Turner Donovan Military Books - The world’s finest selection of rare and out-of-print books on British military history from 1800 to 1945
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Vimy Ridge   34 Books
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An American Soldier: Letters of Edwin Austin Abbey, 2d. 1st Ed., [ix]+174pp., 202x134mm, portrait frontis., map (Vimy Ridge, showing location of his grave). VG in partyial dw. Houghton Mifflin, Boston & New York. 1918  #66405
[HLMainPic] Edwin Austin Abbey the Second, son of William Burling Abbey and Katharine Eleanor Abbey of Philadelphia, enlisted 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion Oct. 1915, served in Flanders March-April 1916 when he was wounded. Commissioned in 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles, returned to the Front in Dec. 1916 & Killed in Action by a sniper at Vimy Ridge on 10th April 1917. Contains lengthy letters written during training in Canada & on active service during 1916-17, these giving a very good impression of his life in France and Flanders, both in and behind the lines. They are followed by several letters of condolence, one of them containing a detailed account of his final hours and the location of his body (which had been plundered by the Germans for identifications), with a map showing the location of his battlefield grave. Orig. brown paper covered boards with cloth backstrip, gilt to spine and title to front, VG in dw (latter scarce example, but lacking sp. panel). See illustration on our website.   £125
The 116th Battalion [Canadian Expeditionary Force] in France. By the Adjutant. 1st Ed., 111pp., 49 photos. (inc. portraits of Fallen Officers &c.). Toronto: Hunter-Rose. 1921  #64603
[HLMainPic] Served in France/Flanders from Feb. 1917 inc. Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele & Cambrai. Roll of Hon. Perkins states "a bare statement of facts & events with little attempt at comment or analysis." He adds that the author was probably E.P.S. Allen, under whose name the work is copyrighted Orig. wheat cloth, gilt to sp. & front + unit patch to front board. VG. See illustration on our website.   £65
[BOYD (Capt. E.R.)] A Yarn of War: Palestine & France 1917-1918. By E.R.B. 1st Ed., xvi+251pp., 33 plates, 5 sketch maps. Glasgow: Maclehose, Jackson & Co., Printed for Private Circulation. 1919  #55655
[HLMainPic] Atmospheric personal account of service with 8th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 52nd (Lowland) Div. inc. Battles of Gaza 1917 & campaign in the hills to capture of Jerusalem &c. Then to France in April 1918 & into the line on the Vimy Ridge, then in July the bn. transferred ro the 34th Div. & the author was wounded by shrapnel during series of advances near Beugneux (near Soissons). Num. photos. & good coloured sketch maps of Gaza, advance to Jaffa, Vimy District &c. Orig. blue cloth, gilt, VG & scarce with author inscrip. "Joan & Leslie from E.R.B. June 1934." See illustration on our website.   £185
BEWSHER (Major F.W., DSO, MC) The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918. 1st Ed., xvi+411pp., 3 portraits, 13 maps. Blackwood. 1921  #67207
[HLMainPic] The mixed fortunes of the famous Highland Div. on the Western Front from April 1915: including Festubert, the Somme & Ancre, Passchendaele &c. Rarest of all Great War divisional histories. Orig. red cloth, blocked gilt & black, VG, nice copy. See illustration on our website.   £225
BRECKENRIDGE (William) From Vimy to Mons: A Historical Narrative by William Breckenridge, ex 42nd Canadian Black Watch, Canadian Expeditionary Force. 254pp., dup. typescript, large format (275x220mm approx.) compiled by the author in 1919 but issued by him in this duplicated form in 1957.  #66441
[HLMainPic] A rare personal memoir of service with the 42nd Bn. CEF in France & Flanders, compiled by the author in 1919 but not circulated by him until 1957, & then presumably in a limited edition. He was a signaller & joined his battalion with a draft in 1916. Foreword states: "Of the many stories that have been written about wars but few of them have given the truth concerning the suffering & hardships that the front line fighting infantrymen are called upon to endure.. In this story I have endeavoured throughout to give the front line fighting infantryman's account... I have given the plain facts regarding the actualities of battle, naturally as I, in my own small way, saw them, & every statement or fact about any incident mentioned can be accepted as true... I have served on more than three dozen front line sectors... from Ypres to Amiens... I was fortunate to pass through many of the principal battles with the first wave of attacking troops & return unscarred... many dear friends fell... I saw my regiment decimated five