The Poppy Lady The Story of Madame Anna Guérin and the Remembrance Poppy

The Poppy Lady The Story of Madame Anna Guérin and the Remembrance

Poppy written by Heather Anne Johnson and published by Pen & Sword

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 288

Madame Anna Guérin is the fascinating personality behind the title ‘The Poppy Lady’.

Her idea of the ‘Inter-Allied Poppy Day’ gave work to women and children in the

devastated areas of France, in addition to offering support for First World War veterans.

Born in 1878, she was an early feminist, becoming financially independent. During the First World War, and the immediate years after the Armistice, many people knew of Madame Guérin’s reputation as a selfless fundraiser for French and American charities. Her speeches inspired many people to make generous donations.

Having had her name lost in the mists of time, this is the first biography of Madame E. Guérin. The book follows her extraordinary story as ‘The Poppy Lady’, a woman born before her time, but confined to anonymity for too long.

If I’m honest, being from an RAF family and in Scouting most of my life, I have attended Remembrance Day parades throughout my life. The one thing about this or the poppy is that I have heard at least about a dozen stories about the origin of the poppy and why we wear it. But I’m prepared to add this story or possible reason to the list, the book follows Madame Anna Guerin a french lady who toured much of America giving talks to people, and talking to important leaders. This was because she could see the devastation of the Great War and how it affected the places and all the people who had to fight in the war. Guerin was very successful in this and gathered many donations of wealth to help the cause. I agree with the claim in the book that modern generations have probably never hear of Madame Guerin, and there is a high chance that this is the original story of the Poppy origins, certainly one I will add to my list. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it very informative and a lot of research has gone into it. For one of the most important days of the year I would happily recommend this book.

Laugh or Cry

Laugh or Cry written by Gary Bain & Peter Hart and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 224

'Awakened by great shouted oaths below. Peeped over the side of the manger and

saw a Belgian lass milking and addressing a cow with a comprehensive luridness

that left no doubt in my mind that British soldiers had been billeted here before.'

Private Norman Ellison, 1/6th King’s Liverpool Regiment

Humour helped the British soldier survive the terrible experiences they faced in the trenches of the Western Front during the Great War. Human beings are complicated, and there is no set pattern as to how they react to the outrageous stresses of war. But humour, often dark and representative of the horrors around them could and often did help. They may have been up to their knees in mud and blood, soaking wet and shot at from all sides, but many were still determined to see the ‘funny side’, rather than surrender to utter misery. Peter Hart and Gary Bain have delved deep into the archives to find examples of the soldier’s wit. The results are at times hilarious but rooted in tragedy. You have to laugh or cry.

I’ve only just done my top 10 books for 2022, and here we have a very early contender for my top 10 list for 2023. I think this book was made for me as I loved the humour in it, either that or being from a forces family I could understand the humour and the comments of men away from home serving in the military. The book is absolutely packed with first-hand quotes from men serving on the frontline, and the book covers many different topics that would affect men at war such as the Home Front, getting Back Home, prospects of being killed, going over the top, the top brass, life living in the trenches and working with each other from all different backgrounds.

The book goes along nicely going from one quote to another, it’s an easy read because the book is written very well indeed. I also enjoyed some of the quotes that might be seen as a little near the knuckle or not very PC, which is what you want because these are the words written by the men themselves rather than what we have to read sometimes these days. Written by a couple of excellent historians, I can’t really fault this book at all, and is surely a must of any Great War fans.

Sniper on the Ypres Salient

Sniper on the Ypres Salient written by Sue Boase and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 224

Just after midnight on 22 April 1916 on the Western Front, a sergeant from the 15th

(1st London) Royal Welsh Fusiliers came sliding and stumbling along the dark, mud-filled

trench towards the four men, huddled together and soaked-through, in the shallow dugout.

He was clutching his postbag in which there were four parcels for one of them, William

McCrae, whose twentieth birthday fell on this day.

A hand-written account by William, my grandfather, was found in my mother’s papers, long after his death. This book describes a year of his time fighting in the First World War, from December 1915 to December 1916.

