Regiments of the British Army - Part 1 Infantry

[MartH]

Many of us over the years will have purchased books from Victor Sutcliffe, some of you will know of his passion for regimental histories, and his work with the Army Museums' Ogilby Trust (AMOT).

Over the last few years he has been working with AMOT, revising, and providing an online version of that seminal work: A. S. White's Bibliography of Regimental Histories of the British Army. According to him he has only done a dozen additions or corrections (as at 1965), but in the 42 years since the publication of this work there have been many new publications, and even though the London Stamp Exchange did a facsimile reprint in 1988 with an addendum of the books published between 1965 and 1988, he has decided that a new work is required, the uplift from White's is over 1,000 alone for Part 1 Infantry.

It is planned to come out in thee parts:

Part 1. Infantry (including Volunteer and Service Battalions), published 1st September 2007

Part 2. Cavalry, Armour, and Yeomanry, due January 2008

Part 3. Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Special Forces, Army Aviation and Support Services, due 2009 Plus

He also plans to issue corrigenda and addenda as required, possibly on an annual basis, with input from the readers.

He is no stranger to doing bibliographical works having produced many catalog's and the excellent "The Sandler Collection, An annotated bibliography of books relating to the military history of the French Revolution and Empire in the library of John Sandler, 1996". Interestingly another bookseller: Francis Edwards played a role in the publication of White's, with of course the AMOT. Victor did get contributions from many others, but it is his work.

Full Bibliographical Details:

Regiments of the British Army

a handbook with lists

Part 1 Infantry

Victor Sutcliffe

Mulberry Coach House Books 2007

ISBN 978-0-9556364-0-0

Cost is £24.50, mine came from the publishers

So what does Part 1, Infantry Consist of:

Preface - 3 pages

Contents Index - 4 pages

The work itself - pages 1 - 472

Index - pages 473 to 505

For those familiar with Whites and Perkin's the format is different, each regiment is in number order, with the Guards first followed by the Regiments according to there (lower) numbers. For each regiment there is a chapter covering:

1. A short history of the Regiment,

2. The designations used to call the Regiment,

3. A brief description of the Badge,

4. Nicknames,

5. A description of the Battalions, often split: A) Regular Battalions, Militia Battalions, C) Territorial Battalions, D) WW1 Service Battalions, and E) WW2 Service Battalion. The are additional ones designations, but these are the main ones,

6. Main Histories,

7. Other Histories.

So is the book worth having, especially since it is available online, and does the format of each chapter help using it?

I'm a great believer in bibliographies, that they are working documents and you should annotate them as you use them, all of mine have many pencil scrawls in the margins. This cannot be done easily with a website, so you still need the printed work. I do find that the early sections in the regimental chapters beneficial to understanding the histories written, and which ones you need to consult, the split between Main Histories and Other Histories is most useful.

I do have several criticisms:

1. For those books with ISBN numbers, why is it not included, surely one the purposes of a bibliography is to allow one to find books, and the ISBN is very important.

2. He does not cover, as in White's, General Works.

In this computerised age I would have like the Additional Indexes:

3. By Author

4. By Major Campaign - this would have necessitated Victor to decided upon classifying the major campaigns and allocating each book, but it would have been very useful.

I have only had mine several hours, and I have already started annotating it in my own style. It is a very important work, and tool for researching the Great War. The chapter layout makes it easy to use, and it will be used by many members of this forum.

Regards,

Mart

[Steven Broomfield]

Interesting - looks like it might be a necessary purchase.

Could I also thank Mart for the advice, via PM, that we can run it past our various budget-holders (also known as wives/girlfriends) by pointing out that this essential purchase will stop us buying the wrong books. Man's a bally genius

[MartH]

Has anyone else got a copy yet? Has anyone ordered it? Does any anyone use the AMOT website? Are there any other fans of bibliographies? Did anyone apart from Brommers find the review useful?

Mart

[sjustice]

Could I also thank Mart for the advice, via PM, that we can run it past our various budget-holders (also known as wives/girlfriends) by pointing out that this essential purchase will stop us buying the wrong books. Man's a bally genius

I just reverse the strategy employed by all ladies:

Is that a new book?

No

Kind Regards,

SMJ

[Staffsyeoman]

Excellent news, excellent news. Essential purchases all.

I must be blessed as the Chief of Staff (or, as those of a naval bent refer to 'er indoors CINCNAGHOME) will positively URGE me to buy it. Then she can use it.

Ordering direct from the publishers online seems rather fraught - indeed FINDING the publishers was not easy.

Amazon charge a sourcing fee plus P&P (grr). WH Smugs claim six weeks delivery.

OK... off to Waterstones....

[Steven Broomfield]

Staffs - any chance of a transfer of C-in-C?

Interestingly, on looking at the website, I see my old Company 2 i/c is a trustee. Wonder if that entitles me to a discount?

[Staffsyeoman]

Broomers., please forward web address of the publishers - I'd rather buy it direct!

[MartH]

Hi,

I've been in contact with Victor Sutcliffe, and as part of the review he is allowing me to post a chapter here as an illustration.

Since there are some questions about the published works on the Sherwood Foresters on another part of the Forum, that is the chapter chosen.

I include it here as a pdf file click on this link pf045.pdf for the full chapter.

If people have trouble viewing the file, pm me and I will post it in the raw thread.

Regards,

Mart

[Steven Broomfield]

Thanks Mart. Oh well, no option but to front up Mrs B (so to speak).

[Staffsyeoman]

And off to Waterstone's I went. Twice. Trafalgar Square branch (nearest) and Piccadilly branch (biggest).

Guess what? Despite two ISBNs, accurate title and author details - the book doesn't exist. According to them. And they wonder why people buy books off the internet these days...

Repeated plea for a reliable web address for the publishers to facilitate direct ordering, please? Please?!?

[MartH]

Hi

It's listed on www.ABE.com, at web link, from a book seller called Victor Sutcliffe.

Regards

Mart

[jmoha]

I went ahead and ordered this and paid via credit card, got a very speedy email from the author apologising but he no longer took them. Offered a Paypal or cheque alternative, so I opted for a cheque. As this was Friday, I knew that there was no chance to get a cheque off until Tuesday, so was going to send the cheque on then (blooming work getting in the way).

Arrived home tonight (Monday) to find the book had arrived already!! The cheque hasn't even been dispatched yet and still the author has sent the book, what can I say!!! Top-drawer service, will be dispatching said cheque in the morning but my faith in humanity recieved a real boost at that.

One happy customer.

[daggers]

Found today that Parish Chest, sponsors of the B-G Genealogy Forum, are offering Vols 1 & 2 of Victor Sutcliffe's 'Regiments of the British Army'.

Vol 1, as already discussed here last year, £27 post free; Vol. 2, Cavalry and Armour, £21, also post free. No reference there to vol. 3.

Mulberry Press are the publishers, details on the Parish Chest website <www.parishchest.com>

I have no axe to grind on this, just hope the info helps someone. Anyone able to review?

D

[Guest THJS]

The publishers are Mulberry Coach House Books -- www.mulberrycoachhousebooks.com -- and Volume 3 is due out in 2010.