Book Review: The Harrogate Terriers - The 1/5th (Territorial) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War
A review of “The Harrogate Terriers” – The 1/5th
(Territorial) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War, written by John Sheehan.
Reviewed by Nigel Marshall
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Front cover of "The Harrogate Terriers" Photo © Pen & Sword Military Books Ltd |
Avid readers of any aspect of the history of the Great War
will have felt inundated by the flood of books published during the centenary
years recently. It is fair to say that some books were rushed into publication
and readers who like to cross reference and dig deeper will no doubt have
found flaws and deficiencies in many of the books they have read from this
glut of publishing house output.
If they have not yet, readers should turn their attention to
John Sheehan’s “Harrogate Terriers” to see a modern battalion history of real
depth and quality. Without thoroughly researched material and historical rigour in interpretation,
any narrative history will struggle to make the impact it needs to in order to
stand out from the crowd. It is clear, both from casual reading, and more concentrated
scrutiny that the research John Sheehan has conducted has been exemplary. His
understanding of the battalion, and the men who served with it is complete, and
this has enabled him to bring the reader through some really very complex episodes
in the battalion’s experience of the war with apparent ease.
The book, from end to end, benefits enormously from the
generous use of the words of the soldiers themselves, and while some authors
have inserted them into their own texts without contextual support, that is not
the case with “Harrogate Terriers”. The soldiers’ recollections and letters
are valuable additions which more easily allow the soldiers to become real
people again, rather than simply being characters from history. The entire book
is very clearly written, and this makes the reading experience a pleasurable
and rewarding one.
In terms of the focus of the content, John Sheehan has afforded
equally detailed coverage to all periods of the battalion’s experience of the war. He has not
neglected the life of the battalion after the Somme battles closed down in the
winter of 1916, and every bit as much care and diligence has been exercised
over the encounters of 1917 and 1918 as he has over the first half of the war.
Skilfully drawn sketch maps, in conjunction with annotated
photography of the battlefields, as they appear today, very ably support the flowing
narrative and allow the book to be of as much use while actually visiting the
battlefields as any specifically written battlefield guidebook.
The narrative over, the book is well supported with a
commendable catalogue of sources and bibliography. Appendices follow, giving separate
lists of officers and other ranks known to have served the battalion, a roll of
honour of fatal casualties, with their places of commemoration, the honours and
awards earned by members of the battalion, and a listing of known Prisoners of
War from the battalion. The book ends with a useful index.
If I had to find something to criticise, it would be the
lack of footnotes/endnotes, however, this would be criticism for the sake of being critical.
As it stands, this book greatly impresses me and I hold it to be the best I have read
from the stable of the battalion history, from any period of publication.
It is
a book to read, and it also serves as a book of importance to the military
researcher. I refer to it often.
I unreservedly recommend this book.
Nigel Marshall
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| © Pen & Sword Military Books Ltd |
“Harrogate Terriers” was written by John Sheehan.
Published by Pen and Sword Military, 2017, Barnsley.
ISBN: 9781473868120
Copiously illustrated throughout with photographs and maps.
Cover price: £25.00
Widely available in bookshops and through online retailers.
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