A sand animation has recently brought to life the heart-breaking true story of the last fighting Tommy, Harry Patch. After being called up to serve in the 7th Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, Harry was conscripted to Belgium aged just 19.
Harry became on of the half a million casualties of Passchendaele, surviving a blast which killed three of this best friends.
How would you like to get your hands on an exclusive signed copy of Richard van Emden’s new release, 1918?! Well we have one to give away! Read on to find out how you could win this exclusive prize…. Continue reading “Richard van Emden Giveaway!”
At Pen and Sword we love reading and discovering new information about WWI.
Sunday 11 November 2018 marks the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, recognising the significance of the end of the First World War, and the sacrifice made by so many men and women during this period.
Here are some of our latest WW1 releases we can’t put down:
Continue reading “1918 – 2018: 100 Years – Armistice 11 November”
Hello! Today we have a guest post to share with you by author James Goulty. Eyewitness Korea by James Goulty is out now: Eyewitness Korea
Today the Korean War 1950-1953 is largely remembered as an American affair. There is good reason for this, not least the fact that America led the UN coalition that fought the Communists, and suffered around 37,000 dead, and over 100,000 wounded, many seriously. American involvement in Korea has also been enshrined in popular culture, notably via the M*A*S*H television series and films, based around the activities of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. Yet, over 145,000 troops from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand served in Korea, together with a small number of South African soldiers attached to Commonwealth units, and non-combatant personnel from an Indian Army medical unit. Total British casualties have been officially determined as 1,078 dead and 2,674 wounded. This article will summarise the role played by British and Commonwealth ground troops during the Korean War, and their counterparts involved in the war at sea and in the air.
Continue reading “The Korean War and the Commonwealth Dimension”
Amazingly, lovely rave review just in for Villager Jim‘s Garden Wildlife!
Thank you to our newbie reviewer, Travis Powell on Tumblr, for this glowing ★★★★★ feedback. Read his thoughts on Villager Jim’s Garden Wildlife online here https://biblioshark.tumblr.com/ and below:
Synopsis: Birds, bees, and a whole host of other flora and fauna that share Villager Jim’s garden in the tiny Peak District village of Foolow, are featured in this stunning book of photographs. Bobbin Robin is just one of the regular visitors to the garden; she and her friends have a huge social media audience, with tens of thousands of viewers. Open up the book to see the daily goings on of these wildlife friends in some of Jim’s very best pictures taken in this beautiful setting. They illustrate the close relationship Jim has formed with some of the regular wildlife visitors to his garden. His quirky captions capture the mood and spontaneous character of each individual shot and are an essential element of what makes Villager Jim’s pictures so special.
The book is OUT NOW at Pen & Sword Books for £19.99
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Villager-Jims-Garden-Wildlife-Hardback/p/13438
The #BattleofCambrai is often mistakenly identified as the first mass-use of tanks in the theatre of war. Whilst it is true to say that vast numbers of the Mark IV tank were used during the battle, and they did achieve some success in overcoming the German trench systems, but their armour was still in need of development and they only played a major role during the first day.
The major victory of the campaign was it’s demonstration of the effectiveness of new artillery and infantry methods, which would later be put to use during the Hundred Days Offensive.
Pen & Sword Books have a great selection of titles to help you better understand this famous battle of the First World War. Click the photo below to browse all of our Cambrai titles.
• The Passchendaele Campaign 1917 – https://
• Walking Ypres – https://
• Passchendaele In Perspective – https://
• Major & Mrs Holt’s Definitive Battlefield Guide to Ypres Salient & Passchendaele Eighth, Expanded, 100th Anniversary Edition – https://
• The Road to Passchendaele (PB) – https://
Over fifty volumes are now available in Pen & Sword’s family history series, which makes it one of the largest and most influential published in Britain. Since the first books appeared ten years ago, the range of topics has grown to the point where almost every aspect of the subject is covered.
There are volumes on the most important types of records for family historians and guides to the family history of the British regions and principal cities. Also included are introductions to the armed services and the world wars, to types of work, and to the major industries and professions.
Each book offers an accessible introduction to the subject and detailed advice on the historical and genealogical sources family historians can use to find out about the lives and times of their ancestors.
The series is essential reading for newcomers who are beginning to explore this fascinating subject and a valuable resource for experienced researchers.
Military snipers are highly trained marksmen who target individual enemy soldiers. They are regarded as vital specialists in modern warfare, and their role evolved throughout the Great War. As Martin Pegler shows in this wide-ranging, authoritative study, the technique of sniping adapted rapidly to the conditions of static warfare that prevailed through much of the conflict. His account follows the development of sniping from the early battles of 1914, through the trench fighting and the attritional offensives of the middle years, to the renewed open warfare of 1918. He concentrates on the continuous British and German sniping war on the Western Front, but he also looks at how snipers operated in other theatres, at Gallipoli and Salonika and on the Eastern Front. Sniper training, fieldcraft and counter-sniping measures are described in detail. There is a full reference section giving the specification of the sniping rifles of the period and assessing their effectiveness in combat. Also featured are vivid memoirs and eyewitness accounts that offer a fascinating insight into the lethal skill of Great War snipers and their deadly trade.
Sniping in the Great War is OUT NOW with 20% off the RRP: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sniping-in-the-Great-War-Paperback/p/13326
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