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The First World War The First World War, Personal memoirs of soldiers of all nations on all fronts, anthologies, literature and fiction, history and analysis   832 Books
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Letters from Flanders written by 2nd Lieut. A.D. Gillespie Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders to his Home People. 3rd Ed., with an Appendix, xvi+326pp., portrait frontis., 2 other portraits. Smith, Elder. 1916  #65190
[HLMainPic] Alexander Douglas Gillespie was Ed. at Winchester & New College, Oxford, commissioned in the 4th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders & went to the Front in Feb. 1915. He was killed in action on 26th September 1915 with the 2nd Bn. near La Bassée, during the Battle of Loos (his only brother, Thomas Cunningham Gillespie, 2nd Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers, had been killed near the same place on 18th October 1914). A.D.G. was twenty-six and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. Contains one long letter from T.C.G. dated 16th October 1914, relating recent experiences in action etc. Almost all the book comprises A.D.G.'s lengthy letters from the Front, February 1915 onwards, describing life in trenches and billets, from the antagonistic activities of the Germans opposite to the habits of Sonia the cat that shared their trenches (and her kittens), changing conditions of warfare (issue of respirators etc.), curious rumours (streams poisoned with arsenic; booby-trapped corpses) and much more. Orig. red cloth, gilt, minor wear, VG. See illustration on our website.   £120
Fundraising for the Dardanelles: Mrs Cara Leland Broughton. (i) Printed 'form' letter from Jean Hamilton (with recipient's name: Mrs Broughton, in pencil) acknowledging gift to the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force; (ii) Receipt issued to Mrs Broughton by the Lady Hamilton Dardanelles Fund for gift of £15, signed in ink by [Lady] Jean Hamilton; (iii) Handbill issued by Mrs Moncrieffe's Fund, "Urgently required for the Dardanelles: The 'Gallipoli' or Improved Bell Stretcher Tent... These stretcher tents meet a want that has been created by the peculiar position on the Gallipoli peninsula where the wounded have not at their disposal field ambulances... but are obliged to lie on the ground without shelter, & tormented by flies..."; (iv) Another similar regarding the increased costs of improved Stretcher Tents (dated 10th Sept. 1915); (v) & (vi) printed letter & official receipt (signed by Marie Michell, Hon. Sec.) re Cara Broughton's gift of £30 to towards Stretcher Tents; (vii) Orig. 3pp. ms. letter (with OAS envelope, Passed by Censor &c.) from 245 L/Cpl. A. Forbes ASC, 2nd Mtd. Div. in Gallipoli to Mrs Broughton, thanking her for gifts of cigarettes.  #61081
[HLMainPic] During the Great War, especially during the early years, citizens, rich & poor, were exhorted to subscribe to a cornucopia of relief funds, ranging from those for Belgian Refugees to small comforts for the men in the trenches. Many of the organisers were 'society' ladies, & the campaign at Gallipoli was not without its sponsors, including Lady Hamilton, wife of Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton, with her Lady Hamilton Dardanelles Fund, and Mrs Moncrieffe (Gen. Hamilton's sister-in-law) with her "Mrs Moncrieffe's Fund" whose St. Marylebone War Hospitals' Supply Depot had a "Dardanelles Account." The small collection of documents here offered are a rare survival of these funds for men at the Dardanelles. The letter from the soldier (L/Cpl. Forbes) shows that Mrs Broughton also sent comforts to individual soldiers: "I am just writing a few lines in my dug-out, to thank you very much for the cigarettes which you are sending me every two weeks. I don't think there is a better tonic, as the chaps say, for our nerves when the shells & shrapnel come whistling over our heads..." (he goes on to describe some close shaves &c.). Note: Cara Leland Broughton, or Mrs Urban Hanlon Broughton, was an American heiress who married a relatively impecunious English engineer, Urban Broughton, when he was working for her father, the tycoon Henry Huttleston Rogers (of Standard Oil &c.) in 1895. Broughton became rich & successful in his own right, but the couple became enormously wealthy on the death of his wife's father in 1909. They lived in Park Street, Mayfair, & at a country house at Englefield Green. Two sons were ed. at Harrow & Urban was MP for Preston, 1915-18. Mrs Broughton made many generous gifts to various war charities. All items VG. See illustrations on our website.   £225
The Northern Barrage: Mine Force, United States Atlantic Fleet, The North Sea 1918. Edited by All Hands. 1st Ed., 127pp., 4to, photos. & sketches throughout. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute. 1919  #66137
[HLMainPic] Fully illustrated with photos. of all USN vessels & crews of Mine Force, based at Invergordon &c. during this period. Several hundred photos. (inc. shore bases, ships at sea, mining eqpt. in use &c.) + supporting text notes, endorsements &c. Nicely produced record of this work. Orig. blue cloth, gilt, little marked & worn, generally VG. See illustrations on our website.   £65
The War Work of the G.E.C. 1st Ed., 83pp., 4to, photos. throughout. Published by the G.E.C. Publicity Organisation. nd (c.1920)  #67866
[HLMainPic] A high quality, profusely illustrated record of the war work of the General Electric Co. Ltd. at its factories in Birmingham, Kent, Coventry, &c., where shells, aerial bombs & many other warlike supplies were manufactured. Also contains a list of honours & awards gained by members of staff while on active service. Orig. blue cushioned morocco, gilt design & title to front, light rubbing to edges o/w VG with an oval stamp of a works library to front blank. See illustrations on our website.   £125
The ANZAC Book: Written & Illustrated in Gallipoli by men of ANZAC. 1st Ed., xv+169pp., 4to, 11 col. & 2 b/w plates., illus. throughout. Cassell. 1916  #61048
[HLMainPic] Collection of stories, rhymes, recollections of Gallipoli &c., sold for the benefit of patriotic funds connected with ANZAC. Attractive work, little rubbed but entirely sound orig. blue cloth with col. onlay on front board depicting an ANZAC in martial pose. Nice ink presentation inscrip. "Norman Campell Maughan from W.R. Matthews A.I.F. Baiuleul [sic] 1918." The only person with the name of the recipient that I can locate was born 1908 & died 1987; the giver was William Robert Matthews, a farm labourer from South Australia who enlisted in 1916, served with the 50th Bn. AIF & was wounded by gunshot on 20/10/17 & again on 16/6/18. A copy of his service record is included.   £50
Artillery Operations of the Ninth British Corps at Messines, June, 1917. 1st Ed., orig. printed wraps., 124pp., 4 fldg. plates, 10 fldg. maps, 2 tables. Edited at Army War College, Aug. 1917, printed by US Govt. Ptg. Office, Washington. 1917  #66734
[HLMainPic] Designated CONFIDENTIAL! For official use only NOT TO BE TAKEN INTO FRONT LINE TRENCHES. Contains a detailed study of artillery preparations for the Battle of Messines, 7th June 1917, & reproduces various instructions, orders, reports, intelligence & communications. A Summary of Artillery Operations explains that "Systematic trench bombardment & wire cutting was commenced about May 21, 1917, & was intensified about May 28. During the period May 28 to June 6, inclusive, 297 trench bombardments were carried out with aeroplane observation. Wire was cut along front & support lines by trench mortars & 18-lbr. batteries, & on rear lines by 6-inch howitzers with aeroplane observation..." The most informative text is supported by reproductions of four aerial photos. of parts of the Messines battlefield & ten excellent actual size 1:10,000 & 1:20,000 British operational fldg. trench maps, barrage maps, &c., & several tables, all reproduced in colour. Objectives, barrage lifts &c. are shown in great detail. Orig. brown printed wraps., chipped & worn, signs of much use but generally VG, complete & rare. See illustrations on our website.   £225
The Making of an Officer: or, A Boy's Life Told in His Letters by the Late Captain Arthur Coke Burnell, 2nd Bn. Rifle Brigade. 1st Ed., viii+190pp., 220x184mm, portrait frontis., 8 plates. Winchester: Printed by Warren & Sons for Private Circulation. 1916  #65998
