Books charting the histories of regiments involved in the Great War.  Detailed historical information of regiments in the First World War.

Order code NMP8119

The West Riding Territorials in the Great War by Laurie Magnus.

This book is concerned with the two West Riding divisions during the Great War - the 49th (1st West Riding) and the second-line 62nd (2nd West Riding), formed after the outbreak of war. The 49th has no separate divisional history of its own but the 62nd has a two volume history, recently reprinted. The record is set out in three parts or books. Book I deals with pre-war history, describing the formation of the West Riding (Territorial) Association in 1908 and what it did in the years before the war (and there is an appendix listing all the Association members and permanent officials from 1908 to1920) This is followed by an account of the all the West Riding units, their formation, training and peacetime stations with a list of their COs at the outbreak of war; and finally there is an account of the process of mobilization when war came. Book II is entitled War and takes the story from the arrival in France of the 49th Division in April 1915 through to the arrival of the 62nd Division in January 1917 to the end of that year. The Cambrai offensive had ended in December and in the opening attack on 20th November the 62nd had, in the words of Haig in his foreword, carried out an operation of outstanding brilliance. By the end of 1917 casualties amounted to 44,049 all ranks of whom 406 officers and 5,242 other ranks were dead. Book III is Wars End and covers the last year of the war through to the armistice. Subsequently the 62nd marched into Germany with the British Army of Occupation, the only Territorial division selected to be part of that Force. In 1919 it was renamed the Highland Division. One of the appendices provides a complete roll, extending to nearly one hundred pages, of all the Honours and Awards obtained by both divisions (listed separately) The statistics are interesting: the 49th total of awards came to 2,640 while the 62nds total was 2,655 despite arriving in France twenty months after the 49th. Both divisions won five VCs A further list shows all West Riding Territorial troops who won their awards while not serving with either division. Finally there is a table showing the return of casualties by units up to the end of 1918, amounting to 2,927 officers and 65,886 other ranks. To this is added a footnote saying the figures are provisional, and though so deplorably heavy, cannot be regarded as complete. This book is highly recommended.

Illustrated paperback book with 324 pages.

Price £22.00.

Derbyshire Yeomanry War History 1914 - 1919 by G A Strutt.

When the Territorial Force (TF) was created in 1908, the Derbyshire Yeomanry, together with the South Notts Hussars and Sherwood Rangers formed the Notts and Derby Mounted Brigade in the 1st Mounted Division. In September 1914 another mounted division was formed, the 2nd, to which the Notts and Derby Brigade was transferred, and in November the division was deployed along the Norfolk coast, the regiment being stationed in Cromer. In April 1915 the division sailed for Egypt where the brigade was redesignated 3rd Mounted Brigade. In August the division was sent, dismounted, to Gallipoli, landing at Suvla and two or three days later (21st August) the regiment was involved in the advance across the open from Lala Baba to Chocolate Hill in which action losses amounted to 78 with 20 dead. In October the division was withdrawn and sent back to Egypt where it was broken up. The 3rd Mounted Brigade was ordered to Salonika where it arrived in February 1916. The regiment remained in Macedonia for the rest of the war.
This history, primarily intended for members of the regiment, gives a good account of the regiments war service at Gallipoli and in Macedonia. Lie of the land, climate, conditions, health and medical, operations, opinions of Turks, Bulgars and Russians are all discussed and described, and the narrative covers activities in and out of the line. The final chapter contains the list of officers who served overseas with the regiment (67, among them Capt Sir Oswald Mosley) Roll of Honour (79 dead of whom three were officers) list of Mentions in Despatches and Honours and Awards.

Illustrated paperback with 211 pages.

Order code NMP8857. Book price £14.50.

The Durham Forces in the Field 1914 - 18 by Captain Wilfrid Miles.

In response to Kitcheners call in August 1914 for volunteers for his New Armies, the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) had, by the end of September raised six battalions which were numbered consecutively after the existing battalions of the regiment and distinguished by the word Service in brackets after the number. Thus these new battalions became the 10th to 15th (Service) Battalions, the DLI. In addition they had also raised and completely equipped a battalion free of all expense to the Government, at first known as the County Battalion of the DLI but later (December) numbered 18th. The opening chapter in this record describes the raising of the new battalions, including those which never went overseas. This history is concerned with the eleven Service battalions that went on active service: 10th to 15th; 18th to 20th; 22nd and 29th. All of them fought on the Western Front, two of them (12th and 13th) also served in Italy.  The author does not take each battalion in turn but rather tells the story of the battalions in the form of a chronological narrative, beginning in May 1915 when the first of the battalions (10th) arrived on the battlefield. and bringing in the others as they arrived in France. In his account the major battles involving one or more of these service battalions (Loos, Somme, Arras, Messines, Third Ypres, Cambrai, Italy etc) are described in detail, a chapter devoted to each and interspersed with chapters on trench warfare operations between major battles. Thus there is a chapter on Loos followed by a chapter on trench warfare from October 1915 to June 1916 followed by a chapter on the Somme, and so on. There is a very good index in which each battalion is covered separately. Miles has done a good job in making this an informative and very readable account with plenty of detail of fighting at battalion level with mention of individuals, acts of bravery (including two VCs) and casualties.

Illustrated paperback with 380 pages.

Order code NMP8116. Book price £18.00.

History of the Fourth Battalion The Seaforth Highlanders y Lieut-Colonel M M Haldane.

