Blazing Trail of Flanders

[Mark Hone]

Not really a review but does anyone know anything about this author who served with the Cheshire Regiment? I picked this book up, published 1933, a few years ago for £2-95 and had never come across anyone who had heard of it until I saw it mentioned briefly in the 'Cameos of the Western Front' book 'In the Shadow of Hell' by Paul Chapman. The main thing I remember about it is that the author looks very peculiar in some of the photogravure illustrations!

[Paul Reed]

It's a rare one, Mark, and must confess don't know much about the author. Some nice photos with it, though and pretty good on the Salient, I seem to remember.

[ianw]

Mark,

It does indeed seem a rarity with only one copy selling on the net at the moment at £142.50 !

[Mark Hone]

Blimey-I better put it into the safety deposit box at my Swiss bank! You're right Paul, it is pretty good on Ypres, and I might try visiting some of the locations he mentions on my next visit. There is quite a long description of the final advance from the Salient and the capture of the village of Sweveghem for example.

[andigger]

Mark... Have you been able to go to the Front and review the accuracy of the book?

Has anyone else read it?

[ianw]

In similar fashion to Mark, I have found this title recently. Looking forward to reading it.

[Mark Hone]

To be honest it's lain almost forgotten on my bookshelves since the original thread. Now that IanA has reminded me I'll dig it out, reread it and possibly use it as the basis of a future tour.

[ianw]

I think I will bring my copy of this book to the Birmingham Conference and try to sell it help defray some of the costs.

An enjoyable read but needs moving on to another owner rather than just sit on my shelves.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Just for completeness here's a copy in its dust jacket. I've always thought this book has the oddest set of photos I've seen. Most of the heads look as if they were stuck on later. Tom Donovan is selling a jacketed copy for £145.

[Black Maria]

It's a shame that a book with such a great title was given such a plain jacket.

[Black Maria]

I notice a jacketed copy has just sold on e-bay for £23.77 , someone has got themselves a bargain.

[Black Maria]

For a book that was published after the Great War book watershed (1933) there have been a large number of copies of this book that I have seen still in their jackets.

The usual practice at the time the book was published was to discard the garish jacket to reveal the plain cloth underneath, so I can only guess that because, in the case

of this book, the cloth was more garish than the jacket, many people decided to retain it, also the jacket being made of robust paper helped in it's survival.