From Private to Field Marshal

[Muerrisch]

Picked up a nice second impression 1921 from 'Over the Top' in Ieper for peanuts, and am hugely impressed with the book and the man.

Not written with the benefit of much hindsight, and the man was [according to him, I must add] a very able cavalry trooper, a fine NCO, and the clarity of his writing and the relevance and sagacity of his comments on the conduct of the Great War are hugely illuminating.

I now want to know more. Is there, please, a modern biography, written with all the information available these days, to give a second opinion?

[IPT]

The only references i've found to further reading are;

The Military Correspondence of Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson, Chief Imperial General Staff December 1915–February 1918 Woodward, David R (ed.) Bodley Head for ARS, 1989

The British Field Marshals 1736-1997, Tony Heathcote, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5

Robertson, Sir William Robert, From Private to Field Marshall, London: Constable, 1921

Or if you've got £92 spare......

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Field-Marshal-Sir-...n/dp/0275954226

[Muerrisch]

Thank you: I have ordered via Abebooks the Military Correspondence, and also the bio. by Bonham Carter. 90 quid a bit too tasty for me!

[Philip Wilson]

Here are two other publications on Wully Robertson

'Soldier True - The Life and Times of Field Marshal Sir William Robertson 1860-1933'

by Victor Bonham- Carter - first published in 1963- Frederick Muller Ltd.

'Wully - Sir William Robertson Bart'

by Molly Burkett - ISBN 0 948204 52 4 - published by Barny Books, Hough on the Hill, Grantham, Lincolnshire. (a 26 page pamphlet with illustrations)

Philip

[keithmroberts]

i have a copy of the military correspondence, and a fairly tired ex-library copy of From Private to Field Marshall, but had never heard of the Woodward volume. Its far too tasty for me as well.

[Gibbo]

Not what Grumpy asked for, but Robertson did also write a 2 volume work called Soldiers and Statesmen. There are some copies on Abebooks, starting at £30 including UK postage.

I checked Robertson's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and all the biographies of him in its bibliography have been mentioned above.

[IPT]

90 quid a bit too tasty for me!

Have a look at this preview;

http://books.google.com/books?id=YD5mB98vz...;q=&f=false

[Muerrisch]

Thanks to all.

Regarding books at £90 plus: I have written/ co-written 5 proper books, and would have fought strenuously to have an AFFORDABLE version of my efforts available ...... little point in writing if very few readers!

[Nigel Marshall]

For a copy of From Private to Field-Marshal, you won't get any more afordable than this---> Download it for free at internetarchive.org

Cheers,

Nigel