learned society
A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...
, founded in 1921 to foster "interest in the history and traditions of British and
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
armies, and to encourage research in these fields." It is one of the oldest societies of its kind. Past members include notable British Field Marshals Wavell,
Auchinleck
Auchinleck ( ; ; ) is a village southea ...
and Templer. The current president is Lieutenant-General Sir
Edward Smyth-Osbourne
Lieutenant General Sir Edward Alexander Smyth-Osbourne, (born 18 May 1964) is a retired senior British Army officer.
Early life and education
Smyth-Osbourne was born on 18 May 1964 in Plymouth, England. He was educated at Eton College, an all-b ...
and Brigadier James Cook is chairman of its council. The patron of the society is Field Marshal HRH the Duke of Kent.
The society's interests embrace both army and regimental history, military antiquities and pictures, uniforms, badges and medals, arms and equipment and the history of land warfare in general. The study of campaigns, commanders and the political aspects of war are covered from the sixteenth century to the recent past.
From 2022, the society has conferred a small number o Fellowships allowing the holder the use of the
postnominals
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...
FSAHR.
Journal
The society's main activity is the publication of the peer-reviewed quarterly ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'' reflecting its members' interests. Issues of the Journal contain a mixture of articles, which are peer-reviewed, communications, which typically deal with more specialised subjects and are not subject to peer-review, and book reviews. Listings are also included of recent academic work in the field of military history, and of new archival resources of relevance to the topic. Each issue typically contains at least one colour plate, as well as other illustrations. Not all articles are dryly academic; there are often interesting or amusing anecdotal forays into historical nooks, or revealing examinations of unjustly forgotten soldiers. In addition, over the years, the society has produced a number o special issues topics for special issues include monographs on dress distinctions and bibliographical or regimental research aids, previously-unpublished soldiers' letters or diaries, and anthologies of material dealing with specific topics - most recently the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
and the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
, and the
Great 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 ...
.For instance: John Marshall Deane, ''A Journal of
Marlborough
Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to:
Places Australia
* Marlborough, Queensland
* Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993
* Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...
's campaigns during the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, 1704–1711'' / edited and introduced by
David G. Chandler
David Geoffrey Chandler (15 January 1934 – 10 October 2004) was a British historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic era.
As a young man he served briefly in the army, reaching the rank of captain, and in later life he taught at the Roy ...
, SAHR Special Publication 12, (London, 1984) and ''The Victorians at War: New Perspectives'', edited by Ian F.W. Beckett, SAHR Special Publication 16, (London, 2007). The special publications also include a full index to the journal from its foundation up to 2006.
Templer Medal
Since 1982, the society has awarded th Templer Medal to the author of the most impressive or significant book relating to the British, Commonwealth or Dominion armies published in the preceding year. This prize was founded to commemorate the life and achievements of Field Marshal Sir
Gerald Templer
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part against the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Pales ...
, best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954. He was president of the society from 1965 to 1979. The prize is awarded at the society annual general meeting in the year following the year of publication. The Templer Medal has been awarded for the following books:
* 1981 ''Fit for Service: The Training of the British Army 1715–1795'', by J.A. Houlding.
* 1982 ''A History of the British Cavalry, Volume 3: 1872–1898'', by the
Marquess of Anglesey
Marquess of Anglesey is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a hero of the Battle of Waterloo, second in command to the Duke of Wellington. The Marquess holds the subsidiary ...
.
* 1983 ''For the Sake of Example: Capital Courts-Martial 1914–1920'', by
Anthony Babington
Anthony Babington (24 October 156120 September 1586) was an English gentleman convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, for which he was hanged, drawn and quartered ...
.
* 1984 ''The British Army and Theory of Armored Warfare 1918–1940'', by Robert H. Larson.
* 1985 ''From Waterloo to Balaclava: Tactics, Technology and the British Army 1815–1854'', by
Hew Strachan
Sir Hew Francis Anthony Strachan, ( ; born 1 September 1949) is a British military historian, well known for his leadership in scholarly studies of the British Army and the history of the First World War. He is currently professor of internatio ...
.
* 1986 ''Monty: The Field Marshal 1944-1976'', by Nigel Hamilton.
* 1987 ''The British Army of William III'', by John Childs.
* 1988 ''Kitchener's Army: The Raising of New Armies 1914–16'', by Peter Simkins.
* 1989 No award made.
* 1990 ''British Counterinsurgency 1919–60'', by Thomas R. Mockaitis.
* 1991 ''The Crimean Doctors. A History of the British Medical Service in the Crimean War'', by John Shepherd.
* 1992 ''Politics and Military Morale: Current-Affairs and Citizenship Education in the British Army 1914–1950'', by S.P. Mackenzie.
* 1993 ''To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950–1966'', by Ian McNeill.
* 1994 No award made.
* 1995 ''British Victory in Egypt 1801: The End of Napoleon's Conquest'', by
Piers Mackesy
Piers Gerald Mackesy (15 September 1924 – 30 June 2014) was a British military historian who taught at the University of Oxford in Oxford.
Early life and education
Piers Mackesy was born in Cults, near Aberdeen in Scotland, the son of Majo ...
.
