Bernard_Lewis Posted 10 February , 2020 Share Posted 10 February , 2020 Just started "Goughie" by Anthony Farrar-Hockley... Old style bio but I'm enjoying it... Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjwmacro Posted 13 February , 2020 Share Posted 13 February , 2020 On 28/01/2020 at 01:02, Waddell said: Action at Badama Post by Paul Macro Scott, many thanks. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmelling1979 Posted 13 February , 2020 Share Posted 13 February , 2020 Reading "A History of 24 Squadron" By Captain A E Illingworth I ordered the wrong squadron book by mistake, needed 23 Squadron haha So having a read of it ;P John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 19 February , 2020 Share Posted 19 February , 2020 (edited) Just finished ' Cannon Fodder ' by A.D Haslam , i decided to read it after another forum member said they had struggled to finish it as the author was obnoxious . I must say that i quite enjoyed it , although i must admit the author was the type who didn't make friends easily and i may well have not liked him had i met him . He was a teacher who reluctantly joined up under the Derby scheme and became a lewis gunner , seeing action at Third Ypres and later was captured during the April 1918 offensive . The one thing that i found annoying was that he changed some names of places and regiments , he also states in the book that his name was Francis Thackeray Cresswell . I did work out that he served in the Welsh regiment ( 7th , 16th ) and probably 10th Royal Warwicks , i also worked out that the towns of 'Quiller' , 'Burnaby' and 'Helgate' were actually Redcar , Saltburn and Middlesborough . The book was published in 1930 and towards the end of the book he says " The surest way to have another war is to have a dictator ", which seems quite prophetic . The book he refers to in his introduction where he mentions the jacket showing an officer in other ranks kit and holding a rifle whilst charging across NML is Edward Liveing's 'Attack' which was published in 1918 . Edited 29 February , 2020 by Black Maria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIFFO Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 Nurses of Paschendaele caring for the wounded 1914-18 Christine e Hallett pen &sword. Similar to roses of no mans land,tells it like it was hard,dirty strenuous work interspersed with nursing,well worth a read recommended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyle3 Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 just been given a loan of a 1922 copy of Swindon's War Record to peruse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantowi Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 27 minutes ago, doyle3 said: just been given a loan of a 1922 copy of Swindon's War Record to peruse Is this the one by Bavin ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyle3 Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 4 minutes ago, grantowi said: Is this the one by Bavin ? Yes indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantowi Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 6 minutes ago, doyle3 said: Yes indeed. Swindon Library have done a reprint of this book. It give quite a good account of the work done by the town's women for the POW'ed men of the Wiltshire regiment. If you plan to use it as a reference tool, be aware that many of the men's names or initials are wrong :-( Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyle3 Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 1 minute ago, grantowi said: Swindon Library have done a reprint of this book. It give quite a good account of the work done by the town's women for the POW'ed men of the Wiltshire regiment. If you plan to use it as a reference tool, be aware that many of the men's names or initials are wrong :-( Grant I've been through the copy in West Swindon library before. Going through the book again as given an unexpected loan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantowi Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 9 minutes ago, doyle3 said: I've been through the copy in West Swindon library before. Going through the book again as given an unexpected loan. In Central Library's reference section they are selling brand new reprints, well worth a visit, if you are in the area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyle3 Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 5 minutes ago, grantowi said: In Central Library's reference section they are selling brand new reprints, well worth a visit, if you are in the area thanks. May pop into town to get a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkley remembers Posted 25 February , 2020 Share Posted 25 February , 2020 Just finished ‘Men of War; Masculinity and the First World War in Britain’ by Leeds University academic Jessica Meyer. This is part of Palgrave Macmillans Genders and Sexualities in History Series, which in this book focuses on the personal narratives of service men and how WW1 changed ideas of masculinity. Meyer uses soldiers letters from the front, personal diaries and post war memoires along with personal statements by disabled veterans to the Ministry of Pensions (held within PIN 26 award files) to show how the war forced or encouraged men to reassess commonly held Victorian/Edwardian views of masculinity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 28 February , 2020 Share Posted 28 February , 2020 Just finished reading 'The Middle Parts of Fortune' by Frederic Manning ( 'Her Privates We' was the expurgated version ) . My copy is the 2012 Folio Society edition, a nicely produced hardback in decorative boards and with 9 new illustrations , copies are now obtainable quite cheaply . It's a classic and rightly so , it's a great read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 28 February , 2020 Share Posted 28 February , 2020 On 25/02/2020 at 19:40, ilkley remembers said: Just finished ‘Men of War; Masculinity and the First World War in Britain’ by Leeds University academic Jessica Meyer. This is part of Palgrave Macmillans Genders and Sexualities in History Series, which in this book focuses on the personal narratives of service men and how WW1 changed ideas of masculinity. VERY interesting... I'm considering a thesis