"With Bayonets Fixed" by John Sheen

[P.B.]

"With Bayonets Fixed: The 12th and 13th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry in the Great War"

Author: John Sheen

ISBN: 9781781590324

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Hardback, 297 pages plus appendices, illustrated throughout.

Price: £25.00

When I first became aware that John Sheen was adding to his already impressive backlist of Durham Light Infantry histories by covering the 12th and 13th battalions, my initial reaction was a curiosity about what, if anything, would be genuinely new in this latest offering, given that I already had hard copies of the war diaries and also the histories authored by Miles and Sandilands in the inter-war period.

I need not have worried. Even allowing for the fact that Miles covered all of the service battalions of the DLI and that Sandilands covered the 23rd Division as a whole, thanks to a wealth of new material "With Bayonets Fixed" is a book that anyone with even a slight interest in either battalion simply has to own. Serving together as part of the 68th Infantry Brigade it seems natural to link the stories of the two battalions in one narrative, and although many fine unit histories have appeared over the past twenty years it does seem that the "ordinary" service battalions are sometimes overlooked in favour of those with a more obvious "pals" cachet.

The letters of the Anderson brothers recall the early days of the battalions training in the UK, and together with some great period photographs showing the recruits in Kitchener blue and Slade-Wallace equipment, document their transition from civillians to soldiers at time when enthusuasm was abundant but weapons, uniforms and qualified instructors were scarce. The detailed letters of Lt Freddie Rees MC (and his photographs, including some wonderful images taken on the Italian front) will be new to many, as will the more brief diary entries of schoolmaster-turned-soldier Private Innes. The adjutant's copy of the 13/DLI war diary mentions many other ranks by name, and a plethora of records from Courts of Inquiry into accidental deaths, woundings and traffic accidents not only flesh out the histories of the men who made up both battalions but also remind us that not every casualty happened on the battlefield

The real heart of the book is of course the stories of the soldiers themselves -not just the VC winners or soldiers like the composer Lt George Butterworth (perhaps the best-known of the battalions' members to the wider circle of WWI enthusiasts), but also a broad cross-section from all ranks. Colourful characters like Sjt Harry Craddock, twice in trouble for fighting with NCOs in the UK who became a superb fighting soldier overseas, winning both the DCM and MM, rub shoulders with the likes of Denzil Clark, a 2/Lt in 1914 and a highly-decorated battalion commander in his mid-20s by 1918. Many of the soldiers named in the text also feature in the numerous photographs, again most these loaned by family members and previously unpublished. The book rounds off with a list of gallantry award winners -some with citations- and nominal rolls of officers of both battalions. There are also rolls of most of the men who went overseas with the battalions in August 1915, not an easy thing to compile for service battalions and absolutely invaluable for medal collectors and researchers.

As well as being of obvious interest to DLI enthusiasts, anyone with an interest in the New Army, the fighting on the Somme and British operations in Italy will find this essential reading. In summary a highly recommended book -a model of how a unit history should be written in that it combines a detailed recounting of the bigger picture with finely-drawn individual stories of soldiers of all ranks, and a fitting tribute to two typical service battalions who formed part of that great war-winning British Army of 1914-18

[Mick D]

What a fantastic review, I cannot add anything other than I own a copy and was hoping to find a bit more on one of my relations as below.

Mick

[P.B.]

Thanks for the kind words Mick, much appreciated.

John will be talking about the 12 and 13/DLI, and the soldiers who served in both battalions, at a book signing at Waterstones in Durham on Tuesday 14th May at 6.30. Tickets for the event are free but you have to collect them from the branch or phone 0191 3831488.

All the best

Paul.

[Mick D]

thanks for the heads up, unfortunately I'm at work and cannot get the time off !

Mick