An Artillery Officer in the First World War.

“The Horses were to be Looked After First, Our Men Second, and Officers Last.”

Duplicated typescript with 19 maps & sketches. Foolscap. Cloth-backed cream card wrappers, typed label to upper cover. [iii], 240, [4]pp, rectos only. Privately circulated by the author, nd but c.

 “The horses were to be looked after first, our men second, and officers last."

 

This otherwise unpublished memoir provides a detailed account of an artillery officer in the First World War. MacLeod saw action at some of the most difficult theatres, namely, the retreat at Mons (where he was wounded), plus Neuve Chapelle, Festubert, Aubers Ridge, the Somme (where he was a Liaison Officer and includes his observations on artillery), and Passchendaele, where he commanded “A” Battery, 240 Bde. RFA, then “C” Battery, 241 Bde. In 1918 he was at the Asiago Plateau in Italy.

 

Macleod writes that his "account of the Retreat from Mons is based on a diary I made immediately afterwards, and of the [Currah] Incident and the remainder of the War on letters I wrote to my father, mother, sisters and wife." He entered the war as a Second Lieutenant and by 1918 was an acting Major in command of a battery. To great effect - engaging and edifying - Macleod uses quotes from his diary and letters as a starting point which he then expands upon to give a broader context, and much detail, to each incident. The maps and illustrations are all Macleod's.

 

Very rare. OCLC locates copies at the University of Southern Illinois, Liddle Hart Centre for Military Archives. Libraryhub adds NLS..

Stock Code: 244768