[HLMainPic] Arthur Coke Burnell was born in 1894, educated at West Downs, Winchester & Sandhurst: commissioned in the Rifle Brigade 1913 & joined the 4th Battalion in India; to France in Dec. 1914 as a Platoon Commander in "D" Coy., in action at St Eloi & 2nd Ypres (Acting Adjutant during this battle), wounded in May & after a few months in England joined the 2nd Bn. (commanded by his brother in law, Frank Nugent) as MG Officer in October 1915. He became a Company Commander & was KiA on the evening of 18th March 1916, trying to bring in a man who had been wounded with a wiring party in No-Man's-Land. He was 21 & is buried in the Rue-du-Bois Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix. Burnell was a typical keen, regimentally minded, young regular officer, unreflective but conscientious & brave. He was proud to be appointed Adjutant during the Second Battle of Ypres, "it is really a very great thing for me to have done Adjutant on active service, something that is remembered later on, if there ever is an end to this show! This is about the greatest success I have had since joining, & I can't help feeling that my career as a soldier has been rather a success. I think the Army has a higher opinion of me than Winchester College ever formed." Appealing memorial with interesting letters from school and regiment (both in India and at the Front), a fine portrait in full dress, others in khaki including several taken in or near front line trenches. Orig. half white buckram, rifle green cloth boards, gilt, with badges of the RMC and Rifle Brigade to front board, VG with comp. slip from his father inserted. Rare. See illustrations on our website.   £275
The Gallant Legion. Complete set of 12 Vols. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. 1930s.  #66392
[HLMainPic] Angus & Robertson was the most prolific publisher of war memoirs in Australia after the Great War & produced a number of notable & several classic texts recording the experiences of Australian men & women in the Army, Naval, Nursing & Air services. At some point during the late 1930s, presumably to give a new lease of life to unbound sheets, the publisher reissued all these works in a series called The Gallant Legion. The sheets of various (but not 1st) editions were bound in excellent quality blue cloth with the series title at the head of the spine, plus the number of the volume in the series, with the individual volume title & author below, & a fighting soldier motif at the foot of the spine. All the volumes in this edition are complete as per the original texts, with all maps & photos. as originally published. This fine body of work, complete here in 12 volumes, includes: IDRIESS (Ion L.) The Desert Column; MAXWELL (J., VC, MC, DCM) Hell's Bells & Mademoiselles; WHITE (T.W.) Guests of the Unspeakable; RULE (E.J., MC, MM) Jacka's Mob; WILLIAMS (H.R.) The Gallant Company; TILTON (May) The Grey Battalion; REID (Frank) The Fighting Cameliers; MORROW (Edgar) Iron in the Fire; BURTON (O.E., MM) The Silent Division: New Zealanders at the Front 1914-1919; JONES (T.M.) Watchdogs of the Deep: Life in a Submarine During the Great War; SUTHERLAND (L.W., MC, DCM) Aces & Kings; MONASH (Gen. Sir John) The Australian Victories in France in 1918. Orig. blue cloth, gilt, VG throughout & excellent complete set. See illustrations on our website.   £425
Four Brothers & The World War: The Private Record of Their Father for His Grandchildren. 1st Ed., xii+281pp., 11 plates, coloured ep maps & one other. Hove: Printed by Combridges For Private Circulation. 1933  #66000
[HLMainPic] War narrative incorporating the military careers of four brothers Wright, utilising their letters & various published sources, operational reports &c. All four were Ed. at Winchester: G.L.W. ('Geoff') served in the RFA,, becoming a battery commander in 46th (North Midland) Div., MC & Bar. He was wounded in the battle of Bellenglise in Sept. 1918. Egerton Lowndes Wright ('Toddy') received a commission in the Buckinghamshire Bn. O&BLI in 1914; served in France from April 1915 onwards, being appointed to the Staff in June, awarded MC & as Brigade Major, 6th Inf. Bde., was KiA 11/5/18; P.L.W. ('Phil') also served in the Bucks. Bn. & on the staff, DSO, MC; F.L.W. ('Frank') went to Sandhurst, crossed to France in Sept. 1914 with 1st Bn. WYR, was severely wounded in Oct. near Hazebrouck. Served on the staff at Horse Guards but died in 1922 from the effects of his wounds. Orig. black & red buckram, gilt, VG indeed, handsomely produced, rare & appealing record of one family's service & loss in the Great War. See illustration on our website.   £325

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Ypres 1914: An Official Account Published by Order of the German General Staff. Translated by G.C.W[ynne]. 1st Eng. Ed., xxiv+136pp., 7 sketch maps. Constable. 1919  #61010
[HLMainPic] Translation of the German official account of 1st Ypres. Intro. & notes by the Historical Section (Military Branch), Committee of Imperial Defence. Orig. blue cloth, little marked, VG. See illustration on our website.   £45

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