Two months after his birthday, he was marching towards the Somme, where he was to act as a runner during the key Welsh engagement in the Battle of Mametz Wood. Later, he went on to volunteer and train as a sniper. He continued in this role for over a year, becoming a lance corporal in the 38th Divisional Sniping Company while fighting on the Ypres Salient. His words emphasise the key role snipers played in the collecting of intelligence about the enemy, through close observation and careful reporting.

His account stops abruptly in mid-sentence, just at the point where he indicates he is about to reveal more to us about ‘a new, interesting part of the line to be manned by us Snipers’.

Piecing together clues from his sketches, maps and photos, and this book paints a picture of Williams’ time during the rest of the war. In 1917 he returned to England to train as a temporary officer in the 18th Officer Cadet Battalion at Prior Park, Bath. He came back to the Western Front as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment, where he was seconded to the 1/5 Lancashire Fusiliers until the end of the war. During this time, it is likely that his interest and experience as a sniper continued, with evidence that he may have taught at one of the Sniping Schools set up across France.

Sniper on the Ypres Salient is a very admirable, fascinating and decent book,

impressive that the author Sue Boase, granddaughter of William McCrae, who

started his story/WWI as a runner at The Somme, he would then go on to

become a sniper and this book follows a year in his life. Being a sniper he

would have been a well-trained, patient and observant person and this comes

out in the book as there is lots of detail and the book clearly shows how

observant he was as the great detail comes out as he has a lot of say and

needed too as his intelligence would help support future plans and attacks.

The book is written in little chunks like you would get in a diary, but the

information is always of interest, and you really do get an idea of what life

was like as a sniper in those conditions. Excellent work by Sue Boase, and a

thoroughly good read. I also loved the glossary at the back of the book along

with the huge links of websites in the sources section too.

Battle - Understanding Conflict from Hastings to Helmand

Battle - Understanding Conflict from Hastings to Helmand written by Graeme

Callister & Rachael Whitbread published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 -

Hardback - Pages 288

What are the critical factors that determine the outcome of battles? Which is more decisive in a

clash of arms: armies or the societies they represent? How important is the leadership of the

commanders, the terrain over which the armies fight, the weapons they use and the supplies

they depend on? And what about the rules of war and the strategic thinking and tactics of the

time? These are among the questions Graeme Callister and Rachael Whitbread seek to answer

as they demonstrate the breadth of factors that need to be taken into account to truly understand

battle.

Their book traces the evolution of warfare over time, exploring the changing influence of the social, political, technological and physical landscape on the field of battle itself. They examine how the motivation of the combatants and their methods of fighting have changed, and they illustrate their conclusions with vivid, carefully chosen examples from across a range of Western European military history, including the Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion, the Napoleonic Wars and the world wars, and beyond.

By exploring the wide range of interconnected factors that influence the results of battles, the authors broaden the study of this aspect of military history from a narrow focus on isolated episodes of conflict. Their original and thought-provoking writing will be fascinating reading for all students of warfare.

This is a very fascinating book indeed that looks at warfare and the reasons why we have

warfare from 1066 right up to modern-day warfare. Each chapter in this book looks are

various battles and explains one of the most prominent reasons for that battle or why it

was fought. For example, just from the first three chapters, cover Society, Grand Strategy

and Leadership and how these all played a major part in particular battles. We also have

chapters on Landscapes, Tactics and Logistics to name a few more. Some of the reasons

are explained and open up new aspects to various battles that some might not have

thought about before, but they also explain a good number of other factors. I must admit

that I really enjoyed this book and it made for a really fascinating read. It reminded me of

books on military history at university where the answers aren’t always clear to see on the

surface, certainly a book for those that like to think more deeply into the subject of military

history. I would like to see another similar book like this, looking at a wider number of

battles or maybe battles involving fighting in the air or on sea. An excellent book. 

