Private Publication.
ISBN 0 9544903 0 4 SB 182 pages £19.50 + p & p
The Household Battalion was formed in the summer of 1916 following a meeting between Lt Col Sir G L Holford, His Majesty King George V and General Sir William Robertson. It was an Infantry Battalion made up of Officers, NCO’s and men drawn exclusively from 1st and 2nd Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards. It only existed for 17 months before it was disbanded in early 1918 some months before the end of the Great War. It was soon forgotten after its demise, and no official history of this unit had ever written.
This book tells the day by day story of the Battalion, it has been written using the Battalion's War Diary, the War Diaries of other regiments who fought alongside them, and the 10th Brigade War Diary. The author has made great use of memoirs, diaries and letters from his father and those of three other Troopers who served in the Household Battalion. He has also used information held at the Royal Archives to assist him in writing about the formation of the Battalion. Throughout the book there are good quality maps, and 32 pages of black & white and colour photographs.
This is an excellent book for which the author should rightly be praised. It is effectively the Official History of the ‘Forgotten Battalion’. It is a first class publication and a great resource to those who have an interest in the Great War.
The book is available by post from the author Gerald Harvey for £19.50 plus postage & packing: UK - £4. Europe - £4.50 Surface & £5 Airmail. Rest of the World - £4.50 Surface & £9.00 Airmail
Burn Brae, Orchard Hills Cottages, Carleton in Craven, Skipton, Yorkshire, BD23 3HF.
Tel No. 01756 228236
Reviewer: Martin Hornby
