39 MONTHS With The “Tigers,” 1915-1918

This is the story of the 110th Infantry Brigade, the ‘Leicester’ Brigade, which consisted of the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th (Service) Battalions of the Leicestershire Regiment, all formed in August/September 1914 (my own father enlisted in the 7th Battalion on 1 September 1914). They were brought together as a brigade in April 1915, in 37th Division, and arrived in France in July that year. A year later the brigade was transferred to the 21st Division in exchange for the 63rd Brigade and it remained in that division for the rest of the war. The author, who went on to make a distinguished career in the Diplomatic Corps culminating in a knighthood, was commissioned into the 6th Leicesters but shortly after arriving in France he was transferred to brigade HQ where he served on till the armistice. This, then, is the war from the point of view of a staff officer at a brigade HQ and all the more interesting for it. As may be expected from a future diplomat, the story is extremely well told and vividly describes the events he experienced – and it was far from a picnic at brigade HQ. Last year an excellent history of the four battalions in the brigade was published – The Tigers by Matthew Richardson – and 39 Months completes the story. This book is highly recommended, especially, of course, for those who may already have The Tigers on their shelves.