times - at Vimy, Passchendaele, Amiens, Arras & Cambrai... Every trench that I have mentioned, & the dates given, are genuine... The official signalling messages & documents that I refer to are in my possession & are the original papers that were actually received in the trenches, & the names of the persons used are not fictitious..." The Contents include: Going to the Front; Life in the Trenches; Battle of Vimy Ridge; Dodging Trench Mortars in Avion; Fritz Uses Mustard Gas...; Almost Drowned in Flanders Mud; The Great Battle of Amiens; Smashing the Hindenburg Line, &c., & the whole piece is informative, well-written & gripping: a fine personal account. Issued by the author in card wraps., this copy bound in handsome black cloth with gilt title to sp., with author presentation inscription: "To Mr C.E. Dornbusch, The Author, William Breckenbridge." See illustrations on our website.   £350
DANCOCKS (Daniel G.) Gallant Canadians: The Story of the 10th Canadian Infantry Bn. 1914-1919. 1st Ed., vii+251pp., 4to, illus. & maps. VG in dw. Calgary. 1990  #66434
[HLMainPic] Excellent account inc. Somme, Vimy, Ypres &c. Roll of awards. See illustration on our website.   £30
FARRER (Reginald) The Void of War: Letters from Three Fronts. 1st Ed., xiv+271pp. Constable. 1918  #65898
[HLMainPic] In between plant hunting expeditions in far flung places the botanist Reginald John Farrer worked for the Ministry of Information under John Buchan (to whom this book is dedicated) & was commissioned to record his impressions at the front. The result contains descriptions of the Western Front from Ypres & Kemmel down to Vimy & Arras, the Somme &c., then a tour of the Italian Front. Records many interesting sights & the author's observations on scenes & aspects of the battlefields. Falls thought the section on Flanders was the best part: "the view of 'a whole huge people methodically at work on a job it hates' quite good." But "Paris seems to be looked on mainly from the Ritz, not the best standpoint from which to study its more serious side" - to which I would add that the section on Paris occupies about two pages & Farrer himself says "Ritzes are not places to give proper perspectives. Here you only see the luxuriousness of life: & the contrast is much more of a jar" i.e. he uses the Ritz as a device to emphasise the vast gap between Paris & life at the Front. Orig. brown cloth, blocked black, nice copy of 1st Ed. See illustration on our website.   £75
FETHERSTONHAUGH (R.C.) The 13th Battalion Royal Highlanders of Canada 1914-1919. 1st Ed., xv+344pp., frontis. + 9 plates, 3 fldg. maps. Published by the Regiment. 1925  #63157
[HLMainPic] Fine record of service on the Western Front being: "A substantial & detailed account of the Battalion's movements & battles between Feb. 1915 & Nov. 1918... includes quotations from operational orders & as expected from this author, the entire work is lucid & authoritative." - Perkins. Includes Ypres 1915, Festubert, Givenchy, Ploegsteert, Vimy Ridge 1915-16 & again in 1917, Somme, Passchendaele, Amiens 1918, Final Advance &c. Roll of Hon., awards. Orig. blue cloth, gilt to sp. & front, covers stained & worn but sound & complete. See illustration on our website.   £75
FETHERSTONHAUGH (R.C.) The Royal Canadian Regiment 1883-1933. Reprint of 1936 1st Ed., [xvi]+467pp., 4 col. & 27 b/w plates, 7 fldg. maps. VG in dw. Fredericton, NB: Centennial Print & Litho. 1981  #64556
[HLMainPic] 1885 Rebellion, Yukon Field Force, Boer War (Paardeberg, Modder River &c.) & WW1 Bermuda 1914-15, F&F 1915-18. Roll of Hon., awards, roll of officers' services. "A thoughtfully written history which covers a great deal of ground... The Western Front period is described in very clear detail, with many individuals mentioned by name. The illustrations are very good, & fully captioned..." - Perkins 138. Good quality hardback reprint, faithful to the original, Orig. dark blue cloth, gilt, VG in dw. See illustration on our website.   £50
GRAFTON (Lt.-Col. C.S.) The Canadian "Emma Gees." A History of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. 1st Ed., 218pp., 15 photos., 4 maps. London, Ontario: Hunter Printing Co., Published by the Canadian Machine Gun Corps Association. 1938  #66426
[HLMainPic] Including battles of Vimy & Hill 70, Passchendaele 1917, Amiens & Final Advance 1918, &c. "Excellent coverage of the raising & subsequent services of the Corps & of its many units & sub-units... rolls of officers scattered throughout the text, Company by Company, & as at 22 Feb. 1918... a very helpful record..." - Perkins 176. Orig. dec. red cloth, with drawing, badge & title blocked to front, VG with previous owner's ink ownership details to front paste-down. See illustration on our website.   £145

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