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 November 2024
 
   

Manuscripts & Ephemera 1914-1918 Manuscripts & Ephemera 1914-1918   23 Books
   1 2 3   
Roll of Honour & Casualties & List of Officers who have served with 75th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, Guards Division, 24th August [to] 11th November 1918. 1st Ed., orig. dec. wraps., [15]pp. No imprint/date. (contemp.).  #63220
[HLMainPic] Roll of Hon. stating date & place of death, name, rank, no. & Battery, roll of those wounded (with similar details), rolls of officers & their appointments, &c. Attractive blue & gilt wraps. with RA & Guards Div. devices, little wear, generally VG with pencil inscrip. "In gratitude James Kirkland Lt. Col." See illustration on our website.   £75
Small scrap album/autograph book with WW1 content. Cloth covers with sketch & legend 'Autographs', 17x14 cm approx., plain leaves mostly bearing inscriptions & sketches, with a number by WW1 servicemen, also other content & some remain blank. Sp. chipped/worn with loss but internally sound.  #54296
[HLMainPic] WW1 contributions by soldiers include several good coloured sketches (including trench scenes) & cartoons, regimental badges & patriotic messages. See illustrations on our website.   £50
Photographs & Sketches of The Post Office Rifles in France & Calendar for 1916. Wall-hanging calendar, 320x255mm approx., consisting of 16 leaves: (1) Cover with decorative title, badge, coloured borders; (2) Photo. portraits of Colonel-in-Chief, CO, Adjt., QM & RSM; (3) 1st Bn. on Parade at Abbots Langley Before Leaving for France, March 1915; (4-15) Monthly calendars with many appealing & mostly humorous sketches by Sgt. F.H. Turner; (16) Caricatures of CO & Lt. Peel. Art paper throughout, 7 photos. & 20 sketches in all, with red/green ribbon tie at top for hanging The Regt. Contemp.  #61033
[HLMainPic] Appealing contemp. 8th London Regt. regimental souvenir & doubtless a rare survival. Little dusty & chipped, generally VG. See illustrations on our website.   £125
No. 593556 Rfn. Henry Nicholls, 18th Bn. London Regiment (The Lonon Irish Rifles). Sundry service papers including Discharge Certificate; Character Certificate; Notification of Award of Pension &c., together with printed leaflets: Soldiers Pensions 1917 & Disabled Sailors & Soldiers (a Ministry of Pensions publication, dated 1917) & one or two minor documents.  #61180
[HLMainPic] Henry Nicholls enlisted at Bethnal Green in June 1916, served in France/Flanders from November 1916 to June 1917 when he was wounded (GSW, left forearm). He was discharged as no longer fit for military service in June 1918. See illustration on our website.   £45
1/6th Battn. London Regiment: Battalion Christmas Card 1917. Attractive card with regimental crest to front & insert (held in with red & green cord tie) depicting the battalion's battles & engagements from March 1915-August 1917, with appealing sketches. VG with inscrip. from Fred Hobbs to Mother & loosely inserted photo. of two soldiers of the battalion, one presumably Hobbs. See illustrations on our website.  #61819
[HLMainPic]   £30
The War Dragon: The Regimental Gazette of "The Buffs" (East Kent Regiment), No. 7, December 1916. 1st Ed., orig. dec. wraps., 16pp., 4to, 4 photos. G. Street & Co., Ltd, for The Buffs. Contemp.  #62481
[HLMainPic] Rare wartime journal of the Buffs including Rolls. of Hon. & awards, several obits of fallen officers & men, &c. This edition contains a lengthy account of PoW life 1915-16 by Lt. S. Vaughan of the 8th Bn., who was captured at Loos (includes account of this action & his capture, also 3 photos. of himself & other PoWs), also a named group photo. of the officers & NCOs of the 2nd Bn. & an account of the same battalion's services in France from Jan-April 1915. VG. See illustrations on our website.   £45
Gough Family: The Great War letters of the four sons of Colonel George Hugh Gough, second son of the 2nd Viscount Gough, a regular soldier who died on active service in South Africa in 1900, written to his wife & their mother, Hilda Gough. Bound volume of typescript copies, [282]pp., 8vo (210x178mm). Full black crushed morocco by Bumpus Ltd., raised bands & gilt title to spine. nd (c.1936)  #62498
