John Alfred Terraine (15 January 1921 – 28 December 2003
''The Independent'', 23 January 2004) was an English

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians no ...

, and a TV screenwriter. He is best known as the lead screenwriter for the landmark 1960s

BBC-TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1 ...

documentary ''

The Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

'', about the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and for his defence of British General Douglas Haig – who commanded the British Expeditionary Force on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

from late 1915 until the end of the war – against charges that he was "The Butcher of the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

".obituary
31 December 2003. ''The Telegraph''

Early life and education

Terraine was born in London and was educated at

Stamford School Stamford School is an independent school for boys in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the English public school tradition. Founded in 1532, it has been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference since 1920. With the girls-only S ...

and at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

Radio and television

After leaving Oxford in 1943, he joined BBC radio and continued to work for the BBC for 18 years, ending as its Pacific and South African Programme Organiser. After resigning from the BBC in 1961, Terraine worked as a freelance television screenwriter. Among other series, Terraine was associate producer and chief screenwriter of the 1963–64

documentary ''

'', and co-wrote its sequel ''The Lost Peace'' (1965). For

Rediffusion Rediffusion was a business that distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. The business gave rise to a number of other companies, including Associated-Rediffusion, later known as Rediffusion London, the first ITV ( commer ...

and

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

he wrote ''The Life and Times of

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

'' (1966–68) and ''Lord Mountbatten: A Man for the Century'' (1969),"John Terraine"

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

and later collaborated with Mountbatten on an illustrated biography based on the series. Terraine found Mountbatten an impressive performer, but was intrigued by his "curious mix of boastfulness and diffidence". Terraine wrote and narrated ''The Mighty Continent'' (1974–75), a 13-part BBC-TV history of Europe in the first three-quarters of the 20th century.

Writing

Terraine had 16 books published, most of them dealing with aspects of the great European wars of the 20th century, and numerous articles and book reviews for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''. His first major study of the

, ''Mons: The Retreat to Victory'' was published in 1960. In 1964 Terraine edited a collection of diaries written by General James Lochhead Jack during the

, which became a best-seller in the United Kingdom. ''The Right of the Line: The Royal Air Force in the European War 1939–45'' (1985) won the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year award. His last book ''Business in Great Waters: The U-Boat Wars, 1916–1945'' was published in 1989.

Later career

Terraine was the founding president of the

Western Front Association The Western Front Association (WFA) was inaugurated on 11 November 1980, in order to further interest in the Great War of 1914-1918. The WFA aims to perpetuate the memory, courage and comradeship of all those who fought on all sides and who serve ...

from 1980 to 1997, after which he became its patron. One obituarist wrote that for sheer scholarship, the quality and accessibility of his writing and for his debunking of historical myths, Terraine was one of the outstanding military historians of the 20th century. Terraine was for many years a member of the

Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

. He was awarded the Institute's Chesney Gold Medal in 1982. He was elected a fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

in 1987.

Views

According to his obituary in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'':

John Terraine was one of the outstanding military historians of the 20th century. His intellect, scholarship and breadth and sharpness of vision marked him out amongst his peers as one to be listened to with great care and attention, and challenged with circumspection, although challenged he was.The fundamental reason for the controversy he aroused, and the challenges his challenges met, was that his study of generalship in the First World War led him to criticise, indeed demolish, the argument that British generals in the period 1914–18 were all "donkeys", that their actions simply led to slaughter and disaster. What he could not abide was the ''
Oh! What a Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British comedy musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivie ...
'' syndrome espoused by the historical, political and pacifist left and also to some extent by B.H. Liddell Hart. In his work he made a very strong case for the view that British generals were actually pretty good and, in the end, unlike their enemies, won the war with a great victory.

Personal life and death

In 1945 Terraine married Joyce Waite; they had one daughter. Terraine died in London, aged 82.

Works

*''Mons: The Retreat to Victory'' (New York: Macmillan, 1960
read online
*''The Battle of Guise, August 1914'' (History Today, 1960
read online
*''The Army in Modern France'' (History Today, 1961
read online
*''Douglas Haig: The Educated Soldier'' (1963
read online
*''Ordeal of Victory'' (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1963
read online
*''General Jack's Diary 1914–1918: The Trench Diary of Brigadier-General J.L. Jack, D.S.O.'' (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1964
read online
*''The Great War: A Pictorial History'' (New York: Macmillan, 1965) *''Monash: Australian Commander'' (History Today, 1966
read online
*''The Life and Times of Lord Mountbatten'' (London: Hutchinson, 1968; new ed. 2013
read online
*''Impacts of War, 1914 & 1918'' (1971

*''Democracy at War, Part I'' (History Today, 1971
read online
*''Democracy at War, Part II'' (History Today, 1971
read online
* ''The Mighty Continent: A View of Europe in the Twentieth Century'' (1975
read online
*''Trafalgar'' (New York: Mason, Charter: 1976
read online
*''The Road to Passchendaele: The Flanders Offensive of 1917: A Study in Inevitability'' (London: Cooper, 1977
read online
*''To Win A War: 1918, the Year of Victory'' (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1978
read online
*''The Smoke and the Fire: Myths and Anti-Myths of War, 1861–1945'' (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1980
read online
*''White Heat: The New Warfare, 1914–18'' (1982

*''The First World War: 1914–1918'' (1984). *''A Time for Courage: The Royal Air Force in the European War, 1939–1945'' (1985). *''The Right of the Line: The Role of the RAF in World War Two'' (1985). *''Business in Great Waters: The U-Boat Wars, 1916–1945'' (1989

*''John Terraine: Essays on Leadership and War 1914–18'' (Western Front Association, 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terraine, John Alfred Historians of World War I English military writers People educated at Stamford School 1921 births 2003 deaths Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Historical Society BBC people English military historians Documentary war filmmakers Writers from London