Best published WW1 battalion history

[WilliamRev]

I met a relative of mine recently after many years, and he is planning to write the history of an infantry battalion in the Great War (English, territorial, but he'd rather I didn't mention which one at the moment). He asked my opinion about which published battalion history I considered the best - i.e. the one that he could model his one on.

He has the unit war diary, some private letters etc., and he plans to include all fatalities within the narrative as they occur and not just in an alphabetical list at the end.

Can pals help please? I only own a couple of battalion histories and was only of limited help. Which recently researched and written WW1 battalion history (doesn't have to be territorial, or indeed infantry) do you think is the best, and which would be a decent model that I can suggest he get hold of as a model for his one? And why?

William

[Maricourt]

Hello William

The 10th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers published their battalion war diary and it is unusual as it mentions the names of NCOs and Other Ranks killed/wounded/missing and not just the names of officers.

Regards ... Maricourt

[Charles Fair]

The late Jill Knight's history of the Civil Service Rifles 'All Bloody Gentlemen' is certainly one of the best. I'm sure that I will be able to think of a few more.

Charles

[David Ridgus]

The late Jill Knight's history of the Civil Service Rifles 'All Bloody Gentlemen' is certainly one of the best. I'm sure that I will be able to think of a few more.

Charles

William

Like Charles I was going to suggest Jill Knight's book. Three other recent ones I've enjoyed are 'Goodbye Piccadilly: the Public Schools Battalion in the Great War' by Steve Hurst 'The Kensington Battalion: 'Never lost a Yard of Trench'' by G I S Inglis, and 'Come on Highlanders: Glasgow Territorials in the Great War' by Alec Weir

David

[SiegeGunner]

I would likewise highly recommend Jill's book, and also our own John Hartley's "Not a Rotter in the Lot", a history of the 6th Manchesters.

[anthony osborne]

Only read a few but I found 'History of the Fourth Battalion Seaforth Highlanders' by Lieutenant Colonel M.M.Haldane the best - lots of detail and first hand accounts.

Ant

[Charles Fair]

I'd second the Inglis and Weir books. Also Jack Alexander's McRae's Battalion about the 16th Royal Scots and Bill Mitchinson's book on the London Rifle Brigade. The modern ones like these tend to be good on the social history, an aspect which the post-war histories being written primarily for those who served tend not to cover.

For a post-war history I would recommend Kipling's two volume history of the Irish Guards.

[Jim Hastings]

As a model of what a battalion history should be, I always think that of the 7th Royal Sussex takes some beating.

Was just about to suggest Rutter's work Steven, but beat me to it! Good call

[Nickmetcalfe]

Shameless plug for my own: http://www.9thirishfusiliers.co.uk/reviews.html

9th Royal Irish Fusiliers. Somewhat removed from 'English Territorial' but I'd be happy to tell him what I learned about what not to do as I wrote it!

Nick

[barkalotloudly]

The 1/6th and 2/6th battalions West Yorks loads of maps and photographs and very readable.

my ideal..an index, complete all ranks roll of honour, a list of all those who served, as many maps /photos as is feasible, the book listed above is probably the ultimate history

regards

[MartH]

An interesting thread, are there any tips that would improve these good books?

[John_Hartley]

There's pretty much a given format for the modern battalion history. Of course, it will be written chronologically. But what will distinguish it from the histories written in the 1920s will be personal accounts from the "other ranks". Older books will have an air of being written by officers, for officers.

I suspect those of us who have attempted such a task will have seen the modern style in other, more general, histories of the war - those from Lyn MacDonald or Pete Hart, for instance. It is, to me, pretty much central to bringing the story alive. With my own two efforts, I've also liked to go a stage further and try to do some baisc research into the men I'm quoting, so I'm not just using their words but I'm telling the reader something of the man.

And there'll be lots of photos! If William's relative punts the book towards Pen & Sword, as a publisher, almost the first question they'll ask is about how many photos there are.

The story of territorial battalions can often add another dimension to the account, not always available to the writer of other histories, in that their pre -war recruitment means you have a generally close knit group of men - friends, colleagues, neighbours - at least in the earlier period of the war. I'd take the view that you can have a more accourate picture of a "pals battalion", than the pals battalions themselves.

As for a recommendation (other than my own books - thanks, Mick), then I'll also go with Jill Knight's book or Bernard Lewis' "Swansea Pals", as ones I've particularly enjoyed.