The Harwich Striking Force

The Harwich Striking Force written by Steve R Dunn and published by

Seaforth Publishing - £25 - Hardback - Pages 336

The Harwich Force has made its name and will not be forgotten during the future annals of history’; so said Rear Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt on Armistice Day 1918. But that fame has not endured. Yet for the whole duration of the First World War, the Harwich Striking Force was the front line of the Royal Navy, a force of cruisers and destroyers defending the seas for the Allies.

Under a charismatic and aggressive leader, Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, U-boats, German cruisers, destroyers and light craft all met their ends at the hands of the Force, as did enemy seaplanes and Zeppelin airships. The Harwich ships were at sea almost daily throughout the war, haunting the German coast and the Friesian Islands, pioneering aerial attack from the sea, developing naval carrier aviation and combined air/sea operations, and hunting for enemy submarines and minelayers in the North Sea. The Harwich Force also took part in major naval battles alongside the Grand Fleet’s battlecruisers, and protected merchant ships operating in the dangerous waters around Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Britain.

The author also assesses the role played by the other Royal Navy formations at Harwich: submarines, auxiliary minesweeping and patrol vessels, the Felixstowe seaplane base and the town itself. And when the war was finally won, the Force gained further fame when the German U-boat fleet was surrendered there.

Lavishly illustrated, this book is an enthralling account of the men of the Harwich Force, of their grit and brave sacrifice and the key part that they played in the final Allied victory against Germany.

I enjoy it when a Steve R Dunn book arrives for review, your guaranteed a very good and comprehensive read. It’s probably reading Dunn's books that have encouraged my reading of everything naval or maritime in recent years. The Harwich Striking Force goes through the highs and lows encountered by the striking force and what a fantastic job they did throughout WWI, facing German U-Boats, cruisers, destroyers and even light aircraft, seaplanes and zeppelins. The Harwich Force was fundamentally holding their own led for the most part by their tenacious leader in Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt. The ability of Tyrwhitt to organise and plan manoeuvres would hold off and help secure the North sea area, providing a vital win for the allied cause. 

The book, in my opinion, is very well written and a lot of research has gone into this book, there are a good number of photographs throughout the book with maps and diagrams too. I always enjoy the notes and tables at the back of a book and this book doesn’t disappoint with excellent appendices, notes and a bibliography. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I guessed I would, it really is a good read and kept me hooked for a good few days. Most definitely recommended.

Air Power Supremo

Air Power Supremo written by William Pyke and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 280

Sir John Slessor was one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished wartime

commanders and incisive military thinkers, and William Pyke’s comprehensive

new biography reveals how he earned this remarkable reputation.

Slessor, a polio victim who always walked with a stick, became a First World War pilot in the Sudan and on the Western Front and a squadron and wing commander in India between the wars. When aerial warfare was still a new concept, he was one of the first to develop practical tactics and strategies in its application. In the Second World War, as the Commander-in-Chief of Coastal Command during the Battle of the Atlantic and the RAF in the Mediterranean during the Italian and Balkan campaigns, he made a remarkable contribution to the success of Allied air power. Then, after the war, as a senior commander, he established himself as one of the foremost experts on strategic bombing and nuclear deterrence. That is why this insightful biography of a great British airman and his achievements is so timely and important as we enter a new era of strategic doubts and deterrence at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

William Pyke follows each stage of Slessor’s brilliant career as a pilot and commander in vivid detail. In particular he concentrates on Slessor’s writings, from his treatise on the application of air power in support of land armies to his thinking on nuclear deterrence and Western strategy.

Well, this was a book that was full of surprises, having not read the info about the book from the back I had just gone by the front cover so I expected something detailed, dry and about an ‘office’ man. But I was quite wrong in that what this book provides us with is a story about a wily, courageous and distinguished fellow. A pilot in the first world war and during the inter-war years, he would eventually fly during the second world war and become an instrumental person in aerial tactics and the introduction of the new heavy planes of the nuclear weapon future. This was an enjoyable read and it was nice how the author took a linear approach to the book, I would certainly recommend this book about a man who had many talents and stories to tell.

Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare

Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare written by Michael E. Glynn and published by 

Frontline Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 258

Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare unlocks the history and theory behind the shadowy art of how aircraft hunt for submarines. Written by a veteran US Navy submarine hunting pilot, this book will take aviators, naval enthusiasts, and military scholars behind the scenes to understand how technical breakthroughs, the evolution of weapons, and advances in sensors have shaped this high-risk game of cat and mouse.

On 15 September 1916, the French submarine Foucault was spotted and attacked by a pair of Austro-Hungarian flying boats in the Adriatic. During the bombing that followed, Foucault was so badly damaged that she was eventually abandoned by her crew – all of whom survived. This was the first time in history that a submarine had been sunk by an aircraft. It was an engagement which set in motion a constantly evolving aspect of underwater warfare.

In this book, Michael Glynn explores a journey through the history of more than 100 years of aerial sub hunting. From the Great War, through the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War and on to the secret confrontations of the Cold War, the reader will witness the parallel evolution of both aircraft and submarine as each side tries to gain supremacy over the other. In so doing, he distils complicated oceanography, operations analysis, and technical theory into easily digested concepts, helping the reader understand how complex weapons and sensors function. By reviewing the steps of a submarine hunting flight, the reader can quickly understand how theory and practice fit together and how aviators set out to achieve their goal of detecting their submarine targets.

Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare is a thrilling read for those seeking a glimpse into an arcane and high-stakes world.

This book takes the reader from World War One through to the present day looking at airborne anti submarine warfare, technology, tactics, sound and oceanology to name but a few. It's all very much a race between the two competitors countering submarines and intercepting and stopping submarines. The book takes us through fixed wing and rotary aircraft and looks at how radar hunting and technology have advanced for both sides.

What was good about this book is that it was written by a former pilot who has obviously experienced this type of warfare or fighting. It adds to the authenticity and expertise of the writing and very well done it is too. I should say that whilst I found the book of great interest and very informative, I would say others may not read the book due to its subject matter and technicalities.

Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler

Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler written by Alexander Clifford and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 368

They are two of twentieth-century history’s most significant figures, yet today they are largely forgotten – Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, Germany’s First World War leaders. Although defeat in 1918 brought an end to their ‘silent dictatorship’, both generals played a key role in the turbulent politics of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis.

Alexander Clifford, in this perceptive reassessment of their political careers, questions the popular image of these generals in the English-speaking world as honourable ‘Good Germans’. For they were intensely political men, whose ideas and actions shaped the new Germany and ultimately led to Hitler’s dictatorship.

Their poisonous wartime legacy was the infamous stab-in-the-back myth. According to the generals, the true cause of the disastrous defeat in the First World War was the betrayal of the army by politicians, leftists and Jews on the home front. This toxic conspiracy theory polluted Weimar politics and has been labelled the beginning of ‘the twisted road to Auschwitz’.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff’s political fortunes after the war were markedly different. Ludendorff inhabited the far-right fringes and engaged in plots, assassinations and conspiracies, playing a leading role in failed uprisings such as Hitler’s 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Meanwhile Hindenburg was a vastly more successful politician, winning two presidential elections and serving as head of state for nine years. Arguably he bore even more responsibility for the destruction of democracy, for he and the nationalist right he led sought, through Hitler, to remould the Weimar system towards authoritarianism.

There are some books that come along that you just want to dive into and this was one of them. I’ve long been learning about the First World War & the Second World War but often some of the most fascinating places in history is the ‘in between’ wars section and this particular part of history is fascinating as Alexander Clifford explores a part of that history, Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler. The period of the Weimar Republic was basically 10 wasted years where life in Germany just festered and all the surrounding upheaval was no surprise that a mangled relationship between these three men would sow the seeds for another global conflict.

Although in my opinion, Hitler has to carry the can for this relationship and what would eventually happen, it was very much interesting reading about the relationship, conflict and suspicion between these three, it really does enlighten the reader as to how things went wrong and in a way shows clearly who was the aggressor, the yes man and the fooled in this bad political relationship. This has been a fascinating read, comprehensive, detailed and very well written and with all the other characters in the book would in other world’s make a really good thriller. From beginning to end this was a really good book, I would have no other choice but to recommend this book and if you want to learn about the relationship between these three men, this is one of the best books I have read on this subject.

