is a very detailed account of the Division’s activities on the day but, for me, the most interesting part is the first 200 pages which provide daily accounts of the two months’ build-up to the attack. Throughout the book, Bill draws heavily on German sources to provide an account of the battle from “the other side”. He also has includes pretty detailed accounts of the activities of the supporting British artillery activities (for me, perhaps the most educational aspect of the book). But there is something that makes this book more than a dry tome about the attack. It is more than a history of the attack. It is, perhaps more than anything, the story of the real people who took part in the attack and its build-up. Bill has, perhaps, been fortunate to research units where there are extensive sources of information which have allowed him to make mention of many individuals – Other Ranks as well as officers. It allows him and the reader to put flesh on the bones (so to speak) of the account. The commitment to detail is shown by the summary for 23 May which reads ……”trench mortars joined in with a few ineffective bombs. Casualties were restricted to one unlucky member of the LRB killed and six others wounded during a patrol near the Z Hedge”. But Bill then adds a footnote to identify the man as Rfn Eric Alfred White and that the inscription on his headstone at Hebuterne reads “Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are”. It is, I believe, a quote from George Eliot. I can’t wait for the sequel. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 Got to have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 I haven't read it yet, but it's on the bedside table, awaiting its turn. I would have started to read it the day it arrived, but the print was too small for my failing eyesight. Now I have my first pair of reading glasses the words leap out at me. I realise that the sheer volume of information in the book created a difficult dilemma for Bill - either use small print so that the visually challenged, who were hitherto too vain to admit the need for glasses, couldn't read it, or print it in larger print whereby most of us wouldn't be able to lift it, let alone read it. Having seen the response generated by this fine work I am relishing the read. Anyone seen my glasses? Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 I just ordered it. Codger eyes are different, about 5% get more near sighted instead of far sighted, I did and can read small print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 I, too, have this book and even though I have no specific interest in any of the battalions involved nor the particular bit of the front it describes, nor any personal involvement with the author, I heartily second John's words of praise. I cannot imagine a more thoroughly researched book nor an author more obviously dedicated to his task. Unlike John, I do have a minor reservation. Although I devour books and have a terror of running out of something to read, I found that I had to take a break in the middle of this book and just go and do/ read something else. The trouble is also a virtue - it is so densly packed with meticulously researched information that I simply got indigestion. It might have been edited but then that would destroy the very detail which John praises and I see as a vital humanizing part of the book. This book must be the first port of call for any historian trying to understand Gommecourt. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 First class piece of work... mind you, only what you would expect from such a fine forum member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 Reading all this praise, it would seem churlish to moan in any way..... ....so I won't. It's excellent. If you don't have a copy, get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 26 December , 2006 Share Posted 26 December , 2006 An excellent book that is absolutely packed with detail. I understand Ian's point about the 'density', but I would rather read an account in which few stones remain unturned than one which glosses over the more mundane or trivial. By the end of 'Pro Patria Mori' you feel that there can be little left to tell about the 56th's experience at Gommecourt. I hope, and am confident, that the future release of Bill's sister book on the 46th will do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burlington Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 I have just finished my copy. Awesome, and very moving. Well done Alan. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 After reading this thread and being enthused to obtain a copy of the book in question - where is it best to get hold of one? Please don't say Ama--n as I am right off them at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isanders Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 Squirrel, You can get it direct from his publishers. Click here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 Thanks for the link - book ordered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 Please don't say Ama--n as I am right off them at the moment. I got mine direct from Bill. Try a PM to him. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmac Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 Squirrel, You can get it direct from his publishers. Click here Feeling rather humbled by the foregoing (not to say grateful) am I pushing my luck by saying you can also buy it direct here. Thank you all for your kind comments. Best Christmas present this year. Next one due some time later this year I hope (like London buses, nothing for a life time and then two in quick(ish) succession!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 You can order direct through Bill's website:- Clickety click Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 See, he's published now and is still prepared to speak to the likes of us! And they said it would all go to his head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmac Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 See, he's published now and is still prepared to speak to the likes of us! The bill for my appearance fee is in the post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 The bill for my appearance fee is in the post Table for four? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmac Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 Five! What about Avril? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 Dunno if I can afford five. "Grand Mac" anyone? Avec frites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard_Lewis Posted 27 December , 2006 Share Posted 27 December , 2006 Its on the shelf waiting. Looks a superb work and what has been posted here confirms that. Working towards it... Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 16 January , 2007 Share Posted 16 January , 2007 I got mine direct from Bill. Try a PM to him. John John, have gotten my copy and you are one of those acknowledged in the credits! Corngratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now