Publications
© 2002-2007 All Rights Reserved
|
The Leeds Rifles A Loyal Address and two Freedom Scrolls Three manuscripts commemorating the centenary of the Leeds Rifles in 1959 |
|
 |
The book reproduces three manuscripts of superb craftsmanship produced to commemorate the Leeds Rifles one hundred years of loyal service to their sovereign, the re-dedication of the Regiment to Her Majesty`s service and to record in a worthy manner the conferment of the Freedoms of Leeds and Castleford on the Regiment. In addition to the Loyal Address and the two Freedom Scrolls the book reproduces a letter from Balmoral Castle expressing the Queen`s great pleasure on receiving `…. this most beautifully illuminated parchment..` The book also contains illustrations showing the impressive Leeds Rifles and Leeds Volunteer Artillery Freedom Panel in Leeds Civic Hall and the magnificent silver casket presented to the Leeds Rifles by the Borough of Castleford. A brief regimental history is provided with illustrations to accompany the reproduction of the manuscripts. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 3 6 | Hardback Size: 278 x 217 x 12 mm |
| pp: 20 plus iv | Illustrations: 18 photographs |
| Illustrated slip cover under a protective wrapper | Price: Details available on request |
| The text is supplemented with footnotes and an Index. | Imprint: R Addyman 2002 |
| The Boer War: Leeds, Patriotism and the Volunteers | |
 |
The text includes a description of the opening phases of the war in South Africa and the events leading up to it. The government`s decision to use suitably trained volunteers from cities and towns across the country to reinforce Britain`s Regular Army in the field is explored and details are presented relating to the active service of the Leeds volunteers. The honours and tributes bestowed on the volunteers is described generally and more fully with regard to the Leeds volunteers among whom were five nursing sisters and fourteen civilian surgeons. The huge losses suffered by both sides is discussed and mention is made of the controversial means by which the war was brought to an end. The utility of the volunteers in the war in South Africa is also discussed. The book brings together reproductions of several commemorative items concerned with the Leeds volunteers. Many of the items, if not all of the items, are works of art in their own right and are of considerable local importance. The front cover illustration shows a reproduction of the scroll presented individually to the Leeds volunteers by Leeds City Council in 1902. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 4 4 | Hardback Size: 275 x 217 x 12 mm |
|
pp: 34 plus xxi |
Illustrations: 14 colour or quality black and white prints |
| Illustrated slipcover under a protective wrapper. | Price: Details available on request |
| The text is supplemented with footnotes, lists of the names on the tablet in Leeds Town Hall, a bibliography and an index | Imprint: R.Addyman 2003 |
| The Leeds Rifles: A Regimental History: Part 1 | |
 |
The book provides details relating to the formation of the Leeds Volunteer Rifle Corps in November 1859. The descriptions include the government announcement regarding the raising of volunteer corps, the Leeds Town Council`s resolution to form a corps and details of many of the Leeds` men who served in the corps in its early days. The account describes the amalgamation of the corps with the West Yorkshire Regiment as the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of that Regiment in 1887. The active service of over one hundred volunteers from the corps who served with the Regular Army in South Africa during the Boer War is described. The final chapters are concerned with the active service of the four Leeds Rifles battalions in the WYR during the Great War. Details of the `Leeds Rifles` VC and the award of a unit Croix de Guerre to a `Leeds Rifles` battalion are presented. The huge losses suffered by the battalions is discussed and mention is made of the memorial in the city erected in 1922 in memory of the Leeds Riflemen who fell in the Great War. A trench map showing the extensive enemy defences in the vicinity of Thiepval is included in the book. The front cover shows one of the `Leeds Rifles` battalions on parade at Carlton Barracks in 1914. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 5 2 | Hard Back Size: 275 x 217 x 12 mm |
|
pp: 47 plus xvi. |
Illustrations: 15 colour or quality black and white prints |
| Illustrated slip cover under a protective wrapper. | Price: Details available on request |
| The text includes references, end notes, a bibliography and an index. | Imprint: R.Addyman 2003 |
| The 51st Royal Tank Regiment. Morley, Tunisia and Italy 1939 - 1945 | |
 |
