Research Books

Title

Author

Date

Description

August 1914

Barbara W. Tuchman

1962

This famous book analysing the outbreak of the First World War received widespread acclaim on publication and has remained in print for fifty years.

A Tommy’s Sketchbook

Lance Corporal Henry Buckle

2012

Lance Corporal Henry Buckle’s writings and drawings are a window on to the Western Front as seen by one man

Because You Died

Vera Brittain

2008

This collection of Vera Brittain’s poetry and prose, some of it never published before, commemorates the men she loved – fiancé, brother and two close friends – who served and died in the First World War.

British and Commonwealth War Cemeteries

Julie Summers

2010

The story of the founding and the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Famous –
 1914-19

Richard Van Emden & Victor Piuk

2009

The stories of 21 men in WWI who would later become famous, from AA Milne to JRR Tolkien, Arnold Ridley to Henry Moore, Montgomery to Churchill

Elsie & Mairi Go To War

Diane Atkinson

2009

“A compelling story of famous but forgotten heroines: tow exceptional Edwardian ladies in the front-line mud and mayhem of World War I” – Kate Adie

The Great Illusion

Norman Angell

1909

This book was very popular throughout Europe – it proved that due to the interdependence of European countries in the early 20th century, war was almost impossible; millions of people and politicians were convinced by it – until 1914.  A lesson for the modern world?
It can be read online at the Internet Archive www.archive.org 

Not Forgotten

Neil Oliver

2005

“There are over 36,000 Great War memorials in Britain, which stand as landmarks to a defining period in British history – and yet one which is slipping away from popular memory”

Shots from the Front

Richard Holmes

2010

Illustrating the wide range of experiences of the British Soldier in the First World War.  

Six Weeks – The Short and Gallant Life of the British Officer in the First World War

John Lewis-Stempell

2011

The extraordinary story of the British Junior officers in the First World War, who led their men out of the trenches and faced a life expectancy of six weeks..  

Staffords in the Great War 1914-1918, A Brief History 

Jim Tanner

Unknown

Available from www.staffordshireregimentmuseum.com or
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum,
Defence Medical Services, Whittington, Lichfield
Staffordshire, WS14 9PY  

Tommy at Gommecourt 

Thomas James Higgins, compiled by Alan Higgins

2005

The diary of Tommy Higgins, 1/5 North Staffords, during WWWI – “The Diary is one of the finest pieces of testimony from the front lines of the Western Front that I have seen” – Dan Snow, historian.  Available from Churnett Valley Books or Alan Higgins. 

World War I Witness Accounts

Janice Anderson

2009

Witness accounts from those who went to war and those who were at home.