John Gordon Harvey Corrigan MBE, FRAS (born 1942) is a former

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

soldier and historical writer and broadcaster. Corrigan was educated at the Royal School, Armagh, and the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Unit ...

, mainly in the far east, and reached the rank of major. Between 1980 and 1987 he took a break from military service, joining the

Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. In 1960, it was granted a royal charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name in 19 ...

where he was

clerk of the course A clerk of the course is an official in various types of racing. Horse racing In horse racing, the clerk of the course is the person responsible for track management and raceday preparation at a racecourse. Important tasks of the role include: ...

at the

Happy Valley Racecourse The Happy Valley Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing and is a tourist attraction in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison Hill Road. The capacit ...

from 1980 to 1982, and Racing Secretary from 1982 to 1987. Corrigan was awarded the MBE in 1995 His last appointment was commanding the Gurkha Centre in Hampshire. Following his retirement from the army in 1998, Corrigan became a freelance writer on military history. He also presented television documentaries, made speaking appearances and conducted tours of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

battlefields. He is an honorary

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

of the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

, and the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, and a

teaching fellow A teaching fellow (sometimes referred to as a TF) is an individual at a higher education institution, including universities, whose work involves teaching and potentially pedagogic research. The work done by teaching fellows can vary significantl ...

at the

Joint Services Command and Staff College Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British Armed Forces academic establishment that provides training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and offic ...

. He is also a fellow of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

, a member of the British Commission for Military History and a

liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the Worshipful Company of Farriers. Corrigan authored '' Mud, Blood and Poppycock'', one of the more recent histories of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

which challenges a number of popular cultural beliefs about that conflict. Among the targets for his book are the beliefs that British generalship was incompetent, blinkered and reactionary and that the military justice system was unfair. The book received a positive review from historian

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. After his playing career, he became a sports agent. For most of his c ...

. Corrigan later wrote ''Blood, Sweat and Arrogance: The Myths of Churchill's War'' in which he set out to demolish the "myths of Churchill's War". This book was criticised in a review by historian Piers Brendon, who wrote:The Independent - Books - Piers Brendon ''A debunker debriefed'' Friday, 12 May 2006
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"his tone, occasionally sneering, often patronising and always cocksure, is particularly tiresome in someone so prone to error. He makes the elementary mistake of asserting, for example, that a Russian declaration of war against Japan "never came".

His 2010 book on the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''The Second World War: A Military History'' received positive reviews.

Published works

*''A Great and Glorious Adventure: A History of the Hundred Years War and the Birth of Renaissance England'', 2014 () *''The Second World War: A Military History'', 2010 () *''Mud, Blood and Poppycock'', 2003 () *''Blood, Sweat and Arrogance: The Myths of Churchill's War'', 2006 () *''Loos 1915: The Unwanted Battle'' () *''Sepoys in the Trenches – The Indian Corps on the Western Front 1914–15'' (article) () *''Wellington – a Military Life'' () *''Waterloo – A new history of the battle and its armies''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corrigan, Gordon 1942 births Living people People educated at The Royal School, Armagh Historians of World War I Royal Gurkha Rifles officers Members of the Order of the British Empire British military writers British military historians Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society 20th-century British Army personnel