Ebook411 pages5 hours
Private Lord Crawford's Great War Diaries: From Medical Orderly to Cabinet Minister
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this ebook
From Britain’s only Cabinet-level politician to serve in the ranks during World War I, diary entries and letters detailing life on the Western Front.
This unusual account is written by the 27th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, an active Lancashire MP for eighteen years until he inherited the title on his father’s death in 1913. In 1915 his sense of patriotic duty drove him to join the RAMC as a Private, although he was married with seven children, head of a large company and well over age. Despite his privileged status in civilian life, he cheerfully served as a humble medical orderly on the Western Front for some fourteen months and was given responsibility for two operating theatres.
A gifted author and diarist, his daily entries provide a fascinating insight into life near the front over this period and, together with his letters home, his writings reflect the stark contrast between his home life and the one he experienced in Flanders. Of particular interest are his astute observations on his contemporaries of all ranks, the conduct of the war, medical services and life in wartime France. Remarkably he never complains at his lot (although often sharply critical of GHQ and politicians) or regrets his decision.
As the author was the only Cabinet-level politician to serve “in the ranks” during the conflict, this is a record without any parallel. In 1916 Crawford was persuaded eventually to return to London and join Asquith’s Cabinet before staying on under Lloyd George until 1922. After the war, he became a director, trustee or advisor of several museums, such as the British Museum, National Gallery and others. The Crawford Papers (his diaries, edited by Prof. John Vincent) describe his civilian experiences from 1892 to 1940 and are seen as an invaluable source for students of politics, art, industry and society in Britain.
The book contains three maps and seventy-five illustrations.
This fascinating book fills a needy gap at a time of unprecedented interest in The Great War.
Praise for Private Lord Crawford’s Great War Diaries
One of The Times “Books of the Year” 2013
“[Crawford’s] previously unpublished war diaries, meticulously edited by his grandson, offer a fascinating glimpse into life at the front and in the upper reaches of politics at home—and contain some frank comments on his former Cabinet colleagues.” —Literary Review
“Lord Crawford was the only Cabinet-level politician to serve “in the ranks” during World War I as a private. A gifted author and diarist, his daily entries provide a fascinating insight into life in the frontline over a fourteen-month period.” —History Scotland
This unusual account is written by the 27th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, an active Lancashire MP for eighteen years until he inherited the title on his father’s death in 1913. In 1915 his sense of patriotic duty drove him to join the RAMC as a Private, although he was married with seven children, head of a large company and well over age. Despite his privileged status in civilian life, he cheerfully served as a humble medical orderly on the Western Front for some fourteen months and was given responsibility for two operating theatres.
A gifted author and diarist, his daily entries provide a fascinating insight into life near the front over this period and, together with his letters home, his writings reflect the stark contrast between his home life and the one he experienced in Flanders. Of particular interest are his astute observations on his contemporaries of all ranks, the conduct of the war, medical services and life in wartime France. Remarkably he never complains at his lot (although often sharply critical of GHQ and politicians) or regrets his decision.
As the author was the only Cabinet-level politician to serve “in the ranks” during the conflict, this is a record without any parallel. In 1916 Crawford was persuaded eventually to return to London and join Asquith’s Cabinet before staying on under Lloyd George until 1922. After the war, he became a director, trustee or advisor of several museums, such as the British Museum, National Gallery and others. The Crawford Papers (his diaries, edited by Prof. John Vincent) describe his civilian experiences from 1892 to 1940 and are seen as an invaluable source for students of politics, art, industry and society in Britain.
The book contains three maps and seventy-five illustrations.
This fascinating book fills a needy gap at a time of unprecedented interest in The Great War.
Praise for Private Lord Crawford’s Great War Diaries
One of The Times “Books of the Year” 2013
“[Crawford’s] previously unpublished war diaries, meticulously edited by his grandson, offer a fascinating glimpse into life at the front and in the upper reaches of politics at home—and contain some frank comments on his former Cabinet colleagues.” —Literary Review
“Lord Crawford was the only Cabinet-level politician to serve “in the ranks” during World War I as a private. A gifted author and diarist, his daily entries provide a fascinating insight into life in the frontline over a fourteen-month period.” —History Scotland
Related to Private Lord Crawford's Great War Diaries
Related ebooks
Visiting the Fallen: Arras South Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSurrender at New Orleans: General Sir Harry Smith in the Peninsula and America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Church Lads' Brigade in the Great War: The 16th (Service) Battalion The King's Royal Rifle Corps. The Long, Long Trail Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Corunna to Waterloo: With the Hussars 1808 to 1815 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTracing Your Boer War Ancestors: Soldiers of a Forgotten War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUp to Mametz and Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Visiting the Fallen: Arras North Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChurchill’s England Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuddersfield in the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Somme 1916: & Other Experiences of the Salford Pals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Women and Men of 1926: A Gender and Social History of the General Strike and Miners' Lockout in South Wales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Poppies: The Story of Britain’s Black Community in the First World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFight the Good Fight: Voices of Faith from the First World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNapoleonic Lives: Researching the British Soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNewark in the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwenty Years On: Views and Reviews of Modern Britain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe British and Cyprus: An Outpost of Empire to Sovereign Bases, 1878-1974 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBattles of the English Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbsent-Minded Beggars: Yeomanry and Volunteers in the Boer War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great War Lives: A Guide for Family Historians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOswestry & Whitchurch in the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hood Battalion: Royal Naval Division: Antwerp, Gallipoli, France 1914–1918 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tunbridge Wells in the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSailor: Battle of Britain Legend: Adolph Malan Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Siege Of Lucknow: A Diary [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBroken Sword: The Tumultuous Life of General Frank Crozier, 1897–1937 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLady Lucy Houston DBE: Aviation Champion and Mother of the Spitfire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ill-Starred General: Braddock of the Coldstream Guards Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lusitania Saga & Myth: 100 Years On Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Wars & Military For You
How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Resistance: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unit 731: Testimony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The History of the Peloponnesian War: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Daily Creativity Journal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Making of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Washington: The Indispensable Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War & Other Classics of Eastern Philosophy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf: The Original, Accurate, and Complete English Translation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings77 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Private Lord Crawford's Great War Diaries
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
Private Lord Crawford's Great War Diaries - Christopher Arnander
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1