T. a. Heathcote – författare

In 1858, Ensign Hugh Pearson embarked at Chatham for service with the 84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment in India, little suspecting that within a few short months he would be taking part in the dramatic events of the Indian Rebellion. His letters to his family, published here for the first time, tell of the dramatic events that unfolded from the first rumblings of unrest at Barrackpore, to the shocking news of the massacre at Cawnpore, and the struggle to relieve Lucknow. Pearson offers a remarkable insight into the career of a young regimental officer in Queen Victoria’s army, as well as an enticing glimpse of family life. Peace gives him the chance to engage in his favourite pastime – shooting – whilst war offers the opportunity for promotion and loot. But as the campaign continues and his comrades begin to fall, Pearson begins to long for home.

First published in 1980, shortly after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, The Afghan Wars 1839–1919 speedily became a standard work of reference at military academies and staff colleges in the UK and overseas. Since then, with the attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001 and subsequent war in Afghanistan, copies of the book have been increasingly in demand by readers interested in finding out the context to one of the most complex conflicts of modern times.T.A. Heathcote departs from the Eurocentric approach of most British military historians and sets the causes and events of the Anglo-Afghan wars firmly in their Asian context, providing as much a political as a military history. Using official dispatches and private letters as well as existing histories, this book tells the story of all three Anglo-Afghan conflicts in a single, accessible volume. It remains essential reading for anyone with an interest in the study of warfare in one of the world’s most hostile environments.

Whether any advantage or benefit will be drawn from the suspension - or effective abolition - of the rank of Field Marshal is debatable. What is certain, however, is that Dr Tony Heathcote's idea of compiling a definitive biographicaldictionary of holders of this illustrious rank since its introduction by George II in 1736, is opportune and inspired.Those readers who anticipate a dry recitation of bare facts and statistics are in for a disappointment. A reference work this may be but the author, by dint of his depth of knowledge, has created a shrewd and highly readable commentary as well.As General Sir Charles Guthrie (the first soldier to be denied promotion to Field Marshal on appointment to Chief of Defence Staff) observes in his Foreword, this book embraces the history of the British Army over the last 250-300 years. It covers not only the careers of key individuals but provides an understanding of their contribution to the successes and failures of our military past. The diversity of personalities, who have only the honour of wearing the coveted crossed batons in common, is fascinating.Alongside the household names of the great strategists and distinguished leaders lie little known and forgotten figures, who gained their exalted rank by either luck, accident of birth or diplomatic gesture.The British Field Marshals merits a place on the bookshelf of any military historian but is likely to be found on his or her bedside table. Whether or not the rank is ever resurrected, as it has been in the past and as many will hope it will be again, this delightful and useful book will remain the authoritative guide to all those who have held the highest military rank in the British Army