THE IRISH GUARDS IN THE GREAT WAR: THE FIRST BATTALION (AF)

Clean, unmarked pages. Minor discolouration at edges of pages. Minimal shelf wear. Front and rear boards are bruised at the corners. Dust wrapper is rubbed, bruised at the corners. This is a 1997 reprint of the first volume of Kipling’s original two-volume history of the Irish Guards in the Great War, first published in 1923. The First Battalion set foot in France only nine days after Great Britain entered the First World War. Kipling’s only son John enlisted with the Second Battalion which was formed in 1915, despite being under age and with poor eyesight, and was posted missing in action during the Battle of Loos. His remains were not discovered until 1992. Kipling spent five and a half years writing the history of the Irish Guards, working ‘with agony and bloody sweat’ in order to produce ‘a monument to his son’s service’. The result is described as Kipling’s forgotten masterpiece, combining his gifts as a writer, empathy for the ordinary soldier and his eye for detail, using the diaries and letters of the men of the Irish Guards. This edition includes a foreword by George Webb, editor of The Kipling Journal.…