Andrew Robertshaw – författare

An army marches on its stomach and it fights on its stomach too – yet have you ever wondered how hundreds of men on the frontline are fed amidst hails of bullets and how kitchens are created in the desert or in the trench lines? In 1941 the army officially created the Army Catering Corps and opened the Army School of Cookery in Aldershot (to be followed by other schools all over the world, including Poona, India). Troops were trained to make meals out of the bare minimum of ingredients, to feed a company of men from only a mess tin and cook curries to feed hundreds only yards from the frontline. This book tells the story of how soldiers became army cooks, their training and in the frontline kitchen. Frontline Cooking also brings together recipes from the Second World War, including hand-written notes from troops fighting in the Middle East, India and all over Europe. Many recipes are illustrated with cartoons and drawings on how to assemble the perfect oven and kitchen tools at a moment’s notice from nothing. This book is the perfect inspiration for those who like to create an amazing meal anywhere, anytime, from anything.

John Joseph Steward fought in the Great War, from the Battle of the Somme to the final offensives of 1918, and he was an acute, unflinching observer of the conflict he took part in - of life and death on the Western Front. He was a writer, too. He recorded his experiences in accurate detail and later in life he wrote a graphic fictionalized account of his wartime career - the story of his war, his comrades and his platoon. His narrative is published here for the first time, edited, annotated and with an introduction by Andrew Robertshaw and Steve Roberts. Their research into Steward’s story is a fascinating example of how such work can be used to give a vivid insight into the experiences of a Great War ancestor. About the EditorsAndrew Robertshaw is Curator/Manager of The Royal Logistic Corps Museum in Deepcut, Surrey. For the past twelve years he has been coordinating a group conducting an archaeological dig of British trenches and other sites on the Somme. He frequently appears on television as a commentator on battlefield archaeology and the soldier in history. His publications include A Soldier’s Life, The Somme 1st July 1916, Digging the Trenches (with David Kenyon) and Ghosts of the Somme (with Alastair Fraser and Steve Roberts).Steve Roberts is a retired police officer and an ex-regular soldier. He has a keen interest in military history and as a result of his grandfather’s service a particular passion for the Great War. He specializes in researching the individuals who served during the period and has worked in this field on a number of television projects. He is a founder member of the Great War archaeology group No Mans Land and also a battlefield guide regularly taking groups to France and Belgium. He has previously co-authored Ghosts on the Somme (with Alastair Fraser and Andrew Robertshaw)

Modern research methods - archaeological, historical, forensic - have transformed our view of the past. This is especially true of the history of the Great War. In this, the first comprehensive survey of this exciting new field, Andrew Robertshaw and David Kenyon introduce the reader to the techniques that are employed and record, in vivid detail, many of the remarkable projects that have been undertaken. They show how archaeology can be used to reveal the position of trenches, dugouts and other battlefield features and to rediscover what life on the Western Front was really like. And they show how individual soldiers are themselves part of the story, for forensic investigation of the war dead is now so highly developed that individuals can be identified and their fate discovered.

The Battle of the Somme raged from 1 July to 18 November 1916 and was one of the bloodiest fought in military history. For many, it has come to signify the waste and bloodshed of the First World War, as hundreds of thousands of men on all sides lost their lives fighting over small gains in land. Yet this battle was also to mark a turning point in the war and to witness new methods of warfare, such as all-arms integrated attacks, with infantry units and the new tank corps fighting alongside each other.In Somme 1916: The Blasted Battle, Andrew Robertshaw seeks to lift the battle out of its controversy and explain what really happened and why. Complete with detailed maps and photographs, as well as fascinating facts and profiles of the leaders, this book provides an unparalleled introduction to this legendary battle.

Were the trenches always muddy?Was every minute spent under fire?How did soldiers get around?What food was eaten?And how did they build them anyway?A Short History of First World War Trenches is a subject that perpetually fascinates and brings to the fore questions of what the everyday soldier experienced in times of conflict and rest. Jam-packed with facts, stats and first-hand accounts of the action, all woven together in an accessible way by an expert in the field, this Short History will answer any question you have in a concise, informative way – an invaluable addition to anyone’s bookshelf.

The Battle of the Somme is one of the most famous, and earliest, films of war ever made. The film records the most disastrous day in the history of the British army - 1 July 1916 - and it had a huge impact when it was shown in Britain during the war. Since then images from it have been repeated so often in books and documentaries that it has profoundly influenced our view of the battle and of the Great War itself. Yet this book is the first in-depth study of this historic film, and it is the first to relate it to the surviving battleground of the Somme.The authors explore the film and its history in fascinating detail. They investigate how much of it was faked and consider how much credit for it should go to Geoffrey Malins and how much to John MacDowell. And they use modern photographs of the locations to give us a telling insight into the landscape of the battle and into the way in which this pioneering film was created.Their analysis of scenes in the film tells us so much about the way the British army operated in June and July 1916 - how the troops were dressed and equipped, how they were armed and how their weapons were used. In some cases it is even possible to discover what they were saying. This painstaking exercise in historical reconstruction will be compelling reading for everyone who is interested in the Great War and the Battle of the Somme.

A refreshingly balanced examination of a well-trodden area of military history.The first day of the battle of the Somme has always been perceived as a day of tragedy for the British Army, with the slaughter of 60,000 men on the battlefield. What seemed to be poor planning on the part of the British command meant that soldiers were sent into no man's land to face the horrors of uncut barbed wire and waves of German machine gun fire. However, there were triumphs amongst the tragedy.This book discusses the successes and failures of the British and the German forces along the frontline. It also offers a detailed account of the battle itself, following the actions of individual units throughout the day.

Major Vic Ebbage was a Colonel with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, serving in Hong Kong in 1941, when his garrison was attacked by the Japanese Army. He was captured and taken prisoner to the notorious Hong Kong death camp, Samshuipo, where he was held from 30th December 1941 to August 1945. His story is an extraordinary one of survival against all the odds, but more than that it is a story of how a group of men worked together to improve conditions in the camp for their fellow prisoners. They were offered nothing by their captors, but their constant command of 'improvise', which they learned to do by recycling salvaged materials into everything from homemade nails, cooking pots and plates to surgical instruments, beds and nesting boxes. His diary demonstrates how individuals can work together in almost unimaginable adversity to improve life for their fellow man, and how imagination and innovation can flourish in even the worst conditions. This story is a model of care, humanity and inventiveness.

The trench was the frontline Tommy’s home. He lived, ate, slept, and sometimes died in this narrow passage amongst the slime of mud and blood on the Western Front. His washbasin was a mess-tin, his cooker – a small fire built into the wall, his entertainment – his friends, his fear – the man living in the trench on the other side of No Man’s Land. Over 6 million men died whilst serving in the trenches – how did they live in them? For the first time, World War I historian Andrew Robertshaw and a group of soldiers, archaeologists and historians use official manuals and diaries to build a real trench system and live in it for 24 hours, recreating the frontline Tommy’s daily existence, answering the questions: How do you build a trench quietly? How clean can you really get in a trench? How easy is it to sleep? How do you keep yourself entertained? How to do you stay alive and kill the enemy? And many more… Hour-by-hour, the Tommy’s day unfolds through stunning colour photographs in this ground-breaking experiment in Great War history.