A little negative
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Although Michael Booker is correct about the quality and usefulness of the The British Officer, Anthony Clayton is perhaps a little too critical of the current and future role of the regimental officer. His penultimate chapter, 14, strongly suggests that the very fabric of the British army officer is under question in the context of the 21st century, without giving any balanced or positive insight into how the problems might be solved. If anything, this book, in the chapter 'From Aden to Belfast and Basra' is enough to put any prospective officer off from joining the army as an officer, suggesting that relationships are likely to be ruined whilst away on tour, promotion is unlikely and that service is almost certainly restricted to 3 years only, and that certain regiments, such as the guards and cavalry, still only pick semi-aristocratic candidates for fear of recruiting a modern-generation yob, incapable of management or leadership. This book might be seen as a prior warning for prospective officers, not a promoting aid. On the other hand, it perhaps tells the situation how it is, and not what the British Army PR department pumps out. As someone looking to joining the army as an officer, this book has created serious reservations in my mind over the futility of such an act; it highlights clearly the negative sides of army life and the apparently poor career prospects. The scariest part of this book, in my opinion, is how Clayton states that some elements within the MoD would be happy to see an end to not only the regimental system but also messes, uniform variation and unit tradition.
Conclusively, whilst giving an extremely useful history of the British Officer, the latter chapters of the book present a negative and in some ways one-sided account of the officer in the modern British Army. It may serve to deter the reader from military service or strengthen any fears within him or her about the institutional weaknesses of modern soldiering.
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A MUST FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE BRITISH ARMY
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This is a very useful volume for the both the casual researcher and military historian alike. In fact I would also stick my neck out and say that anyone with the slightest interest in the British Army - especially Sandhurst cadets and up and coming NCO's should not be without a copy, as is makes fascinating reading and also provides an excellent source of research for the future.
This excellent volume covers every period of our history from the English Civil Wars to the present day and the major wars and campaigns fought during that time are covered and the well written text is supported with some fine copies of engravings and photographs too.
The book is set out in chronological order and the overviews of each period are especially useful as they provide information on the conditions experienced at the time, the tactics and equipment used and features everything else including recruiting, manning strengths, promotion procedures and levels of pay at the various times. There are excellent chapters dealing with logistics, amalgamations and the support arms and the appendix covering the more recent "Options for change", brings it smack up to date.
I personally enjoyed reading it and believe other readers will find the biographies and extracts from personal memoirs of officers from the different periods covered most enlightening. Although the title is "The British Officer", I believe it is more general than that and in fact offers a pretty good insight into the army as a whole - an army that has in fact served us well over the years and will, I am sure do so in the years to come.
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