An Englishman at War: The Wartime Diaries of Stanley Christopherson DSO MC & Bar 1939-1945

Description

A unique WWII diary spanning the entirety of the War, edited with commentary by bestselling author James Holland- 'An astonishing record...There is no other wartime diary that can match the scope of these diaries'. 'An astonishing record...There is no other wartime diary that can match the scope of these diaries' James Holland 'An outstanding contribution to the literature of the Second World War'Professor Gary Sheffield From the outbreak of war in September 1939 to the smouldering ruins of Berlin in 1945, via Tobruk, El Alamein, D-Day and the crossing of the Rhine, An Englishman at War is a unique first-person account of the Second World War. Stanley Christopherson's regiment, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, went to war as amateurs and ended up one of the most experienced, highly trained and most valued armoured units in the British Army. A junior officer at the beginning of the war, Christopherson became the commanding officer of the regiment soon after the D-Day landings. What he and his regiment witnessed presents a unique overview of one of the most cataclysmic events in world history and gives an extraordinary insight, through tragedy and triumph, into what it felt like to be part of the push for victory.

Stanley Christopherson was born in 1912 and trained to be a lawyer before joining the Sherwood Rangers in the autumn of 1939. Apart from two weeks in hospital, he experienced the Second World War on the Western Front in its entirety and watched as the very nature of war changed and evolved. IN the North African campaign, he engaged in the Battles of Alam Halfa and El Alamein and the fall of Tunis. On D-Day he landed on the Gold Beach, before moving across France and Belgium and onto Holland where his regiment endured the terrible fighting in the aftermath of Operation Market Garden. James Holland was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and studied history at Durham University. The author of the best-selling Fortress Malta, Battle of Britain, and Dam Busters, he has also written nine works of historical fiction, five of which feature the heroic Jack Tanner, a soldier of the Second World War. He regularly appears on television and radio, and has written and presented a number of acclaimed documentaries for the BBC. Co-founder and Programme Director of the Chalke Valley History Festival, he has his own collection at the Imperial War Museum, and is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

An astonishing record...There is no other wartime diary that can match the scope of these diaries, that can demonstrate the range of command within a British regiment, or that touches on so many of the key engagements of the British Army during the Second World War. Quite simply, there is nothing like it, and the opportunity to publish a complete narrative of the war, such as these diaries represent, will almost certainly never arise again. * James Holland * The Sherwood Rangers was one of the outstanding armoured regiments of the Second World War and Stanley Christopherson's diary, taking us through the desert war and the whole of Northwest Europe from Normandy to the end is a rare and valuable account. -- Antony Beevor There are many published diaries of British army officers in the Second World War, but Stanley Christopherson's is one of the best I have read. He gives a detailed picture of life as a tank officer in the Desert and Normandy, and pulls no punches. This is an outstanding contribution to the literature of the Second World War. -- Professor Gary Sheffield Brilliant. A really important source for the study of British war-making during the Second World War. It is also a tremendously observant account from the perspective of a brave and resolute army officer. -- Professor Jeremy Black