Drawing on material in The Leeds Rifles Collection the author has put together an authoritative account of the distinguished war service of the 51st Royal Tank Regiment which had its origins in a Leeds Rifles Royal Tank Regiment squadron in Morley, West Yorkshire. Equipped with the excellent Churchill tank the Regiment fought with determination and spirit in important actions in Tunisia and Italy during the Second World War. The actions included the battle at Steamroller Farm in February 1943. Later in the war, in Italy in May 1944, the Regiment fought with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division in the battle at the Adolf Hitler Line. It was at the Adolf Hitler Line that the 51st with the other units in their brigade won the right to wear the national emblem of Canada, the Maple Leaf, on the sleeve of uniform. In April 1945 in northern Italy the 51st RTR had a vital role in the Allies spring offensive which brought the Italian Campaign to an end. Many members of the Regiment were decorated in the field for bravery and distinguished service. The account includes maps and illustrations many of which are published for the first time. The front cover illustration shows a Churchill tank crossing the River Senio in northern Italy in April 1945. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 0 1 | Hardback Size: 277 x 218 x 15 mm |
| pp: 40 plus ix | Illustrations: 22 colour or black and white prints including 6 maps |
| Illustrative slip cover under a protective wrapper. | Price: Details available on request |
| The text is supplemented with Notes and an Index. | Imprint: R. Addyman 2004 |
|
National Service in Libya with the 4th /7th Royal Dragoon Guards A Personal Account |
|
 |
The account is based on the recollections of the author as a national serviceman with an armoured cavalry regiment in Libya in 1949. The account is supplemented with photographs showing many aspects of regimental routine. Besides a description of his experiences as a soldier in Libya in the post-Second World War period the author presents detail relating to Britain`s considerable defence requirements at the time and describes how the need for the extra manpower provided by the conscripted national servicemen arose. The account also contains information relating to the changes in Libya`s economic situation during recent times and provides a short description of the camp at Sabratha, Libya, which the 4th /7th RDG occupied from 1948 to 1952 whilst part of the occupying troops in that country. The Regiment was equipped mainly with Cromwell tanks. The front cover shows the badge of the 4th /7th RDG and the Regiment on parade in their camp in Libya in 1949. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 1 X | Hardback Size: 278 x 217 x 15 mm |
| pp: 22 plus X | Illustrations: 10 colour or black and white prints |
| Illustrated slip cover under a protective wrapper. | Price: Details available on request |
| The text is supplemented with footnotes and an Index. | Imprint: R.Addyman 2004 |
|
Three Military Accounts from the Leeds Rifles Collection |
| The Boer War 1899-1902: Colonel Gascoigne and the Leeds Volunteers |
| The Battle of Arras in 1917 and the British War Memorial in Fontaine-lez-Croisilles in 1985 |
The 66th (Leeds Rifles) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment R A (TA) in the Second World War |
|
|
|
 |
The first account is concerned with the volunteers from Leeds who went to South Africa as reinforcements for the Regular Army during the Boer War. Colonel R F T Gascoigne DSO, of Lotherton Hall, Aberford, near Leeds, who went to South Africa with a contingent of volunteers in 1900, features in the first part of the account. The second part of the account follows the active service of a contingent of rifle volunteers from their departure from Leeds in 1900 to their return home in the following year. The second account describes the battle in the vicinity of Arras in 1917 and the memorial placed in the nearby village of Fontaine-lez-Croisilles in 1985. The memorial was placed there by the French to remind future generations of the soldiers from West Yorkshire who fought there in 1917. Contingents from Leeds and Castleford were among those who attended the memorial unveiling ceremony. The third account describes the preparations for war and the actual war service of the 66th (Leeds Rifles) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (TA) during WWII and the period immediately prior to it - a period which included the Munich Crisis. The Regiment`s active service against enemy aircraft in the UK during the earlier part of the war and in India and Burma during the latter part of the war are described. The account provides details relating to the main air raid on Leeds in March 1941. The front cover illustrations show (clockwise from top left) the Leeds Rifles Boer War Volunteer Commemorative Scroll, a scene at the unveiling ceremony of the memorial in Fontaine-lez-Croisilles and the Sunday Times Trophy awarded to the 66th (Leeds Rifles) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment. RA (TA) in 1938 as the most efficient Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (TA) out of London. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 3 6 | Hardback Size: 278 x 217 x 13 mm |
