17107BM Posted 22 April , 2010 Share Posted 22 April , 2010 Just finished an all too short book, but a good read. ' Stockport Lads Together' By David Kelsall. The 6th cheshire Terrritorials 1908-1919. The book follows the lads from the mills of Glossop,Hyde,Stalybridge and stockport through the somme and ypres battles. To the origanal volunteer battalion being left to a cadre at St. Julien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 29 April , 2010 Share Posted 29 April , 2010 Just finished reading my very cheap second-hand book, bought for 50p and worth every penny! Spreading the Spy net (1938) by Captain Henry Landau OBE. Croix De Guerre. Chevalier Order of the Crown of Belgium (to give him his full title) Not an aspect of the Great War I knew anything about and I found this book very interesting. Based in neutral Holland Henry Landau ran quite a few spy train watching networks throughout occupied Belgium and France. One of them was the very successful 'White Lady' (La Dame Blanche) network. There is also a chapter about Edith Cavell. Also included are chapters of his work post war, as a passport control officer in Germany and one in his role of investigating 'war wizardry' such as the 'wireless controlled robot perfected by the Germans a few days before the Armistice which could not only guide an aeroplane in flight but also drop bombs on a given objective', also a 'mysterious ray' that could apparently interfere with aircraft control Can't understand why he threw in a chapter about his dalliance with a ballet dancer in Brussels called 'Yvonne - an Interlude'! I understand he wrote a few more books on the same subject Can anyone recommend any more recently published books on this subject? Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 29 April , 2010 Share Posted 29 April , 2010 Caryl, Espionage and related topics are amongst the least documented and the more interesting aspects of the war. These inter war volumes can be hard to find but worth acquiring. Now! Who was Yvonne and what was her story? Did she perform at "La Monnaie"? Away from the Western Front there is the relatively recent "Shot in the Tower" by Len Sellers which looks at German spies in the UK. I don't know whether this a recommendation or not, but Stella Rimington nominated it as the best book on British related espionage she had ever read. It is still in print! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 29 April , 2010 Share Posted 29 April , 2010 Now! Who was Yvonne and what was her story? Did she perform at "La Monnaie"? Martin Yes, they met in the Place de la Monnaie. Yvonne, a dancer at the Brussels Opera was the very beautiful daughter of a maitre de ballet and a dancer who had performed at the Opera in Paris. Unfortunately, Yvonne, an understudy of a friend of Henry Landau known as Mlle "L", was the protegee of a man referred to as "Z" who was apparently one of the great men in Belgium, one of her most prominent statesmen, a man whose name was a household word throughout Europe" . Wonder who he was? Anyhow, their relationship came to an end when Yvonne had to make a choice between Henry Landau and her patron "Z", who could further her career at the Opera and she chose "Z" who was apparently a very jealous man, so that was that. Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 30 April , 2010 Share Posted 30 April , 2010 A lovely theatre. We went there on honeymoon and sat at the front of the stalls for a sublime performance of Capriccio with Felicity Lott. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rundberg Posted 30 April , 2010 Share Posted 30 April , 2010 I dont know if "The Little Field Marshal" by Richard Holmes qualifies as a pure WW1 book. But it´s very interesting to get "a second opinion" about Sir John French! regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdr Posted 30 April , 2010 Share Posted 30 April , 2010 Just finished with Zuber The Mons Myth Carl where did that thread go to ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 1 May , 2010 Share Posted 1 May , 2010 Just above (or below, depending on who posts to what) this one in the Classic Threads section Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 1 May , 2010 Share Posted 1 May , 2010 Can anyone recommend any more recently published books on this subject? Caryl Secrets of the Rue St Roch by Janet Morgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 1 May , 2010 Share Posted 1 May , 2010 Secrets of the Rue St Roch by Janet Morgan Thanks Martin. Ordered it from Amazon using link above - nice price! While I was there I noticed some of Captain Landau's books for sale, one seems to have been reprinted in recent times All's Fair. The