The British Officer

The British Officer

Anthony Clayton

"This is precisely the kind of book that I like to see ... accessible, well-written, and relevant to the British Forces of today."

Rear Admiral Richard Cobbold, Director, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies 

"[an] engaging study... provides a considerable amount of detail" 

Military Illustrated, August 2006

anyone with the slightest interest in the British Army especially Sandhurst cadets and up-and-coming NCOs should not be without a copy, as it makes fascinating reading

Michael D Booker

An Army officer must lead men into frightening and dangerous situations and sometimes make them do things that they never believed they could do. This book recounts how British officers have led their men, and commanded their respect, from the days of Marlborough to the Second Iraq war of 2003.

The British Officer examines the changing social origins of both the officers and the soldiers they lead, exploring their relationships with their men as well as the duties they carried out during various campaigns. Clayton also discusses the ideals and traditions that have motivated officers, their own perceptions of themselves and the changes in public attitudes to the military.

This enthralling account is complemented by illustrations of the officers from each historical period showing changes in both their dress and representation. The personal memoirs, biographies and autobiographies of regimental service years, as well as regimental histories, shed light onto who these officers, men and women, were, where they came from and what motivated them to join the British Army.

 Anthony Clayton is a lecturer at the University of Surrey and was a Senior Lecturer at the R.M.A. Sandhurst. He was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Territorial Army and is holder of the French Chevalier dans lOrdre des Palmes Acadmiques. He is author of a number of books including Paths of Glory: The French Army, 1914-18 (2003), The Wars of French Decolonisation (1994), The British Empire As a Superpower 1919-39 (1986) and France, Soldiers and Africa (1988).