A great deal of care has gone into the production of this fine battalion history which has some unusual features - the number of colour plates depicting battlefield scenes, the drawings at the head of each chapter, and the system whereby events between successive chapters are described in a brief synopsis, thus preserving continuity in the narrative. There are two short sections on the second and third line battalions, neither of which went on active service. There is a list of Honours and Awards, grouped under the year in which they were awarded and in order of the date of the London Gazette notifying them, and these awards included a posthumous VC - to Sgt J.Meikle for gallantry in July 1918. From time to time casualty figures are given in the narrative and there is a plate showing 273 officers and 3783 other ranks served overseas with the battalion of whom 60 officers and 1110 other ranks died. This table also summarises the Honours awarded.
The 4th Seaforth Highlanders were in the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade of the Highland Division when war broke out but left the brigade in November 1914 to go to France where they joined the Dehra Dun Brigade of the 7th (Meerut) Division of the Indian Corps, and when the division left France in November the battalion was transferred first to 46th Division, then the 15th Scottish and finally, in January 1916, back to the 51st Highland Division for the rest of the war.
This is an outstanding history of a Territorial battalion that was in action before the end of 1914 and fought right through to the armistice.

Illustrated paperback with 372 pages.

Order code NMP6996. Book price £25.50.

The Cambridgeshires 1914 to 1919 by Brigadier General E Riddell and Colonel M C Clayton.

Originally The Cambridgeshires were a line regiment, 30th Foot, raised in 1702. Following the Cardwell Reforms it became, in 1881, 1st Battalion East Lancashire Regiment. However, it continued to exist as a Volunteer regiment till 1908 when, with the creation of the Territorial Force by Haldane, it became a TF Regiment. When war broke out it was stationed in Cambridge, with the East Midland Brigade, East Anglian Division - a TF formation. In February 1915 it left the division and went to France where it joined the 82nd Brigade, 27th Division, a regular army formation which had been created in November/December 1914 from battalions returning from India, Hong Kong and Tsientsin. In November 1915 it was transferred to VII Corps troops and then became Training Battalion for Third Army. At the end of February 1916 it moved again - to 118th Brigade, 37th Division, and finally, in May 1918, it was again transferred, this time to 35th Brigade, 12th Division with whom it saw out the war.
All these moves are described in this history together with good accounts of the battles in which it fought - at Ypres, Somme, Passchendale, Hindenburg Line and the final advance. Appendices list 27 Battle Honours and give a summary of Honours awarded and of casualties. Approximately 10,000 of all ranks served in the battalion in France, 4,324 became casualties and of these 866 died. Finally there is a brief account of those units of the regiment that did not go overseas, including the Depot and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th line battalions.

Illustrated paperback with 292 pages.

Order code NMP8701. Book price £22.00.

History of the 1/4th Battlaion, Duke of Wellingtons West Riding Regiment, 1914 - 1919 by Capt P G Bales.

This is a very good and informative history of a Territorial battalion during the Great War, written by an officer who served in it as Intelligence Officer, Assistant Adjutant and Adjutant and who for more than two years was responsible for keeping the War Diary. He has made good use of this responsibility and in a series of appendices has produced the sort of detail not often seen in a battalion or regimental history. There is the battalion itinerary which charts every movement and location with dates from 4th August 1914 to 19th June 1919 with explanatory notes and comments, such as: 28.2.16. [Move to] Right section, Authuille Trenches. Relieved 1/4th Bn KOYLI. Another lists every officer who served in the battalion noting when they joined (the originals are identified) and what befell them, with dates; e.g. killed, wounded, sick, transferred etc and then there is a similar list for all the Warrant Officers and Company Quarter Master Sergeants, I do not remember seeing such a list in any other history. There is a summary of casualties which shows the various periods of time over which they were incurred and the relevant sector of the front - a total of 98 officers 2,733 other ranks. There is also a list of Honours and Awards, which includes one VC, and it is made clear that only those conferred on personnel for services rendered while actually serving with the Battalion are included. There is no complete battalion Roll of Honour nor, unfortunately, is there an index.

4th DW was one of the regiments three Territorial battalions (the other two were 5th and 6th), based in Halifax, Yorks, part of the 2nd West Riding Brigade (later 147th), West Riding Division (later 49th). For the first three months of the war it was on coast defence near Hull and Grimsby before moving to Doncaster, where it remained till embarking for France on 14th April 1915. It fought on the Western Front for the rest of the war, staying in the same brigade and division. The story of the battalion, written primarily for the men who served with it, is well told, based on official documents, supplemented by personal recollections of many officers and other ranks; the sketch maps are clear and most of them concentrate on the battalion’s front as opposed to the general area-type maps. Well recommended.

Illustrated paperback with 314 pages.

Order code NMP7426. Book price £25.00.

Over the Top - A P.B.I. in the H.A.C. by Arthur Lambert.

The author served in the The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) a Territorial Army regiment, the oldest regiment in the British Army and one which, in spite of its title, was composed of infantry and artillery. Lambert enlisted in the HAC in 1917 at the age of 34 and in September that same year joined the 2nd Battalion (22nd Brigade, 7th Division) at Quelmes, in Belgium. Almost as soon as he arrived the battalion went forward into the salient where the Third Ypres offensive had been in progress for two months. His descriptions of the awful scenes in Polygon Wood, the fighting on Broodseinde Ridge, the carnage and the mud: Help! For Gods sake, came the shout, ending in a wail. It came from a man in the Durham Light Infantry, buried deep in the mud. He was already up to his chest and only his outstretched arms were saving him from a dreadful death. It took six men twenty minutes to pull him inch by inch from the treacherous mire. A month later the division was on its way to Italy where it remained for the rest of the war. The war in Italy was no picnic either as Lamberts story reveals, and there are not many published memoirs describing the fighting there. Unusually, in this book the author refers to himself throughout in the third person. This is a good read.

Paperback with 224 pages.

Order code NMP5778. Book price £11.95.