Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: An Irish Soldier

by Keith Jeffery

Overview

Henry Wilson was the only British field marshal ever to die in action, killed on his own doorstep in 1922 by two IRA men (one of whom had a wooden leg). Wilson was a flamboyant, maverick Irishman, at the centre of affairs during the First World War years and after, recording everything in his wildly indiscreet diary. Using a wide range of official and private sources, this is the first modern biography of this controversial and misunderstood figure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198203582
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/04/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Keith Jeffery is Professor of British History at Queen's University, Belfast, having previously been Professor of Modern History at the University of Ulster. He has been Parnell Fellow in Irish Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and a Visiting Scholar at the Australian National University and the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Table of Contents

1. The Irish Context2. The Making of a Staff Officer3. South Africa4. Work in the War Office5. The Staff College6. Preparing for War7. Politics, the Irish Question, and War8. With the BEF9. IV Corps10. Coalition Warfare11. Winning the War12. Defending the Empire13. Losing Ireland and Saving Ulster14. Death and ReputationBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Jeffery's biography is a superb book. It contributes not only to our knowledge of Wilson, but also to our understanding of the intricacies of the pre-war British army and decision-making in the First World War. For anyone interested in these matters, Jeffery's book is essential reading."—Keith Neilson, The International History Review

From the Publisher