[HLMainPic] The War Letters of Guy V.H. Gough (a regular officer of the KRRC taken PoW at Ypres on 2/11/1914); Harold S. Gough (KiA near Ypres with the 11th [Service] Bn. KRRC on 17/6/1916 & buried in Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery); Dermot H. Gough (10th Hussars & VIII Corps HQ) & George P. Gough (Irish Guards). The letters are presented chronologically throughout the war from 16th August 1914 to 1st December 1918. These brothers were the sons of Colonel George Hugh Gough CB [1852-1900] & his wife, Hilda Morrison, grandsons of George Stephens Gough, Second Viscount Gough. The brothers: Guy Vincent Hugh Gough [1887-1958] Lieutenant, King's Royal Rifle Corps. Prisoner of War from 2nd November 1914 to 18th November 1918. Later Colonel; George Patrick Gough [1887-1932] Lieutenant, Irish Guards. Wounded in 1914 and later served on the Staff; Harold Stewart Gough, "Boy" [1894-1916] Lieutenant, 11th (Service) Bn. King's Royal Rifle Corps. Killed in Action at Ypres, 17th June 1916; Dermot Humphrey Gough, MC [1896-1919] Lieutenant, 10th Hussars. Died 7th October 1919. The letters are presented chronologically, the first being from Guy, evidently his first from France, through to a final letter from Dermot dated 1st December 1918. There are around 160 letters in all, most extending over several pages, approximate page break down as follows: GVHG: Letters on active service during 1914 campaign until captured (50 pages) & letters from Crefeld and Schwarmstadt PoW Camps (94 pages). Some extracts: 17/9/1914: "…Ever since our advance, things have been going well; capturing 500 prisoners per day and full of confidence. Last Monday we sallied out to capture some more, but got held up and we have been fighting ever since, or rather sitting quite still and being shelled by enormous shells. Horrible – one shell burst into a barn and killed 15 and wounded 45 men – it was ghastly – Hugo --, He got wounded below the arm (left) on Monday morn; lay under fire for 4 hours, was brought in that night to a barn in the firing line, where he was only slightly dressed and not brought down till Tuesday night. On Wednesday morn, they examined him and discovered that 'Grangrene' [sic] had set in, so they had to amputate half way between elbow and shoulder… It is bad business. But a day never goes by without hearing that at least one of one's best friends have been killed… We are very cheery indeed, wonderful and the men are glorious – cheery and longing to have a go at the Germans…" 18/4/1915: "…Your letters pour in very regularly and are wonderful in the amount of news and gossip… We have been quite stirred out of our lethargy lately. Three Officers tried to escape, one was captured and the other two managed to get back undetected into barracks. The next day we were told that unless these two officers either gave themselves up or were given up, all smoking would be stopped. We are still not smoking…" GPG: Letters on active service during 1914 campaign until wounded on 26/12/1914 (16 pages).There follows a break in active service then: Letters serving with HQ VIII Corps during 1918 (8 pages). Extract: 9/12/1914: "…Such a stirring half hour this morning, Hubert [Gough] first of all arrived in the village, in great form continually repeating 'No quarter, George, kill them all, wounded or prisoner', then Johnny [Gough] came up, also in very good form and hopeful about a general advance, then Douglas Haig who was introduced to Eric and I said suitable words about the Gough Clan. It has stirred one up to tremendous enthusiasm, and Hubert was going to show D. Haig the right place to go!! I gave a stirring lecture to my Company, explaining I would shoot anyone who left the trenches or failed to advance and hope they were suitably impressed…" HSG: Letters on active service from 25/7/1915-29/5/1916 (KiA 17/6/1916) (65 pages). Extract: 12/10/1915: "We came back to billets last night after a strenuous and fairly eventful week in the Trenches… We were shelled out of our mere [mire?] early in the week and since then have lived a more or less hand to mount existence in the open… We were shelled intermittently day and night all through the week and on this occasion did not get off so lightly in the matter of casualties. I am sorry to say that my platoon was the worst sufferer in this respect. My servant was slightly wounded but he has now returned to duty. He showed great courage and enterprise at a rather difficult period and has really earned a good parcel. As a servant he had improved enormously during the last fortnight…" DHG: Letters on active service with 10th Hussars from 7/2/1916-1/12/1918 (34 pages). Extract: 8/4/1918: "…Well, I have had the hardest time for the last 18 days I have ever had in my life. It was awful but I am thankful to say once more I have been saved. I have lost every bit of my kit bit… I expect we shall have some more fighting… Our men were simply wonderful. We had 10 officer casualties, one killed and the rest wounded. Our Colonel was wounded – he is the 8th during this war we have had…" Duplicated typescript, page size 160x200mm, overall size 172x208mm x 50mm thick, bound in full green crushed morocco, aeg, with raised bands and gilt title to spine: THE WAR LETTERS OF G.V.H.G. – G.P.G. – H.D.G. – D.H.G. 1914-1918 by Bumpus Ltd. at their Oxford Street address, with ink ms. inscription to blank leaf, presumably by their mother: "Translated from the Warfare of the World into the Peace of God. Harold Stewart Killed at Ypres June 16 1916. Dermot Humphrey Gough Died at Badminton after 3 years active service Oct. 6th 1919. George Patrick Gough Died July 12 1936." See illustrations on our website.   £1250
