British Army Regimental History Books Covering 1940

Discussion in 'Books, Films, TV, Radio' started by Drew5233, Jul 31, 2011.

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  1. idler

    idler GeneralList

    I think he'd think £60 was a bargain compared to some of his collection.
    What's the thrust of the Smalley book?
     
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  2. Staffsyeoman

    Staffsyeoman Member

    I haven't finished it yet, but beyond showing that the BEF was poorly equipped, trained and prepared, suggests that the Staff College system was elite in name only and officer training had been inhibited by half pay and promotion sclerosis. More later!
     
  3. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Have you finished yet?
     
  4. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    There are numerous extracts of Smalley's book available on-line now. It appears to contain a lot of detail and I'm very tempted, although I rather disagree with his basic premise that the soldiers of the BEF were indisciplined simply because they went on the lash on a large scale during the phoney war and battlion HQs didn't report the full scale of it...

    However, I have to wonder about the proof-reading or lack of knowledge that produced the following gem. Tin-plate 'Flimsies' were indeed transported clad in wood or later card - but a scholarly tome which makes a point of condemning cardboard fuel cans does make me wonder about the academic understanding of the real world.

    BEF petrol was particularly open to abuse due
    to insufficient supervision, inadequate record keeping, the vulnerability
    of army containers to leakage and the value of the commodity....
    A further flaw in the system was the British Army’s continued use of compressed
    cardboard four-gallon cans for all transportation and storage purposes
    - the cans’ propensity to leak if mishandled or exposed to the elements
    provided a ready-made excuse for the incompetent and corrupt.

    https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zQjACQAAQBAJ&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=compressed+cardboard+fuel+cans+British+Army&source=bl&ots=bP94OF69bw&sig=wm2RRSnGNNxO-lslh0g3dej5Nns&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE5tLr5MDKAhWHchQKHX0HCAUQ6AEIKjAB#v=onepage&q=compressed%20cardboard%20fuel%20cans%20British%20Army&f=false



    F
     
  5. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I picked up a nice copy of the Highland Light Infantry's history the other day- Proud Heritage by Oatts. Three more to go to complete the set :D
     
  6. Ben Masters

    Ben Masters Member

    That was my grandfather I have the originals and I believe you have a cut down copy
     
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