Boy Soldiers of the Great War

Boy Soldiers of the Great War written by Richard Van Emden and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 488

After the outbreak of the Great War, boys as young as twelve were caught up in a national wave of patriotism and, in huge numbers, volunteered to serve their country. The press, recruiting offices and the Government all contributed to the enlistment of hundreds of thousands of under-age soldiers in both Britain and the Empire. On joining up, these lads falsified their ages, often aided by parents who believed their sons’ obvious youth would make overseas service unlikely.

These boys frequently enlisted together, training for a year or more in the same battalions before they were sent abroad. Others joined up but were soon sent to units already fighting overseas and short of men: these lads might undergo as little as eight weeks’ training.

Boys served in the bloodiest battles of the war, fighting at Ypres, the Somme and on Gallipoli. Many broke down under the strain and were returned home once parents supplied birth certificates proving their youth. Other lads fought on bravely and were even awarded medals for gallantry: Jack Pouchot won the Distinguished Conduct Medal aged just fifteen. Others became highly efficient officers, such as Acting Captain Philip Lister and Second Lieutenant Reginald Battersby, both of whom were commissioned at fifteen and fought in France.

In this, the final update of his ground-breaking book, Richard van Emden reveals new hitherto unknown stories and adds many more unseen images. He also proves that far more boys enlisted in the British Army under age than originally estimated, providing compelling evidence that as many as 400,000 served.

This book looks like a corker just from the cover and the description. A fascinating book that looks at the lives, backgrounds and experiences of boys who had managed to get recruited for the British Army in various ways, many through lying, giving wrong information and some being allowed by officials looking the other way. As for the reasons for wanting to volunteer to go to war, some of the reasons might seem surprising, but the idealism of young people can often hide the reality of what might come. What was to come was often horrific as we know many men young and old died or suffered hellish consequences from what was an unimaginable war. The work, research and writing by the author Richard Van Emden is splendid and very well done. I of course would highly recommend this book to anyone new or old to the subject, certainly in the running for book of the year.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

Keep the Home Fires Burning written by Phil Carradice and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

Keeping the Home Fires Burning tells the story of how the troops and the general public were kept happy and content during the First World War. Between 1914 and 1918 there was the entertainment of the masses for the sole purpose of promotion of the war effort. It was the first time that a concerted effort to raise and sustain morale was ever made by any British government and was a combination of government sponsored ideas and lucky happenstance. It was all picked up and used by the new Propaganda Ministry.

The range of activities was wide and varied, from poetry to cinema, from music hall singers and artists to the creation of battlefield heroes. There was postcard humour and deliberate veneration of philanthropists - and war participants - like Woodbine Willie.

The theme of Keeping the Home Fires Burning is backed up by 40 illustrations from the time, including participants, posters, battlefield views and so on.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning looks at a part of the war not often mentioned but some would say was important. This book looks at the entertainment side of the Great War, it was seen by the Propaganda Ministry that what was needed was a way of keeping up the morale of the people both at home and abroad. After all, this was one of the first wars that not only involved combatants abroad but affected the non-combatants at home especially as a world war was happening just across the channel.

This involved entertainment for the masses in a number of ways from screen stars seen in the local picture house, to entertainment, shows at the local music halls, celebrating war heroes on postcards, art to even poetry. In a world where everything was being targeted towards the war effort, it was seen that rather than a public getting down and depressed by military losses and casualties. There needed to be a concerted effort to keep the public morale high in order to help the positivity among the population buoyant to help the effort.

This book written by Phil Carradice is an easy but entertaining read, but it seems well researched and documented. I have always enjoyed books by Carradice, as you kind of always guaranteed a good read. I also enjoyed the notes section and bibliography and will be reading further books that have been listed. This book should be recommended as it does look at an important part of the war that doesn’t get enough recognition.