FRENCHMAN IN KHAKI

This outstanding memoir, introduced by Winston Churchill, who describes it as a vivid book, provides a very close view of the fighting on the Western Front as seen with French eyes from the English Staff. In the words of Sir William Robertson Maze became an “institution”, in fact he was unique and his story is a terrific one, undoubtedly one of the best of all personal accounts of the fighting. It begins with his watching the BEF disembarking at Havre in August 1914 and among the cavalry he noted a regiment with grey horses. He decided to join up with them as interpreter and get to the war with them. He was taken on with the Royal Scots Greys and was with them at Mons and through the retreat. At one point he got lost in 2nd Division’s area and was taken off to be shot as a spy. Fortunately an officer of the Greys saw and recognized him otherwise his war would have come to an abrupt end. From the Greys he was taken on by Gough, then commanding 2nd Cavalry Division, and he followed him to Corps and Army, and when Gough was relieved of command in 1918 he went to Rawlinson. He served them all as a combination of scout, liaison officer and interpreter. His courage and self-devotion were selfless. Year after year, in battle after battle he was always in the thick of it bringing back trustworthy, lucid and increasingly experienced information. He gained the complete confidence of the highest commanders and could walk straight in to the presence of the Army commander to make his report. He was wounded four times and awarded the DCM, MM and Bar. A truly remarkable man with a truly remarkable story.