* 1996 ''The English Ordnance Office, 1585–1625: A Case Study in Bureaucracy'', by Richard W. Stewart.
* 1997 ''Small Arms of the East India Company, 1600–1856, Vols 1 and 2'', by David Harding.
* 1998 ''British Logistics on the Western Front, 1914–1919'', by Ian Malcolm Brown.
* 1999 ''British Military Intelligence in the Crimean War, 1854–1856'', by Stephen M. Harris.
* 2000 ''Raising Churchill's Army: The British Army and War against Germany 1919-45,'' by David French.
* 2001 No award made.
* 2002 ''The British General Staff: Reform and Innovation,'' edited by David French & .
* 2003 ''Phoenix from the Ashes: The Indian Army in the Burma Campaign'', by Daniel P. Marston.
* 2004 ''Medicine and Victory: British Military Medicine in the Second World War'', by Mark Harrison.
* 2005 ''Military Identities: The Regimental System, the British Army, and the British People, c.1870–2000'', by David French.
* 2006 ''Field Marshal
Sir Henry Wilson
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Baronet, (5 May 1864 – 22 June 1922) was one of the most senior British Army staff officers of the First World War and was briefly an Unionism in Ireland, Irish unio ...
: A Political Soldier'', by
Keith Jeffery
Keith John Jeffery MRIA (11 January 1952 – 12 February 2016) was a Northern Irish historian specialising in modern British, British Imperial, and Irish history.
Early life
Keith John Jeffery was born in Belfast in 1952. He attended Met ...
.
* 2007 No award made.
* 2008 ''Douglas Haig and the First World War'', by J. P. Harris.
* 2009 ''Bloody Victory: The Sacrifice of the Somme and the Making of the Twentieth Century'', by William Philpott.
* 2010 ''The Medical War: British Military Medicine in the First World War'', by Mark Harrison.
* 2011 ''Soldiers'', by Richard Holmes (posthumously).
* 2012 ''A Military History of Scotland'', by Edward Spiers, Jeremy Crang & Matthew Strickland.
* 2013 ''Monty’s Men'' by John Buckley.
* 2014 ''National Service: A Generation in Uniform, 1945–1963'' by
Richard Vinen
Richard Charles Vinen (born 1963) is a British historian and academic who holds a professorship at King's College London. Vinen is a specialist in 20th-century European history, particularly of Britain and France.John Chapple. For this prize, edited volumes and co-authored books and monographs are discounted by the judges, who will consider only sole authored and substantial works. This prize has been awarded as follows:
* 2014 ''Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of British Armed Forces during the Seven Years War'' by Erica Charters.
* 2015 ''High Command: British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars'' by Major-General Christopher Elliott.
* 2016 ''Till the Trumpet Sounds Again: The Scots Guards 1914–19 in Their Own Words'', by Randall Nicol.
* 2017 ''The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning, 1880–1914'', by David G. Morgan-Owen.
* 2018 ''Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army 1914–18'', by Aimée Fox.
* 2019 ''The Veterans' Tale: British Military Memoirs of the Second World War'', by Frances Houghton.
*2020 ''Major-General Oliver Nugent: The Irishman who led the Ulster Division in the Great War,'' by Nicholas Perry.
*2021 ''The Changing of the Guard: The British Army since 9/11'', by Simon Akam.
*2022 ''Ham & Jam: 6th Airborne Division in Normandy - Generating Combat Effectiveness'', by Andrew Wheale.
*2023 ''Birdie: More than the Soul of ANZAC: Field Marshal Lord Birdwood of ANZAC and Totnes 1865-1951'', by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Farrimond.
*2024 ''The Best of Appointments? The Evolution of Infantry Brigade Command in the British Army on the Western Front, 1915-18'', by Roger Wood
Other Activities
The society also award research grants to graduate students and maintain essay prizes for sixth-form pupils, undergraduates, and junior Army officers. Other activities include the organisation of lectures, discussion events, and tours.
Past Presidents
* 1921–1932
Harold Dillon, 17th Viscount Dillon
Harold Arthur Lee-Dillon, 17th Viscount Dillon, (24 January 1844 – 18 December 1932) was an English antiquary and a leading authority on the history of arms and armour and medieval costume.
Life
The eldest son of Arthur Dillon, 16th Viscoun ...
Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded ...
* 1950–1961
George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge
George Francis Hugh Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge, (11 October 1895 – 16 April 1981), known as Prince George of Teck until 1917 and as Earl of Eltham from 1917 to 1927, was a relative of the British royal family, a great-great-grand ...
* 1961–1965 Field Marshal
Sir Claude Auchinleck
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck ( ) (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Indian Army commander who saw active service during the world wars. A career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, he rose to be ...
* 1965–1979 Field Marshal
Sir Gerald Templer
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part against the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Pales ...
* 1980–1993 General Sir David Fraser
* 1993–2012 Field Marshal Sir John Chapple
* 2012–2024 Lieutenant-General Sir
Barney White-Spunner
Lieutenant General Sir Barnabas William Benjamin White-Spunner (born 1957) is a retired British Army officer, who was subsequently executive chairman of the Countryside Alliance until 2016. He is an author, a director of Burstock Ltd. and was ...