Turner Donovan Military Books - The world’s finest selection of rare and out-of-print books on British military history from 1800 to 1945
  Stock last updated on 18 April 2024
 
   

Aisne   41 Books
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The Rifle Brigade Chronicle 1918. 1st Ed., vi+352pp., 2 fldg. maps. For the RB. 1919  #61918
[HLMainPic] This edition includes war diaries of all regular & service bns. for the year 1915, various useful rolls of officers, awards, several good letters from the front, officers' obituaries &c. Orig. green cloth, gilt, VG. See illustration on our website.   £45
"A ROYAL FIELD LEECH" [Pseud. of SYMONS (Col. F.A., CMG, DSO)] The Tale of a Casualty Clearing Station. 1st Ed., [vii]+306pp. Blackwood. 1917  #67107
[HLMainPic] Unusual account by a regular RAMC officer & his unit in the 1914 campaign (Retreat from Mons, the Aisne &c., then on to Festubert 1915 &c). The author was KiA 30/4/17 as ADMS, 9th (Scottish) Div. Orig. cloth, red cloth, gilt, VG, rare & a very nice bright copy. See illustration on our website.   £145
ATKINSON (Capt. C.T.) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment 1914-1919. 1st Ed., xxviii+629pp., 19 plates, 62 maps & sketches. Simpkin, Marshall. 1924  #63911
[HLMainPic] Bns. served Western Front, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Italy, Egypt & Palestine. Roll of Hon., awards. Orig. light blue cloth, gilt, VG, nice copy. See illustration on our website.   £65
BARROW (Gen. Sir George, GCB, KCMG) The Life of General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, Bart., GCB, GCSI, GCMG. 1st Ed., 287pp., portrait frontis., 22 plates. Hutchinson. 1931  #63376
[HLMainPic] Comm. 1879, Staff College 1889-90, influential Instructor then Commandant at School of Musketry, Hythe, 1901-07. Largely devoted to his interesting WW1 career as GOC 2nd Div. in 1914: Aisne, 1st Ypres &c., GOC I Corps in France then C.-in-C. Gallipoli in succession to Hamilton (including the evacuation). Cmd. 1st Army in France 1916 then as C.-in-C. India was involved in direction of Mesopotamia campaign. Orig. blue cloth, gilt, ex-circ. lib., sp. worn, generally VG & very scarce. See illustration on our website.   £50
BERKELEY (Capt. R., MC) & SEYMOUR (Brig. W.W.) The History of the Rifle Brigade in the War of 1914-1918. 1st Ed., Vol. I: Aug. 1914-Dec. 1916; Appendix: Lists of Officers & Other Ranks of the R.B. awarded decorations or MiD for services during the Great War (Comp. Lt.-Col. T.R. Eastwood, DSO, MC & Major H.G. Parkyn, OBE). xvi+245 & xv+409pp., 28 plates, 52 maps (14 fldg.); Appendix: [v]+105pp. 4to. The RB Club. 1927; 1936; 1936. 1927  #63137
[HLMainPic] Excellent history. Every notable action of all bns. described, many in great detail (all but one bn. served Western Front). Vol. II includes the indices; main index which is almost entirely names & index by bns. of their activities in chronological order & an index of actions. Rifle green cloth, silver gilt, VG throughout (although Vol. I rather worn due to earlier publication & inferior cloth), good complete set & scarce. See illustration on our website.   £165
CASUALTY [Pseud. of GYDE (Capt. Arnold A.E.)] "Contemptible." 2nd Ed., vi+226pp. Heinemann. 1916  #62218
[HLMainPic] Gyde was a regular officer, OC No. 5 Platoon, 2nd South Staffs. Personal account of mobilisation, Mons & the Retreat, the Marne & Aisne where he was shot in the head by a sniper & subsequent hospitalisation in France & UK. Orig. red cloth, blocked black, VG. See illustration on our website.   £60
COLEMAN (Frederic) From Mons to Ypres with French: A Personal Narrative. 4th Imp., xix+324pp., c.50 photos., map. Sampson, Low. 1916  #63740
[HLMainPic] RAC volunteer driver attd. to French's HQ during Retreat from Mons & to 2nd Cav. Bde. HQ during the advance to the Marne & Aisne; 1st Cav. Div. at Messines, Ypres &c. An informative contemporary account. Orig. red cloth, VG, nice clean copy. See illustration on our website.   £25
CONAN DOYLE (Arthur) The British Campaign in France & Flanders 1914-1918. 6 Vols., all 1st Eds. except Vol. II which is 2nd Ed., each c.330pp., num. maps & diagrams, many fldg. H&S. 1916-1919  #66801
