Wanting to buy

[sandymae]

I have a very detailed book called 'Devonshire Regiment' written by C T Atkinson (1926), which gives location/battles/regiment movements throughout WWI. At the back of the book it lists all causalties, where they died and whether it was kia or died of wounds etc etc. A most interesting and informative book.

I am looking for a similar book on the Warwickshire Regiment, could someone recommend a book. I would be very grateful. Hubby's birthday mid August!

Thanks, Sandra

[Steven Broomfield]

Sandra, looking at Arthur White's bibliography of regimental histories, it appears there isn't a Great War history of the Warwicks, as such. There was a history of the regiment from Charles Lethbridge Kingsford, published in 1921 by Country Life, but I suspect it covers the regiment from formation to the end of the war, and covers the lot in 235 pages.

Various battalions (11th, 14th, 15th, 1/5th, 1/6th, 2/6th, 2/8th) produced battalion histories, but these will, of course, deal only with the particular battalion. They also vary in style, content and coverage - and are all pretty rare and therefore expensive.

Unfortunately, the production of GW regimental histories was a bit scatter-gun; it looks like the Warwicks didn't.

[Mark Hone]

The C.L . Kingsford book is OK as a general account of the Regiment's entire History up to 1919. The Great War gets about 90 pages but this cannot compare with a dedicated volume like e.g the excellent Lancashire Fusiliers Great War History that I am also familiar with. There is only a roll of honour for Officers. Cornish Brothers of Birmingham published a series of Royal Warwicks books in the 1920s and 1930s covering different battalions: 11th Battalion 1915-16, 14th (1st Birmingham Pals), 15th (2nd Birmingham Pals), 1/5th Battalion, 1/6th and 2/6th. There is also a book about 2/8th called 'Black Square Memories' by H.T. Chidgey published by Shakespeare Head Press. I only have the two Birmingham Pals volumes. They are good, but by far the best book on the City Battalions is the more recent 'Birmingham Pals' in the Pen and Sword series by our own Terry Carter. Two of the best Great War memoirs were written by men serving in the Warwicks: 'A Subaltern's War' by Charles Edmonds (aka Charles Carrington, who also wrote the Cornish Brothers' book on 1/5th battalion) and 'Some Desperate Glory' by Edwin Campion Vaughan. A few years ago a book on 1st Battalion, in which my own great-uncle served, was published, written by John Ashby and entitled ' Seek glory, now keep glory : the story of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1914-1918' ( Solihull : Helion & Co., 2000. ISBN 1874622450 ). Attractively produced, this book concentrates on the early war period and later sections are essentially paraphrases from the Battalion War Diary. It does have a very full Roll of Honour for the battalion. As it was a small press publication it was originally very expensive but I found one in a second-hand shop in Stratford on Avon a couple of years ago for £3-99.

[Steven Broomfield]

I have the 1/6th and 2/8th histories - both are very good though limited in scope (obviously).

I also forgot that Peter Caddick Adams produced a volume, "By God they can fight" about the Warwicks Territorial Brigade (1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th and 1/8th) in the 48th (S Midland) Division. It covers all of the brigade's history, but obviously the Great war takes most of the book. No roll of honour, etc, though.

[Alan Tucker]

Some of the older histories are available to buy on CD from Midlands Historical Data but not Kingsford.

[sandymae]

Thank you all for the recommendations, will go and scour the 2nd handbook shops.

Appreciated,

Sandra

[MartinWills]

Thank you all for the recommendations, will go and scour the 2nd handbook shops.

Appreciated,

Sandra

A couple of the volumes (or so, if I recall rightly) are available as reprints from the museum in Warwick - not sure which ones, unfortunately.