The Palestine News. The Weekly Newspaper of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force of the British Army in Occupied Enemy Territory. First Year, No. 42, Thursday, 19th December, 1918. 16pp., tabloid format (40x30cm). Published Every Thursday at GHQ, First Echelon, Palestine.  #62666
[HLMainPic] Includes local (military & civil) & world news, announcement of the forthcoming "Record of the EEF." Worn & fragile but scarce survival.   £35
Lance-Cpl. George Henry Dewdney, "P" Special Company, Royal Engineers. Ms. copies of letters written from France/Flanders between April 1917-November 1918, copied in a small but neat hand in a contemp. (or earlier) notebook, approx. 140pp. (around 15,000 words).  #68008
[HLMainPic] George Dewdney lived at 27 Preston Road, Brighton at the time of his enlistment & at the time of his death of TB in November 1919, eight months after discharge & at the age of 21. Prior to his military service he was employed as a clerk in the Inland Revenue. He joined the Royal Engineers in 1917, proceeded to France in April 1917. Initially employed at the Depot of the Special Brigade at Rouen, he was posted to "P" Special Coy. RE on 19th July 1917. He was promoted to Lance-Cpl. in August 1918 & demobilised in March 1919. The Special Brigade operated gas projectors & each Coy. consisted of 225 men. Dewdney joined the unit in Flanders during the 3rd Battle of Ypres. The Coy. was operational throughout this battle, & when not employed in discharging gas was used for cleaning up & also salving, including gas cylinders & other specialised equipment. The writer does not describe gas operations in any detail, but gives a good account of life in France. Comrades at the Rouen depot were not always as honest as they ought to be: "I had such a sad misfortune on Friday. I always slept with my wallet under my pillow. As you know it contained all my little personal treasures - friends' photographs etc. - & my money (notes). When I went to breakfast on Friday morning I forgot to pick it up... when I returned less that half an hour later I found it gone... The pity of it all is that one of the fellows in our tent seems to have taken it, and that thought alters the whole spirit of trust & friendship which existed before." Much of his time in the Salient was spent in Poperinghe, when not in the line. "We raced back to Camp in time for a concert here. It was quite good. Not exactly West End style perhaps but - well. For instance can you imagine anything funnier than a Bairnsfather Tommy in a long great coat, hands in the pockets, standing stock still trying to sing a comic song seriously - when he was well oiled! Intentional humour is not always the most successful. Some of the turns were very good tho." He went to Toc H (Talbot House) many times: "One of the 'proper houses of amusement' is a fine big house turned into a 'soldiers rest' - canteen, music, games, reading & writing rooms, & a fine garden, & at the top a beautiful little chapel. It was an attic but is now fitted up beautifully..." In between operations much time was spent salving gas projectors & other materiel: "Today I have been up to the line. It was intended that we should 'scrounge' but Fritz, without being really saucy, was just sufficiently aggravating to make the game not worth the candle. By the way is 'scrounging' a dictionary word? If not it will be. Officially used it means salvaging - a worthy task in these hard times..." Hutted camp at Poperinghe, October 1917: "The weather has been quite good lately but it is very cold tonight. However, we have been issued our winter kit - two pairs of fine thick pants & vests... Did I tell you we are now in huts? They are fine, although the lighting problem is the worst. There are always plenty of candles going but these are usually close to the sides of the hut & their rays are hidden either behind a man, a book or possibly a shirt undergoing delousing! So long shadows cast their gloom over the place. That is what makes a walk to Talbot House worth while these nights. The rooms there are at any rate decently lighted & warm into the bargain, the little attic church at service time is best of all..." Letter book worn/split, contents sound, together with photo. of the writer, one of his grave, a contemp. sketch of the chapel at Talbot House & copies of Dewdney's service papers. See illustrations on our website.   £145
Roll of Honour Eleventh Brigade Royal Field Artillery 1914-1918. 1st Ed., small format, dec. card wraps. with silk ribbon tie, [4]pp. No imprint/date (c.1919)  #63223
[HLMainPic] Despite title actually contains a nominal roll of officers who served in the brigade during the war, noting those killed, wounded, &c., followed by casualty statistics for all ranks. See illustration on our website.   £40

   1 2 3   




View Order/Checkout


 

 



Terms & Conditions  - Links  - Contact Us  - Newsletter
Turner Donovan Military Books, Flat 1, 22 Florence Road, Brighton BN1 6DJ