on gender for 3rd Cycle and this might be a very good source. Bought ONE book while on holiday in the US (yes, we ended up at Barnes and Nobles one day): Neal Bascomb "The escape artists". It's about the "greatest prison break of the Great War", out of Hellminden. Lent it to one of my travelcompanions for the flight home, and he found it nice. Anybody else read it?? M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurgam13 Posted 28 February , 2020 Share Posted 28 February , 2020 I didn't know of the Bacomb book (and at least one Amazon reviewer couldn't get past chapter 2) but I've recently read "Escape From Germany" by Neil Hanson, which, although a little repetitive in places, was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I picked this up cheaply after finishing "The Tunnellers of Holzminden " by Durnford, for a more modern slant on the escape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 28 February , 2020 Share Posted 28 February , 2020 1 hour ago, Marilyne said: Bought ONE book while on holiday in the US (yes, we ended up at Barnes and Nobles one day): Neal Bascomb "The escape artists". It's about the "greatest prison break of the Great War", out of Hellminden. Lent it to one of my travelcompanions for the flight home, and he found it nice. Anybody else read it?? M. Hi Marilyne I read it last year. See Post 3329 in this thread. Cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurgam13 Posted 28 February , 2020 Share Posted 28 February , 2020 Just finished "The Battle of Brains" by Ferdinand Tuohy, having spent years trying to find a copy . . . and what a disappointment. For some reason (surely not censorship in 1930?), Tuohy decided to relate all the stories of espionage and intelligence gathering in semi-fictional form (if there is such a thing), so the reader is unsure what is fact and what isn't. As such, a lot of it reads like Le Queux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 28 February , 2020 Share Posted 28 February , 2020 1 hour ago, Resurgam13 said: I didn't know of the Bacomb book (and at least one Amazon reviewer couldn't get past chapter 2) but I've recently read "Escape From Germany" by Neil Hanson, which, although a little repetitive in places, was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I picked this up cheaply after finishing "The Tunnellers of Holzminden " by Durnford, for a more modern slant on the escape. 'Beyond the Tumult ' by Barry Winchester is a good book on the subject as well . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkley remembers Posted 28 February , 2020 Share Posted 28 February , 2020 8 hours ago, Marilyne said: VERY interesting... I'm considering a thesis on gender for 3rd Cycle and this might be a very good source. Having met her briefly once, Jessica Meyer, seems to be quite approachable. This is her profile page at Leeds Univ. which details her WW1 interests https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/history/staff/974/dr-jessica-meyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergie Posted 8 March , 2020 Share Posted 8 March , 2020 On 17/08/2019 at 19:45, Donald D said: I am currently reading "The Invisible Cross" by Andrew Davidson. The book follows the letters written to his new wife from the beginning of the war through to 1918. He rose from being a company commander to 2ic 1st Cameronians, and eventually OC of the battalion. I am only on page 87, so early days. Very interesting so far. I am about half way through this book and really enjoying it, well written and easy to read. Chaplin is quite blunt about how he feels about certain officers ,Dan Snow's Great-Grandfather gets a mention,not a popular man according to Chaplin, interesting stuff though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurgam13 Posted 9 March , 2020 Share Posted 9 March , 2020 I started reading "Austro-Hungarian War Aims in the Balkans during World War I" (one of the Palgrave Macmillan titles on offer, much reduced, late last year) and rather wished I hadn't. Still, it's ideal bedtime reading in one sense as I start to nod off after a dozen pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 9 March , 2020 Share Posted 9 March , 2020 Just started reading "Refilling Haig's Armies" The replacement of British infantry casualties on the western front by Alison Hine. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 9 March , 2020 Share Posted 9 March , 2020 On 13/01/2020 at 17:23, David Spencer said: Just in case nobody's said it yet: Lice, by Blaise Cendrars is fantastic. Not sure how much is fact embellished into fiction, but as a snapshot of legionnaire rogues at large in the Gt War, it's a grand read. the original title is more interesting,: "la main coupée" … Cendrars lost his arm in the war and then taught himself to type with his left. It took him quite some time to finish the book. I read it a looong time ago… it's still somwhere in the still unpacked boxes of books I have at home. A real classic!! Right now I am, to tell yopu the Truth, horribly behind on any "reading-schedule" I could have invented… I was counting on the trip to the US to read a bit, but in between the various photo shoots, the march and the visits … so I'm finishing Jean-Michel Veranneman's "Belgium in the Great War" , then will be working very hard and long hours to put my notes and references in order before starting a new book, because both my desk at home and the one in my little room in Marche look like a bomb exploded in the middle of a stack of post-its … they're everywhere!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 9 March , 2020 Share Posted 9 March , 2020 Just read an excellent new (pub.last year for the centenary) book on the Amritsar massacre, by Kim Wagner, a history teacher at Queen Mary, University of London. 'Amritsar 1919', subtitled "An Empire of Fear', puts the whole tragedy in context, showing how British policy, notable in the Punjab, was coloured by memories of the so-called Indian Mutiny of 1857 and fears of another uprising. Mutual incomprehension, racist colonial attitudes and the incompetence of senior officials in Amritsar and Lahore completed the ghastly picture. Highly recommended. Cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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