Story of the British Secret Service Behind the German Lines by Captain Henry Landau Also an old copy of Secrets of the White Lady by Henry Landau, and the one I read, all quite pricey Someone should reprint them all in one volume Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herekawe Posted 9 May , 2010 Share Posted 9 May , 2010 Loos - 1915 by Nick Lloyd Have just finished this - would recommend it. Its not a light read, being based on Lloyds PHD thesis, there is plenty of information and well referenced and put into context with the rest of the war. The maps are at the back which I find slightly irritating. On the cover of my version (paperback) Hew Strachan has written"should finally consign Alan Clark's farrago,"The Donkeys" to the waste paper basket" - he can't have read it. Lloyd is well balanced, sticks to the facts, it is an unemotional account of a very bloody battle. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 9 May , 2010 Share Posted 9 May , 2010 I'm now on to a book I picked up in Istanbul last month, looking for something on Galiipoli from the Turkish side It's 'Gallipoli 1945: Day One Plus...27th Ottoman Inf. Regt. vs. ANZACS' H.B; Danisman, based on an account of Lt. Col. Sefik Aker. Quoted in the thread on Turkish machine-guns in Gallipoli. The English translation is a bit ropey, but it offers a rare glimpse from the other side cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gheluvelt Posted 9 May , 2010 Share Posted 9 May , 2010 Just bought a biography of Haig - "The Good Soldier", by Gary Mead. An absolute bargain at The Works (hardback). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper6197 Posted 10 May , 2010 Share Posted 10 May , 2010 This is always a good thread; Just finished a good Canadian read; Tim Cook's first volume about the Canadian Expeditionary Force "At the Sharp End." Now into his second volume "Shock Troops" detailing the operations of the CEF in 1917-18. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River97 Posted 10 May , 2010 Share Posted 10 May , 2010 Had a rather in depth read of 'the ANZAC Book' and very nice indeed. I do seem to be going back to 'Gallipoli Revisited' quite often. Cheers Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27thBN Posted 10 May , 2010 Share Posted 10 May , 2010 Currently reading They called it passchendaele by Lyn mac donald ..great read highly recommended.In depth really keeps you reading MC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rksimpson Posted 10 May , 2010 Share Posted 10 May , 2010 Hi all Just finished reading The Hell They Called High Wood by Terry Norman Bought it as one of my relatives was killed there, what an awful waste of men it was. I can not understand the sense (or lack of) with the planners and the misuse of artillery. An interesting but sad book to read regards Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 11 May , 2010 Share Posted 11 May , 2010 A classic novel, or rather trilogy, 'The Spanish Farm' and the sequels, wot I bought off Charles Fair at the forum conference in Birmingham. a lovely read cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakeslad Posted 11 May , 2010 Share Posted 11 May , 2010 finished "beneath flanders fields" the tunnellers war 1914-18 excellent book and makes you sit up and realise all that ammonal thats still down there!! lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peridot Posted 11 May , 2010 Share Posted 11 May , 2010 ASC by Mike Young. Destined to be the standard text on the subject if not already. Peridot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake Posted 15 May , 2010 Share Posted 15 May , 2010 Just started Men of Mont St Quentin By Peter Stanley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 15 May , 2010 Share Posted 15 May , 2010 I am not reading any at the moment!! For me a miracle. Am trying to broaden my horizons and am reading about the Black Death in the UK in the 14th Century!! TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarvis Posted 15 May , 2010 Share Posted 15 May , 2010 Finally got around to reading Her Privates We having found a hard back copy on the local car boot, unfortunately it's the second editon and not the first edition... but for a £1 a bargain. Regards, Jarvis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJohnson Posted 15 May , 2010 Share Posted 15 May , 2010 Re reading " A Frenchman in Khaki " by Paul Maze . Enjoyed it the first time quite a while ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 15 May , 2010 Share Posted 15 May , 2010 Bill Philpott's "Bloody Victory". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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