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Soldiers: Army Lives and Loyalties from Redcoats to Dusty Warriors
A magisterial new history of the British soldier - a man famously described by the Duke of Wellington as ‘the scum of the earth’. From battlefield to barrack-room, this book is stuffed to the brim with anecdotes and stories of soldiers from the army of Charles II, through Empire and two World Wars to modern times.
The British soldier forms a core component of British history. In this scholarly but gossipy book, Richard Holmes presents a rich social history of the man (and now more frequently woman) who have been at the heart of his writing for decades.
Technological, political and social changes have all made their mark on the development of warfare, but have the attitudes of the soldier shifted as much we might think?
For Holmes, the soldier is part of a unique tribe – and the qualities of loyalty and heroism have continued to grow amongst these men. And while today the army constitutes the smallest proportion of the population since the first decade of its existence (regular soldiers make up just 0.087%), the social organisation of the men has hardly changed; the major combat arms, infantry, cavalry and artillery, have retained much of the forms that men who fought at Blenheim, Waterloo and the Somme would readily grasp.
Regiments remain an enduring feature of the army and Lieutenant Colonels have lost nothing of their importance in military hierarchy; the death of Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe in Afghanistan in 2009 shows just how high the risks are that these men continue to face.
Filled to the brim with stories from all over the world and spanning across history, this magisterial book conveys how soldiers from as far back as the seventeenth century and soldiers today are united by their common experiences.
Richard Holmes died suddenly, soon after completing this book. It is his last word on the British soldier – about which he knew and wrote so much.
The British soldier forms a core component of British history. In this scholarly but gossipy book, Richard Holmes presents a rich social history of the man (and now more frequently woman) who have been at the heart of his writing for decades.
Technological, political and social changes have all made their mark on the development of warfare, but have the attitudes of the soldier shifted as much we might think?
For Holmes, the soldier is part of a unique tribe – and the qualities of loyalty and heroism have continued to grow amongst these men. And while today the army constitutes the smallest proportion of the population since the first decade of its existence (regular soldiers make up just 0.087%), the social organisation of the men has hardly changed; the major combat arms, infantry, cavalry and artillery, have retained much of the forms that men who fought at Blenheim, Waterloo and the Somme would readily grasp.
Regiments remain an enduring feature of the army and Lieutenant Colonels have lost nothing of their importance in military hierarchy; the death of Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe in Afghanistan in 2009 shows just how high the risks are that these men continue to face.
Filled to the brim with stories from all over the world and spanning across history, this magisterial book conveys how soldiers from as far back as the seventeenth century and soldiers today are united by their common experiences.
Richard Holmes died suddenly, soon after completing this book. It is his last word on the British soldier – about which he knew and wrote so much.
688 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2011
6 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Richard Holmes
116 books94 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
See this thread for more information.
Edward Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He was educated at Cambridge, Northern Illinois, and Reading Universities, and carried out his doctoral research on the French army of the Second Empire. For many years he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
A celebrated military historian, Holmes is the author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed Tommy and Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. His dozen other books include Dusty Warriors, Sahib, The Western Front, The Little Field Marshal: Sir John French, The Road to Sedan, Firing Line, The Second World War in Photographs and Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of Northern France and Flanders (also published by Pimlico).
He was general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and has presented eight BBC TV series, including ‘War Walks’, ‘The Western Front’ and ‘Battlefields’, and is famous for his hugely successful series ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ and ‘Rebels and Redcoats’.
See this thread for more information.
Edward Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He was educated at Cambridge, Northern Illinois, and Reading Universities, and carried out his doctoral research on the French army of the Second Empire. For many years he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
A celebrated military historian, Holmes is the author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed Tommy and Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. His dozen other books include Dusty Warriors, Sahib, The Western Front, The Little Field Marshal: Sir John French, The Road to Sedan, Firing Line, The Second World War in Photographs and Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of Northern France and Flanders (also published by Pimlico).
He was general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and has presented eight BBC TV series, including ‘War Walks’, ‘The Western Front’ and ‘Battlefields’, and is famous for his hugely successful series ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ and ‘Rebels and Redcoats’.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 1, 2025
Despite wanting to enjoy reading this book, I found it a hard read.
It seems to be trying to cover too many aspects in a single volume. At times the book is dense with information, too much at times making it difficult to see the wood for the trees. At other times it skims over the subject matter making it difficult to understand the reason for its inclusion.
The book is an uneasy blend of soldiers personal lives and experiences, linked with the historical evolution of the regimental system. I would have liked to have seen some charts showing how regiments evolved and merged over the years to help anchor the narrative.
It does starkly highlight the historical class based distinction between the privileges enjoyed by the officer class and the lowly ill treated privates.
It seems to be trying to cover too many aspects in a single volume. At times the book is dense with information, too much at times making it difficult to see the wood for the trees. At other times it skims over the subject matter making it difficult to understand the reason for its inclusion.
The book is an uneasy blend of soldiers personal lives and experiences, linked with the historical evolution of the regimental system. I would have liked to have seen some charts showing how regiments evolved and merged over the years to help anchor the narrative.
It does starkly highlight the historical class based distinction between the privileges enjoyed by the officer class and the lowly ill treated privates.
June 1, 2017
This is an excellent book for those interested in the social environment that the British Army is and has been. The book breaks down and looks at the British Army from its inception to today in terms of the regiment, the recruiting and induction of Soldiers, training, the messes and all sorts of other areas that make the British Army what it is. It doesn't pull any punches. The author passed away before the book was quite ready for print, and I believe that is why there is some repetition that would likely have been removed in editing otherwise.
July 13, 2024
Dense with information, too much so at times and at others, skimmed over, more so an issue for a complete layman, as I am. However, an interesting read. I've discovered so much I didn't know. Running to over 600 pages, I imagine there could be a whole set of books on the subject, so a credit to the late Richard Holmes in making this extensive and informative.
January 2, 2019
Excellent and very thorough. Maybe it would have been good to add some charts when it talks of how regiments were merged etc. Took me a while to read but enjoyed it.
July 13, 2016
One of the best books on the British Army I've read! Well researched and thought out, tons of information without it being information overload! Despite its length it's a quick read as it's easy to follow and written with the pride only a true veteran and military historian can inject to a book!
Can't recommend this book enough if your a military history fan!
Can't recommend this book enough if your a military history fan!
November 2, 2011
well written and very detailed book about soldering by the late richard holmes who will be sorely missed in this field of miltary history and takes you from the redcoats and the army of the restoration through to modern day army of the middle eastern troubles
November 14, 2016
As you might expect having been written by a distinguished military historian, this book is extremely well researched and is an interesting/insightful read
May 25, 2016
Not a history of battles, but of the people. An excellent, one volume history of the British Army from the Restoration to the modern day.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews