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Soldiers: Fighting Men's Lives, 1901-2001
As revealed through the lives of nine British military men whose wartime experiences span the course of the twentieth century, a study of the soldier's world explores the ways in which military training, values, and everyday life have changed over the course of the last century. Reprint.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
28 people want to read
About the author
Philip Ziegler
77 books40 followersPhilip Ziegler was a British biographer and historian known for his meticulously researched works on historical figures and events. After studying at Eton and New College, Oxford, he served in the British Foreign Service, with postings in Laos, South Africa, Colombia, and NATO. He later transitioned into publishing and writing, eventually becoming a distinguished biographer.
His notable works include Mountbatten: The Official Biography, Edward VIII: The Official Biography, and The Black Death. He also wrote about figures such as Lord Melbourne, Harold Wilson, and George VI. Over the years, Ziegler contributed to major publications like The Spectator, The Times, and History Today.
His personal life was marked by tragedy when his first wife was killed during a home invasion in Bogotá in 1967. He later remarried and continued his literary career until his passing in 2023 at the age of 93.
His notable works include Mountbatten: The Official Biography, Edward VIII: The Official Biography, and The Black Death. He also wrote about figures such as Lord Melbourne, Harold Wilson, and George VI. Over the years, Ziegler contributed to major publications like The Spectator, The Times, and History Today.
His personal life was marked by tragedy when his first wife was killed during a home invasion in Bogotá in 1967. He later remarried and continued his literary career until his passing in 2023 at the age of 93.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 24, 2020
Way back in 1682 the Royal Hospital Chelsea was established to provide pensioned soldiers with secure (albeit cramped) lodgings in their declining years. It's a brilliant idea, really; like an old folks home for single soldiers who otherwise might be a burden on their families or end up on the streets. Of course it couldn't be a British institution if it didn't come with rules and obligations and a snappy scarlet uniform. It's almost like being in the army again, but you can leave any time you choose. I think it's a pity that we don't have its like in North America.
Mr Ziegler has selected nine residents of the institution and provided thumbnail biographies, giving a background on each subject: place of birth, family environment, education, reason for enlisting, military career and life after the military. The book is mildly interesting; although the men saw action and were all career soldiers, there are no first hand or exciting accounts of raids or battles in this book. Instead, my take on it was that life in England was so miserable that these chaps eagerly lied about their ages in many cases in order to join...better to risk a bullet than continue living in pre-war Britain. I suppose that this it the case in most countries: the ranks are filled with recruits from the lowest socio-economic strata while the progeny of the well-to-do manage to avoid service.
The heartening part of the book is that each soldier, on his retirement from the military, seemed to have the skills and discipline to thrive in the civilian world. Make no mistake: after the cloistered life of the military leaving Mother Army behind is a very traumatic experience. They might not have to pry your fingers out of the chain link fence at the Main Gate, but the reluctance to leave is there just the same.
As to the book. It's too sparse to function as biography or memoir, too dull to be an adventure, too anecdotal to be factual history. It works as a limited sociology study or human interest story, and it shines as an advertisement for the Royal Hospital. As the book was written 18 years ago, it is likely that all of the Chelsea Pensioners interviewed are all gone to the big Parade Square in the sky; their berths will now be occupied by veterans of other conflicts.
It was nice to read something with no mistakes or typos for a change.
Mr Ziegler has selected nine residents of the institution and provided thumbnail biographies, giving a background on each subject: place of birth, family environment, education, reason for enlisting, military career and life after the military. The book is mildly interesting; although the men saw action and were all career soldiers, there are no first hand or exciting accounts of raids or battles in this book. Instead, my take on it was that life in England was so miserable that these chaps eagerly lied about their ages in many cases in order to join...better to risk a bullet than continue living in pre-war Britain. I suppose that this it the case in most countries: the ranks are filled with recruits from the lowest socio-economic strata while the progeny of the well-to-do manage to avoid service.
The heartening part of the book is that each soldier, on his retirement from the military, seemed to have the skills and discipline to thrive in the civilian world. Make no mistake: after the cloistered life of the military leaving Mother Army behind is a very traumatic experience. They might not have to pry your fingers out of the chain link fence at the Main Gate, but the reluctance to leave is there just the same.
As to the book. It's too sparse to function as biography or memoir, too dull to be an adventure, too anecdotal to be factual history. It works as a limited sociology study or human interest story, and it shines as an advertisement for the Royal Hospital. As the book was written 18 years ago, it is likely that all of the Chelsea Pensioners interviewed are all gone to the big Parade Square in the sky; their berths will now be occupied by veterans of other conflicts.
It was nice to read something with no mistakes or typos for a change.
July 6, 2023
Contextualized oral histories, more or less. Little analysis by design, but the nine stories Ziegler shares are notable ones. Quite ordinary but also each very specific, in a way that one rarely gets from military history.
CN: domestic violence, poverty, some specifics of warfare, and (neutrally presented) sexism, racism, colonialism, and imperialism
CN: domestic violence, poverty, some specifics of warfare, and (neutrally presented) sexism, racism, colonialism, and imperialism
April 27, 2020
Not a bad read. I don’t remember buying this book but glad it’s turned up on my to read pile. It’s not the usual gung ho book written about soldiers serving in various theatres and conflict zones.
It’s 9 chapters each is a basically the memoirs of 9 Chelsea Pensioners remembering their childhood and reasons for joining the military. They move onto their military service and various postings throughout it, some very much hurry up and wait and unglamorous courses and exercises that anyone who’s served will appreciate. They reminisce over leaving the military and what civy street brought them and the trials and tribulations that lead them to becoming Chelsea Pensioners.
The only thing I’d have liked would be more on what it’s like being a “boy of the old brigade” and what it’s like being a pensioner and living in the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Worth a read but lacking some information in my opinion.
It’s 9 chapters each is a basically the memoirs of 9 Chelsea Pensioners remembering their childhood and reasons for joining the military. They move onto their military service and various postings throughout it, some very much hurry up and wait and unglamorous courses and exercises that anyone who’s served will appreciate. They reminisce over leaving the military and what civy street brought them and the trials and tribulations that lead them to becoming Chelsea Pensioners.
The only thing I’d have liked would be more on what it’s like being a “boy of the old brigade” and what it’s like being a pensioner and living in the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Worth a read but lacking some information in my opinion.
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August 7, 2008bookstore find aug/08.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews