Roger H Posted 26 December , 2013 Share Posted 26 December , 2013 Had some great books for Christmas. "Stand To" , a Diary of the Trenches 1915-1918 by Captain F.C.Hitchcock MC; The German Army at Passchendaele by Jack Sheldon ; Artillery in the Great War by Paul Strong and Sanders Marble; last Man Standing, memoirs, letters etc of a teenage officer, Norman Collins edited by Richard Van Emden and a novel, The Dead of Mametz by Jonathan Hicks. Looking forward to reading them all! Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverFox100 Posted 26 December , 2013 Share Posted 26 December , 2013 Had some great books for Christmas. "Stand To" , a Diary of the Trenches 1915-1918 by Captain F.C.Hitchcock MC; The German Army at Passchendaele by Jack Sheldon ; Artillery in the Great War by Paul Strong and Sanders Marble; last Man Standing, memoirs, letters etc of a teenage officer, Norman Collins edited by Richard Van Emden and a novel, The Dead of Mametz by Jonathan Hicks. Looking forward to reading them all! Roger Have read Artillery in the Great War and can recommend it, gives a good understanding of the artillery of both the Allies and the Central powers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 26 December , 2013 Share Posted 26 December , 2013 Can recommend the Collins. Richard van Emden has done his usual thorough and sensitive job as editor and the pictures are excellent. My daughter has read the Sheldon which she thought was great. I hadn't heard of the novel so will be on a hunt in the Amazon shortly Happy reading David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmckay395 Posted 26 December , 2013 Share Posted 26 December , 2013 I found the Jack Sheldon book is really eye-opening. I'd never really considered what the German soldier went through during the battle but Jack's book really made it hit home what impact the incessant artillery, weather etc had.My Christmas was quite war themed too. I got The War That Ended Peace by Margaret MacMillan, The Long Shadow by David Reynolds, The Wipers Times and Violence Against Prisoners by Heather Jones. Plus the basic Linesman 10 package. Had a bit of a play so far and it seems great, I can't wait to get over there and use it in the field. Also looking forward to reading the book by Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard_Lewis Posted 26 December , 2013 Share Posted 26 December , 2013 Had a Kobo Arc tablet/ereader and shall bag a few free ebooks in due course. Had 'Faces of the Great War', looks interesting. Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 26 December , 2013 Share Posted 26 December , 2013 My youngest son amongst other things gave me an original GW German magazine, "Illustriete Geschichte 1914/15 allgemeine kriegszeitung" excellent condition outstanding cover illustration with many images within including a nice fold out battle drawing and my wife gave me a very nice German Stein (military service type) and one of those 'trench art' 37mm shell made into an officers cap. khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nf3996 Posted 27 December , 2013 Share Posted 27 December , 2013 Two for me under the tree: The Great War (Mark Holborn, Jonathan Cape/IWM), and Mapping the First World War (Peter Chasseaud, Collins/IWM). I've looked at the photos and maps, but it may be a while before I get the time to read them . . . Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hastings Posted 27 December , 2013 Share Posted 27 December , 2013 Can recommend the Collins. Richard van Emden has done his usual thorough and sensitive job as editor and the pictures are excellent. My daughter has read the Sheldon which she thought was great. I hadn't heard of the novel so will be on a hunt in the Amazon shortly Happy reading David Agreed, a great read, although I made the mistake of buying it for my Kindle, my version did not do justice to the maps and photographs. Sadly again this year, my hints, my directions to my Amazon list, post-it notes slapped to fridge door, etc. were to no avail: a Bomber Command DVD set instead of Great War books and the statement 'oh you are so hard to buy for' ... !!!! I'm not bitter though, will just be buying my wife's presents next year in Halfords ... wiper blades darling? Enjoy your reading Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 27 December , 2013 Admin Share Posted 27 December , 2013 Three under the tree for me, Fred's War, Empires Of The Dead and a replacement copy of The Silent Cities; my nearly 20 years old copy is falling apart. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaforths Posted 27 December , 2013 Share Posted 27 December , 2013 Had some great books for Christmas. "Stand To" , a Diary of the Trenches 1915-1918 by Captain F.C.Hitchcock MC; The German Army at Passchendaele by Jack Sheldon ; Artillery in the Great War by Paul Strong and Sanders Marble; last Man Standing, memoirs, letters etc of a teenage officer, Norman Collins edited by Richard Van Emden and a novel, The Dead of Mametz by Jonathan Hicks. Looking forward to reading them all! Roger I've read 'Last Man..' a couple of times and never fail to get emotional over his recollections on Beaumont Hamel as I realised that Collins buried granddad's cousin among the dead. My goodies are 'The Last of the Ebb: The Battle of the Aisne, 1918' and 'Diary of a Dead Officer'. I was also given a military diary for 2014 that has all the important war occurrences from the war inserted on each page. My New Year resolution will be to record occurrences in my research in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 27 December , 2013 Share Posted 27 December , 2013 I've read 'Last Man..' a couple of times and never fail to get emotional over his recollections on Beaumont Hamel as I realised that Collins buried granddad's cousin among the dead. Nudged by these posts I have been flicking through Last Man Standing again today and strangely something new occurred to me. There is a letter from a father whose young son aged 18 had been killed. Clearly Collins had written to him informing the family of the death, "..thank you for your letter of condolence..". The father says that it was his youngest son, "..and we feel his loss the more on that account." The letter goes on to say how, "...you his officer would see him passing from boyhood into manhood..." while "...he was under your care in France." The letter concludes by asking Collins to give more information about the young man's death and whether he can return his Pocket Book. As always one reads these heartbreakingly polite, restrained and well written letters with a mixture of emotions. But today it struck me that what was incredible was that the recipient of this letter was himself only a year older. How on earth did 19 year olds cope with this level of responsibility? Not just the day to day responsibility of commanding men in appallingly difficult circumstances but then the 'responsibility' however amorphous to the families of the dead. What a generation they were! It reminded me of the comment of an American in England during the war who witnessed the stoicism of