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With the Tanks 1916-1918: Memoirs of a British Tank Commander in the Great War
William Watson was a young Oxford post-graduate at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Along with several friends from Oxford he enlisted in the army expecting the war to last six weeks. Watson began his service in the Great War as a British Army motorcycle despatch rider. He saw active service during the key battles of 1914 and early 1915. Watson was then commissioned and became a tank commander and saw active service with the tanks most notably at Cambrai in 1917. This well written and evocative memoir was originally published under the tile 'A Company Of Tanks' it constitutes a wonderful primary source and is an invaluable addition to the library of anyone with an interest in the evolution of the tank as a decisive weapon on the battlefield. Highly detailed, but nonetheless accessible this superb new illustrated edition, edited by Emmy AwardTM winning historian Bob Carruthers is greatly recommended for serious enthusiasts and casual readers alike.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 11, 2014
About the author
William Henry Lowe Watson
9 books3 followersHe was born at 98 Victoria Street, Westminster, London SW1 and was the second son of the Rev Patrick and Mrs Watson. His father was vicar at Earlsfield in the London Borough of Wandsworth.
He grew to be ix foot five inches tall and was recruited more or less off the street when war was declared in 1914 and was posted to France.
He was in the Signals Company attached to the 5th Division (one of the two Divisions which made up two Corps.
He rose to be a temporary major in the tank corps, was mentioned in despatches and won the DCM and DSO. His DCM was awarded for 'conspicuous gallantry and resource on numerous occasions in carrying messages under shell and line fire, especially on the Aisne and at Givenchy'.
In 1916 he married Ruth Barbara Wake, who was the daughter of Frederick George Arthur Walker DSO, and in 1919 they moved to 35 Denmark Avenue, Wimbledon/ They had one son Patrick. who outgrew his father to become six feet eight inches tall!
His was memoirs, 'Adventures of a Despatch Rider', first published in 1915 and based on letters he had sent home to his parents, became a bestseller.
After World War I was over he worked as a principal clerk, rising to become an assistant-secretary at the Ministry of Labour in Wimbledon.
He died of pneumonia aged only 41.
He grew to be ix foot five inches tall and was recruited more or less off the street when war was declared in 1914 and was posted to France.
He was in the Signals Company attached to the 5th Division (one of the two Divisions which made up two Corps.
He rose to be a temporary major in the tank corps, was mentioned in despatches and won the DCM and DSO. His DCM was awarded for 'conspicuous gallantry and resource on numerous occasions in carrying messages under shell and line fire, especially on the Aisne and at Givenchy'.
In 1916 he married Ruth Barbara Wake, who was the daughter of Frederick George Arthur Walker DSO, and in 1919 they moved to 35 Denmark Avenue, Wimbledon/ They had one son Patrick. who outgrew his father to become six feet eight inches tall!
His was memoirs, 'Adventures of a Despatch Rider', first published in 1915 and based on letters he had sent home to his parents, became a bestseller.
After World War I was over he worked as a principal clerk, rising to become an assistant-secretary at the Ministry of Labour in Wimbledon.
He died of pneumonia aged only 41.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
February 19, 2019
A look at tank warfare in WW1
The book is a bit on the tedious side. I wanted to know more about being in a tank under fire. This book is more about tactics. I wish I could have liked it more.
The book is a bit on the tedious side. I wanted to know more about being in a tank under fire. This book is more about tactics. I wish I could have liked it more.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review