The Territorials, 1908–1914: A Guide for Military and Family Historians

Ray Westlake

Feb 2012 · Casemate Publishers

About this ebook

The Territorials 1908–1914 is a unique, comprehensive record of the part-time soldiers who made up the Territorial Force that supported the regular army in the years immediately before the outbreak of the First World War. Previously information on the history and organization of these dedicated amateur soldiers has been incomplete and scattered across many sources but now, in this invaluable work of reference, Ray Westlake provides an accessible introduction to the Territorial Force and a directory of the units raised in each county and each town. The origin, aims and organization of the Territorial Force are described as well as the terms of service, recruitment, equipment and training. But the bulk of the book consists of details of over 600 Territorial units plus a comprehensive account of every city, town or village associated with them. Essential information on the all the infantry formations is supplied, but also covered are the yeomanry, the artillery, the engineers, the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Army Service Corps. Ray Westlakes historical guide of the Territorial Force the forerunner of the present-day Territorial Army - will be of enduring value to military and family historians.

About the author

Ray Westlake has an established reputation as a military historian specializing in the British army of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He has made a particular study of the Great War. He has published many articles and books, among them. Tracing British Battalions on the Somme, British Battalions on the Western Front January to June 1915, Voluntary Infantry, 1880–1908, Kitchener's Army, British Regiments at Gallipoli, British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914, English and Welsh Regiments, The Territorial Battalions, The British Army of August 1914: An Illustrated Directory and Tracing the Rifle Volunteers.