Shorter Notices
British Soldiers. By Major S. H. F. Johnston. (Collins. 4s. 6d.) THIS little book is an admirable addition to the 'series of Britain in Pictures. It confines itself, except for a few black and white illustrations, and the briefest of introductory remarks, to the Civil War and since. Within modern times, it summarises the leading campaigns in which British troops have fought and the salient features of their conditions of service. It gives thumbnail sketches of the leading commanders, the gracious Marlborough, the neurotic but beloved Wolfe, the kindly disciplinarian Sir John Moore, the aloof aristocrat Wellington, the jovial, popular, but meticulous Roberts, the reserved, uninspired but intelligent Haig. Further, the book _outlines the main developments in the fields of armament and equipment, with their revolutionary changes in the tasks set the soldier and the qualifications required of him. The main feature that emerges from Major Johnston's narrative is the transi- tion from the "fellows who have enlisted for drink," as Wellington described them, a community with a great tradition of its own, but somewhat apart from, and frequently- forgotten by, civilian society, to the modern Army, which mirrors the complex and technical society from all strata of which it is drawn. It is a light but read- able and informative book, and all those concerned in its attractive production are to be congratulated.
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