The Daily Telegraph Book of Military Obituaries

Contemporary Review, July, 2004

The Daily Telegraph Book of Military Obituaries. David Twiston Davies, editor. Grub Street. [pounds sterling]17.99. 416 pages. ISBN 1-904010-34-2. This latest edition of the Daily Telegraph's obituaries follows on several earlier and highly successful volumes. This collection is ably edited by the paper's Chief Obituary writer.

The 100 obituaries included here were published between 1987 and 2002 and record the lives and exploits of men and officers who served their Sovereign and country not only in the last World War but in the Korean Conflict and subsequent engagements. They include the famous, such as Field Marshal Carver or General Sir John Hackett and the unknown, such as Sergeant 'Tex' Banwell or Drum Major Philip Buss, a bugler who rallied the Glorious Glosters at the Imjin River in Korea. The 100 produced here constitute only about a tenth of those published between 1987 and 2002 yet they give a good idea of the variety and colour seen in the Crown's armed forces. The entries are a healthy reminder of man's capacity for valour and service in situations where politicians have failed and evil threatens. (T.B.)