Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Society for Army Historical Research.

I have been aware of this estimable organisation for many years as I have about 40 or so copies of its quarterly Journal stretching back to the 1950s. Inside those pages I have found such military - historical esoterica as a contemporary account of the Battle of Entziem and on the English troops part in it. An accout of both Strathallans Horse and Baggots Hussars of the Jacobite Army of 1745and a contemporary account of the Battle of Lauffeldt in 1747- to name but a very few. Since the Journal has been published since 1921 there is an awful ot I don't haveand never will but even those few Journals I do possess have proved to be a useful resource. I also have the excellent reprints of the first two years of he Journal and the invaluable special publications for those 2 years.(Halkets Diary for the Tangier campaign and the Orderly book of Lord Ogilvy's Regiment of the Jacobite army of 1745)
 Over the years I've added those other Special Publications" which include a private soldiers diary of Marlborough's campaigns, a selection of letter from a Private Gentleman of the Lifeguards in the 1740s in Flanders- he was at Dettingen and a selection of Crimean letters amongst others. There are apparently 17 of these special publication including the most recent "... a dammned nice thing..." which is a very useful selection of items concerning the Peninsula and Waterloo.
 Production values for this latest are very high including plenty of colour and a splendid fold out of the painting "The Meeting of Wellington and Blucher after the Battle of Waterloo"
 Info about this excellent volume
http://www.sahr.org.uk/special-publications.php?sid=c52d5834b6890423d14852bb106fed92

I finally decided to join  now of course many of you will wonder about the point of this. Well  how is knowledge and information about background and reference ever bad ?  Wargamer shall not live by second rate Army - list alone. Need I say more!
Now as to price I can't say for non- members but the book cost me £13.00 including UK postage. Worth every penny and then some. While I can see in the future thinning out of my library may lead to the dumping of sundry wargaming mags and books stuff of this quality and usefulness stays on the shelves.

Special Publication No. 17
Front cover of the newest special publication - well worth the money.