| pp; 32 plus viii | Illustrations: 22 photographs and 3 maps |
| Illustrated slip cover under a protective wrapper. | Price: Details available on request |
| The text is supplemented with footnotes and an Index | Imprint: R. Addyman 2005 |
|
Proceedings of the Leeds Rifles Trustees |
|
|
|
 |
The booklet provides details and definitions relating to the Leeds Rifles Charitable Trust and the Leeds Rifles Museum Trust. Financial statements for the two trusts are included in the booklet as are the minutes of the meeting of the trustees held on 18 March 2003. The financial statements for the Leeds Rifles Charitable Trust include an income and expenditure account and a capital account. The latter account contains details of the investment portfolio held by the two trusts. A survey of the performance of the portfolio is included in the booklet. Details of grants made by the trustees to local beneficiaries in recent years are included in the booklet. Several illustrations are included for their historical interest and relevance. One illustration is a photograph of the officers of the 45/51 (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment (TA) at annual camp, Castlemartin, Pembrokshire in 1953. Another is a photograph of a group of retired sergeants of the Leeds Rifles at Carlton Barracks, Leeds, in 1899. The original photograph, suitably framed, was sent to Queen Victoria as a gift on the occasion of her eightieth birthday. The Queen honoured the sergeants with a gracious acknowledgement. A further illustration is a photograph of a United States and 3rd Battalion PWO colour parties at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, USA, in 1993. Members of C (Leeds Rifles) Company, 3 PWO, were among the troops at Camp Atterbury where they carried out field training. Also included is an extract from Regimental sources relating to the history of the Leeds Rifles from the post-Second World War period up to more recent times. The cover illustration shows the Leeds Rifles War Memorial at Leeds Parish Church with the east end of the church catching the morning sun in the background. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 2 8 | Soft back Size: 215 x 156 x 8 mm |
| pp: 20 | Illustrations: 3 Photographs |
| Front and back covers reinforced with permanent clear stiff book protectors. | Price: Details available on request. |
| Imprint: R. Addyman 2005 |
| The 45th (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment in the Second World War | |
 |
The 45th RTR fought with the Eighth Army in the Battle of El Alamein in October-November 1942 during the Second World War. Details of the Regiment`s gallant actions during the battle feature prominently in the book. Details are also provided relating to the formation of the Regiment in 1938, the Regiment`s period of training in England and the Regiment`s subsequent voyage around Africa to Egypt in 1942. Also provided are details relating to the casualties suffered by the 45th during the battle and the commanding officer`s later recommendations for honours and awards for a number of the officers and men under his command. The book also contains comment relating to the role of the British armoured divisions during the battle; the significance of the Allies `Torch` landings in French North Africa; the importance of the `Ultra` intelligence reports and the dispersal of the Regiment in the organizational changes implemented by the Eighth Army after the battle. The book contains a number of photographs of the officers and sergeants of the 45th RTR not previously published. The front cover upper illustration reproduces the badge of the Royal Tank Regiment whilst the lower illustration shows two Sherman tanks (USA 1942) of the 45th RTR moving forward during the Battle of El Alamein. |
| ISBN 0 9547807 8 7 | Hardback 278 x 217 x 15 mm |
| pp: 40 plus v (projected) | Illustrations (projected) ten photographs and four maps |
| Illustrated slip cover under a protective wrapper. | Price: Details available on request |
| The text is supplemented with Notes and an Index. | Imprint (projected) R. Addyman 2006 |
Available Online:-
Recollections of National Service: An Extract*
*A fuller account of my national service in Libya with additional photos and extra detail is available. Please contact me for more information.
The British War Memorial at Fontaine-lez-Croisilles
The Boer War (1899-1902): Colonel Gascoigne and the Leeds Volunteers. Published in Soldiers of the Queen the Journal of the Victorian Military Society, Issue 107, December 2001.