Overview

Using original personal and military diaries, with hundreds of carefully selected newspaper extracts, letters and photographs, this book traces individual stories of tragedy and heroism, involving tradesmen, apprentices, lawyers, musicians, sportsmen, brothers, husbands and fathers from Harrogate and the West Riding. As such, it characterises the experience of the British Infantryman in the Great War. The Territorials of the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment were the unsung heroes of the Great War. These 'Saturday Night Soldiers' from York and the northern West Riding of Yorkshire went out to face the might of the German Army in April 1915. Through the hot summer and dark winter that followed, they stopped bullets at the Battle of Aubers Ridge and choked on Phosgene gas at Ypres. Caught in the carnage of the notorious first day on the Somme, the West Yorkshire Territorials were held up by General Haig as convenient scapegoats for his tactical failure, only for the 1/5th Battalion to prove him wrong and redeem itself as an attacking force at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge, and then again at Passchendaele in 1917. In the last year of the war, the battalion helped fight a rear-guard action on the Menin Road, and was effectively wiped out at the Second Battle of Kemmel Ridge, only to be re-constituted in time to take part in the bloody advances at Cambrai and Valenciennes, which helped bring the conflict to an end. AUTHOR: John Sheehan studied military history at King's College, London, before qualifying as a lawyer. Later moving to North Yorkshire, he became interested in the history of Harrogate. He has spent thousands of hours burrowing in local archives, and has written numerous articles on the First World War for the Harrogate Advertiser and other papers. SELLING POINTS: . The only detailed history of Harrogate's local Battalion in the Great War. . Lists 2,000 officers and men known to have served, with full Roll of Honour. . Contains more than 100 original photographs, many of which are previously unseen. . Draws heavily on unpublished personal diaries and archived papers. . Contains extracts from more than 100 letters and postcards from the Front. 100 illustrations

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9781473868120

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Reviews

This is a fascinating biopic of a specific battalion of Territorial Army soldiers who suffered an appalling slur at the hands of General Haigh and then went on to show him up for his stupidity and duplicity. John Sheehans's research sets the record well and firmly straight! -- Books Monthly

This is a fascinating biopic of a specific battalion of Territorial Army soldiers who suffered an appalling slur at the hands of General Haigh and then went on to show him up for his stupidity and duplicity. John Sheehans's research sets the record well and firmly straight! --Books Monthly

Author Information

John Sheehan studied military history at King's College, London, before qualifying as a lawyer. Later moving to North Yorkshire, he became interested in the history of Harrogate. He has spent thousands of hours burrowing in local archives, and has written numerous articles on the First World War for the Harrogate Advertiser and other papers. John plays village cricket for Burnt Yates CC, and enjoys the magnificent view of Nidderdale from square leg. He is married and has a son.

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