[HLMainPic] Unsophisticated history of all the main operations (& a number of minor affairs) on the Western Front, but a very useful source from a brigade/divisional viewpoint as he concentrates on front line events with frequent mention of formations & units engaged. Many useful maps & frequent casualty figures. Orig. blue cloth, gilt, nice set & VG throughout. See illustration on our website.   £145
DARLING (Major J.C., DSO) The 20th Hussars in the Great War. 1st Ed., 131pp., 3 portraits, 3 fldg. maps. Privately printed by the author. 1923  #63155
[HLMainPic] Western Front 1914-18 inc. Retreat from Mons, Aisne, first & second Ypres, Cambrai &c. Orig. olive green dec. cloth, little chipped & worn, generally VG. See illustration on our website.   £95
DONOVAN (Tom) In Memoriam: A Bibliography of Personal Memorial Volumes of the Great War, 1914-1918. 1st Ed., x+390pp., 62 col. illus. on 16 plates. VG in dw. Tom Donovan Editions. 2015  #62063
[HLMainPic] Contains detailed descriptions of 370 WW1 memorial volumes recorded by me over some 30 years, including trawling the collections of the IWM, British Library, &c. The personal memorial volumes of the Great War, 1914-1918, were a phenomenon particular to the period & more especially to the sons of upper middle class temporary officers who fell in very large numbers. Memorial volumes were of course produced for a number of Regular Army (& Navy) officers too, as well as for a few "other ranks" & to several Americans serving with the British Forces. When making my selection I have also been mindful of the need to establish a working definition of what we mean by a Great War personal memorial volume. My assumption has been that the volume must be 'personal,' i.e. about an individual or, in some cases, about multiple related individuals such as brothers. The subject of the volume must have been on active service during the Great War & must have died as a result of that service, having been killed in action, died of wounds or died as a result of sickness or accident. In other words the volume must have been compiled & published posthumously. The contents must include at least one of the following: memoirs, letters, or diaries; the memoirs may be written by the subject or by a third party about the subject; the letters may be written by or to the subject or may be letters of condolence written to the family after the subject's death. In addition the volume may include biographical details & poetry written by the subject but I have specifically excluded formal biographies & volumes of verse. These criteria encompass a broad range of publications from small privately printed volumes to mass-produced books that ran into many editions, & from pamphlets to luxurious leather-bound volumes. Similarly the range and variety of content included is substantial. These volumes constitute a rich vein for modern historians to mine. They constitute a canon of writing – much of it surprisingly fine considering the youth of the writers – which provides us with an insight into a wide range of personal experiences & emotions that collectively represents the active service experience of this generation. The letters and diaries reproduced in these volumes, together with the memorials of their lives written by those who knew them, & the letters of condolence written by comrades & friends, tell us much about these young men, their society & background &, implicitly, the impact of the war on British society. These accounts complement the various formal official & regimental histories & the large number of memoirs produced after the war. A few are simply bald biographical records; most are informative & many are amusing & entertaining. Some are quite exceptional in the range of emotion & experience eloquently described. Many are, inevitably, highly moving. To assist researchers I have included extensive indexes of regiments, cemeteries & memorials, schools & colleges, battles & other events of the Great War. Published in an edition of 100 copies & now out of print, but I have a handful of copies left. See illustrations on our website.   £95

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