[Bernard_Lewis]

Cheers John, and at the risk of getting arrested by the Moderator whose only role it is to ruthlessly stamp out self-congratulatory posts, I liked your Rotters, too!

Bernard

[John_Hartley]

but Darling's 20th Hussars, though a spelndid read, would be so much better with an index and appendices.

William's after recommendations for recently written unit histories.

[Mark Hone]

Oldies: 'The War the Infantry Knew' by Dr Dunn, about 2nd RWF.

[MartH]

I like books with proper indexes, footnotes on the page (not the end of the chapter), an assessment of the sources used, photos, decent maps and appendices. Hope this helps.

[John_Hartley]

Not as I read it: he has a friend who is considering writing a battalion history and asked for recommendations of published histories. It's not clear he is asking for "recent" ones, and I personally feel the "less recent" ones have a lot to offer as a guide for this type of work.

I took William's sentence commencing "Which recently researched and written WW1 battalion history...." as the basis for my comment.

[Moonraker]

I think that William's relative is going to have to get his skates on, if he's only at the planning stage and he wants to see the book published. Newspaper review pages are already referring to the flow/torrent/stream of new titles already in bookshops ahead of next year's centenary, and there must come a time when publishers and the public say enough.

Assuming the relative has most of the material he needs, it still takes time to write a book and obtain photographs and copyright consents. He may be gifted and and able to produce a first-rate typescript in one go, but most of us need to chop, change, hack and polish our first attempt - and that takes time.

I gather from other threads that Pen & Sword is already committed to a series of books on major towns and cities in the Great War and there is presumably a limit to how many new titles the company can handle. Will it and other publishers be really interested in new titles after 2014 unless they relate to events late in the war?

Moonraker

[Bernard_Lewis]

I understand that P&S have commissioned at least 40 titles in the series 'Blanktown in the Great War', Swansea being one of them...and I've been 'at it' since January and have still not (quite) finished it. It DOES take time.

Bernard

[Steven Broomfield]

I took William's sentence commencing "Which recently researched and written WW1 battalion history...." as the basis for my comment.

Missed that bit.

[Muerrisch]

I cannot for the life of me see how "recently researched and written" necessarily adds value ....... perhaps the converse.

Dunn's War the Infantry Knew was essentially a compilation of offerings by all ranks, with a linking editorial. If he did not understand, he could and did get back to his witness.

Extremely difficult to do that recently!

[WilliamRev]

Just logging in after starting this thread yesterday. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions: to address one comment above, I was specifically after recently-written battalion histories rather than old classics (as far as classics go, of which I am slightly more familiar, I am in no doubt that The War the Infantry Knew is one of the best two or three books written on the Great War, bar none, but that is not what I was after).

I am keen to discover a recently, single battalion volume, preferably one with a complete account of other ranks killed as part of the text, as well as officers (not just list at the end lifted from Soldiers Died) that can be held up as the model of how to do these things.

I think that there are interesting examples mentioned - siggestions which I will pass on to my relative - I have no idea if his indended volume will ever actually appear!

So: many thanks to all, and keep up the suggestions.

William

Edit: and thanks John (post 12) - I will pass on the comment about the need for photos. And also repeat my advice to him to join this forum......

[John_Hartley]

preferably one with a complete account of other ranks killed as part of the text, as well as officers (not just list at the end lifted from Soldiers Died)

I think that might be the tricky bit.

In my two books, I've tried to weave some individual deaths into the account but I'd think it very hard to include all, in the narrative, without possibly ruining the flow of the story.

[Mr Pighills]

I have just re-read Fraser Skirrow's 'Massacre on the Marne' which recounts the 2nd/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment which is very good.

I also had the pleasure of hearing him speak recently at a local WFA meeting and that added to the enjoyment.

It's not a Battalion which gets mentioned often but it's comprised of men from my area.

Just a suggestion for something a bit different ...

[John_Hartley]

I gather from other threads that Pen & Sword is already committed to a series of books on major towns and cities in the Great War and there is presumably a limit to how many new titles the company can handle.

P & S has already indicated to me that the number of proposals submitted to them has grown considerably in recent months. They are having to be even more selective in which ones they accept to avoid the market being flooded. Unfortunately, mine wasnt one of them.