the Home Front in the face of the dreadful casualty figures coming through from the Front day after day, " It's not an accident that these people rule half the world" David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger H Posted 27 December , 2013 Author Share Posted 27 December , 2013 David Excellent post Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaforths Posted 27 December , 2013 Share Posted 27 December , 2013 David Excellent post Roger I agree, these boys became men very quickly and their responsibilities were enormous at such an age. At times, he came across as quite arrogant and at other times quite sensitive but I supposed that came from him recounting memories retrospectively. However, it is very clear he carried these thoughts with him all of his life and it was fortunate indeed that Richard van Emden was able to take so much from him for the book and I suspect given freely as Norman Collins was able to pour out his thoughts and memorabilia that had been bottled up for decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawley Jockey Posted 28 December , 2013 Share Posted 28 December , 2013 Just the one book for me as a present, but it was the one I really wanted, a replacement copy of ' A Lack of Offensive Spirit' by Alan MacDonald my original had fallen apart. The hints on my Amazon wish list worked !! By chance on the same day picked up Alan's 'Pro Patria Mori' off E-*ay for £3.99, that's what I call a good buy. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auchonvillers Posted 28 December , 2013 Share Posted 28 December , 2013 I had 3 books under the tree which were:- Harry's War which is a diary by Harry Drinkwater Slaughter On The Somme 1 July 1916 by Martin Mace and John Grehan Somme Intelligence (Fourth Army HQ 1916) by William Langford Best wishes to all members for a happy 2014 Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggers Posted 29 December , 2013 Share Posted 29 December , 2013 Including my pre-Christmas birthday, I received the 'Wipers Times' and 'The War the Infantry Knew' by Captain Dunn. I had read the latter some years ago in a tattered library copy but am very pleased to have my own, new copy. In the run-up to Christmas I had found p/b copies of 'Undertones of War' (Blunden) and 'Soldier from the Wars Returning' (Carrington), both free (or for a voluntary donation) to charity, at a small local garden centre which sets a few shelves aside for this purpose. Now to find time to read them all! D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 29 December , 2013 Share Posted 29 December , 2013 Including my pre-Christmas birthday, I received the 'Wipers Times' and 'The War the Infantry Knew' by Captain Dunn. I had read the latter some years ago in a tattered library copy but am very pleased to have my own, new copy. In the run-up to Christmas I had found p/b copies of 'Undertones of War' (Blunden) and 'Soldier from the Wars Returning' (Carrington), both free (or for a voluntary donation) to charity, at a small local garden centre which sets a few shelves aside for this purpose. Now to find time to read them all! D If you have one little window of opportunity, might I suggest you start with the Carrington. I am normally wary of memoirs written so long after the event because of the inevitable colouring of memory by subsequent events in the writer's life. But here Carrington really seems to use hindsight for all the right reasons, letting him look at aspects of his experience that he may not have addressed had he written at the time, without seeming to warp the clarity of his recollections of events. The book retains a sense of immediacy overlaid by the lessons of time having passed, and fully deserves its high reputation. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 29 December , 2013 Share Posted 29 December , 2013 Only one book under the tree for me this Christmas which was Paxman's Great Britain's Great War. Also under the tree were three DVD's - Public Information Films of the British Home Front, the IWM's The Battle of the Somme and The First World War - an Historical Insight (based on the book by Hew Strachan). I do wish my family had given me gift tokens as these were not quite on my wish list, however anything relating to the Great War is never wasted on me. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 29 December , 2013 Share Posted 29 December , 2013 We must come across as a frightfully ungrateful lot if ever our nearest and dearest read these threads. Me? I needed new socks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 29 December , 2013 Share Posted 29 December , 2013 We must come across as a frightfully ungrateful lot if ever our nearest and dearest read these threads. Me? I needed new socks. I agree with you Steven we would certainly come across as frightfully ungrateful but thankfully no one else in my family has any interest in the Great War so I'm safe. In saying that I am not really ungrateful, just frustrated with their choices, not mine. However, as I said, anything relating to the Great War is not wasted. By the way, your family probably found it extremely difficult to procure a pair of new 1914-18 socks which I assume would be relatively rare these days. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 29 December , 2013 Share Posted 29 December , 2013 If the truth be known, although I enjoy the season, I personally would prefer if the whole affair would pass by without presents at all, but as I stand alone in my family with that opinion, I guess I am stuck with it. The other problem for me is that I am a terribly bad actor, and I hate the thought of hurting anyone's feelings. That is the reason a 'wish list' to me is a blessing, I just wish that everyone had one. 'Stocking stuffers' only make shopping more stressful than ever. How does one get a smle in a Christmas stocking anyway? khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaforths Posted 29 December , 2013 Share Posted 29 December , 2013 If the truth be known, although I enjoy the season, I personally would prefer if the whole affair would pass by without presents at all, but as I stand alone in my family with that opinion, I guess I am stuck with it. The other problem for me is that I am a terribly bad actor, and I hate the thought of hurting anyone's feelings. That is the reason a 'wish list' to me is a blessing, I just wish that everyone had one. 'Stocking stuffers' only make shopping more stressful than ever. How does one get a smle in a Christmas stocking anyway? khaki Wish lists are a good idea if the folk you send them to communicate. I fell foul of the wish list thing on my birthday when I received identical copies of the same book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger H Posted 30 December , 2013 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2013 We must come across as a frightfully ungrateful lot if ever our nearest and dearest read these threads. Me? I needed new socks. Ungrateful? I was absolutely delighted! Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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