Search results for ""Author Gavin Roynon""
Simon & Schuster Ltd A Prayer for Gallipoli: The Great War Diaries of Chaplain Kenneth Best
Many chaplains were not permitted to go near the Front in the First World War - others insisted on doing so, like Kenneth Best in the Gallipoli Campaign. Best had no military training before the war but he felt that he could only fulfil his pastoral role by getting close to the front line and working with the troops under fire. Best was attached to the 42nd East Lancastrians - the first Territorial Army Division to serve overseas in the conflict, so arguably the least experienced in the ways of war. In his diary we follow his progress through his initial training in Egypt and on to his arrival in Gallipoli in May 1915. Gallipoli has become notorious, even by the standards of the First World War. After a naval campaign to open up a supply route to Russia through Turkey failed, some 480,000 Allied troops were drawn into a land invasion in which hundreds of thousands were injured or killed. In his diary, Best records his efforts to encourage frightened men before they go over the top, to comfort the wounded and, when the fighting stops, to bury the dead. His empathy for the troops is matched by a forthright disgust for their leaders, few of whom share his insight into the horrific realities of trench warfare.
£7.19
The History Press Ltd Ypres Diary 1914-15: The Memoirs of Sir Morgan Crofton
Sir Morgan Crofton fought in the Boer War and joined the 2nd Life Guards at 34 years old as a cavalry office. His diary charts his experiences on the front-line at Ypres from late October 1914 to the centenary of Waterloo in June 1915. Crofton describes a battlefield a world away from what he and any of his comrades had experienced before - one of staying still in trenches, being pounded by artillery and the terrifying new power of machine guns. He describes the bewildering pace of technological change as new weapons, such as gas and hand grenades entered the fray. His often acerbic commentary offers a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of the regular officer class and his outspoken scepticism informs our understanding of a lost generation of professional soldiers.
£12.99
