Dimensions
156 x 234 x 19mm
The story of the machine that kept the army supplied: ordnance on a vast scale. In August 1914, Kitchener's 'Contemptible Little Army' was highly professional, but small and equipped with only what it could carry. Facing it was a force of continental proportions, heavily armed and well supplied. The task of equipping the British Army was truly herculean but had to be undertaken by the ordinary men and women left behind after all able men were called up to fight in the trenches. In time, the government recognised the need for skills of engineering and logistics and those who had survived the onslaught were brought back to work. Women had a key part to play. Ordnance is the story of these men and women and traces the provision of equipment and armaments from raw material through manufacture to the supply routes which put into the hands of our soldiers all the materiel that they needed to win the war. AUTHOR: Philip Hamlyn Williams spent much of his career with professional services and the not-for-profit sector. He was awarded an MA in Professional Writing h in 2009. His father, Major-General Sir Leslie Williams, commanded the RAOC in World War Two. He previously wrote War on Wheels for The History Press, documenting the RAOC. He lives in Lincoln. SELLING POINTS: ? Equipping the British Army for the first modern war, 1914-1918 ? The prequel to the author's successful RAOC book, War on Wheels ? Original research that exposes many little known facts and discoveries ? Revealing human effort and ingenuity in dealing with the shortfalls of the Great War, from saddlery to salvage and ammunition ? The shell crisis that only faced the British side resulted in many deaths; boot repairing workshops had to be set up in France, and grenade-making facilities in Gallipoli 2018 sees the centenary of the armistice ? July 2018 sees the centenary of the Chilwell factory explosion 100 b/w illustrations
