Hugo White gives us the history of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry from 1702 through until 1959. He was himself a Light Infantryman, and the book is enlivened by his ability to understand the experiences and feelings of the men involved in the different events he describes.
It is the first complete history of the Regiment, drawing on the author's access to the records held at the Regimental Museum at Bodmin and his ability to talk to old soldiers, including many from the Second World War.
'One and All' charts the progress of the Regiment and its direct predecessors, from the beginning at Fox's Marines, who in the eighteenth century were part of the Anglo-Dutch force that took Gibraltar, to the events of the Napoleonic Wars, the nineteenth century wars in India, the Crimea and South Africa, and the two World Wars. Throughout, the author shows us the successive operations around the world of each of the former regiments that eventually became the DCLI, and of its separate battalions, until amalgamation with the Somerset Light Infantry in 1959.
The book epitomises the crucial role of the Infantry in the British Army through nearly three centuries. It comes at a time when interest in the British Army is perhaps as high as it has ever been, and the twentieth century's two great wars (from which Britain emerged victorious), figure largely in people's consideration of modern history.
It illustrates the characteristics that the Army brought to bear in the creation, maintenance and subsequent withdrawal from the British Empire. It shows also how the Army, time and time again, in the face of indifference from the general public and neglect by the government, was able to beat off larger and better equipped armies. Nor does it refrain from revealing the mistakes and defeats that led periodically to the reorganisation required for new impetus to meet new circumstances.
Researched over many years, the book will appeal to readers of military history and all who are interested in Cornish matters.
Contents:
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Introduction
Part 1: Fox's Marine's, the 32nd Regiment of Foot, the 46th Regiment of Foot, and the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
I. Fox's Marines and the 32nd Regiment of Foot
- 1. 1702-1807
- 2. The Napoleonic Wars 1807-1815
- 3. 1816-1846
- 4. India 1846-1856
- 5. The Indian Mutiny 1857-1858
- 6. The 32nd Foot until Amalgamation 1881
II. The 46th Regiment of Foot
- 7. 1745-1854
- 8. 1848-1881
III. The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- 9. The New Regiment
- 10. 1st Battalion 1881-1914
- 11. The 2nd Battalion 1881-1914
Part 2: The Great War and its Aftermath
I. Introduction
- 12. August 1914
II. The Regular Battalions
- 13. The 1st Battalion
- 14. The 2nd Battalion
III. The Old Militia and the Territorial Battalions
- 15. The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 16. The 4th Battalions
- 17. The 5th Battalions (Territorial Force)
IV. The Service Battalions
- 18. The 6th (Service) Battalion
- 19. The 7th (Service) Battalion
- 20. The 8th (Service) Battalion
- 21. The 9th (Service) Reserve Battalion
- 22. The 10th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers)
- 23. The 11th (Reserve) Battalion, the 12th (Labour) Battalion, the 13th (Service) Battalion & the 1st and 2nd (Volunteer) Battalions
IV. The Inter-War Period 1918-1939
- 24. The 1st, 2nd & 3rd Battalions & the 4th & 5th (Territorial) Battalions
Part 3: The Second World War 1939-1945 & its Aftermath
I. The DCLI at War
- 25. The 1st Battalion
- 26. The 2nd Battalion
- 27. The 4th Battalion (Territorial Army)
- 28. The 5th Battalion (Territorial Army)
- 29. The 6th & 7th Battalions & the Depot
- 30. The Cornwall Home Guard (formerly the Local Defence Volunteers
IV. The Post-War Regiment
- 31. The 1st Battalion 1949-1959
- 32 Post-War Reorganisation
- 33. The 1st Battalion 1951-1959
- 34. The 4th/5th Battalion (Territorial Army)
Appendix 1: The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry
Appendix 2: The British Light Infantry, its Dress and Drill
Appendix 3: Notes on a Recent Visit to the Trenches [in France], May 1915 by a Commanding ?Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Stokoe
A Select Glossary
Bibliography
Index
