Issue 169 (Winter 2017-18)

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Soldiers of the Queen - Issue 169 (Winter 2017-18)

As the year 2018 dawns, and official events commemorating the centenary of the First World War draw to a close, the Victorian Military Society continues its mission to stimulate interest in the colourful history of Britain’s armed forces in the decades leading up to that terrible conflict – the soldiers and sailors who fought ‘Queen Victoria’s little wars’, in far-flung corners of our Empire, between the middle of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth.

Regular readers know that we cover a wide variety of British and colonial military topics in the pages of our journal and it is not unusual for articles here to shine a light on the daily trials and tribulations of the ordinary serviceman, Tommy Atkins, whether in South Africa, India, Gibraltar or Aldershot. If this winter issue of SOTQ has a more elitist feel, however, it is because our subjects this time include an array of senior officers, celebrities, and the Brigade of Guards! yes, this is definitely a ‘pink gin’ edition!

Here we have some of the most famous generals of the Victorian era, such as Napier, Havelock, Colin Campbell, Wolseley, Roberts and Kitchener, the renowned soldier and adventurer Colonel Burnaby of the Blues, the ‘celebrity chef’ Alexis Soyer (perhaps the Jamie Oliver of his day?) who was called upon by the War Office to advise on feeding the British army, and the Foot Guards who were converted into Mounted Infantry for Britain’s second war against the Boers. What more could you ask for in the New year issue of the VMS journal?

In this issue...

Burnaby's Deadly Weapon
Guards Mounted Infantry in South Afica, 1901-02
Diehards commemorate Zulu war hero
Alexis Soyer visits the British Military Cemetery at Haidar Pasha
British Army Generals and Generalship, 1837-1902
Book Reviews

£2.50