RLMH News: Finding a Home for Original Regimental Histories

The RUSI Library of Military History is home to a considerable number of historical treasures from obscure journals to training guides and regimental histories.

RLMH News by Laura Dimmock-Jones, Librarian

November 2011 - We are particularly lucky to have the three enormous volumes that constitute the illustrations for Clifford Walton's History of the British Standing Army, AD1660-1700.

Published in 1894 by Harrison and Sons, the author died before the cost of the publication of the illustrations could be guaranteed. As a result the originals were deposited at RUSI where they have remained ever since. The British Library catalogue record confirms this. Volumes of the published originals were accompanied by a slip reading:

'It was found impossible, owing to the death of the author, to guarantee the expense of re-production of the illustrations of the above work, and therefore it could not be published in the eight guinea form as first contemplated. The originals however, conveniently bound in three volumes for reference are in possession of the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall Yard, London.'

The illustrations all hand drawn and coloured are in stunning condition, the bindings however, are in need of restoration. Each volume is clasped and bound in beautiful red leather. If you'd like to contribute towards the conservation of these remarkable books please donate now. These items belong to our communal heritage as a nation and we need to raise the funds to restore them.

Recent Acquisitions

The RUSI Library of Military History aims to collect items that pertain to not only military history events of the past, but also contemporary events that will ultimately contribute to our understanding of military history and RUSI's contemporary work as a cutting-edge defence and security think-tank.

Below is a list of our most recent acquisitions along with a brief abstract and a link to the full catalogue record. This is by no means a complete listing but should provide a flavor of the new resources in the collection. Members are entitled to borrow items from the collection at any time (to become a Member, click here). If you are not a member but would like to use the collection please contact the Librarian.

N. Polmar and R.S. Norris, The US Nuclear Arsenal: a History of Weapons and Delivery Systems since 1945. (Annapolis, USA: Naval Institute Press, 2009)
In this volume two leading weapons experts present a history of the development of US nuclear weapons including detailed descriptions of the American nuclear arsenal.
Full catalogue record

W. Wright, A Tidy Little War: the British invasion of Egypt 1882. (Stroud: Spellmount, 2009)
In this volume the author gives an account of the British war in Egypt in 1882 which gave them control of the Suez Canal. The author uses unpublished documents including General Sir Garnet Wolseley's diaries.
Full catalogue record

H.H. Perritt, Kosovo Liberation Army: the Inside Story of an Insurgency. (Illinois, USA: University of Illinois, 2008)
This account provides a historical background for the Kosovo liberation army and describes its activities up to and including the NATO intervention.
Full catalogue record

J. Simpson, News from No Man's Land: Reporting the World. (London: Macmillan, 2002)
In this third volume of John Simpson's autobiography, the veteran broadcaster focuses on how journalists find stories that can make headlines. He discusses in particular his experiences in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Full catalogue record

J. Harris and M.J. Trow, Hess: the British Conspiracy. (London: Andre Deutsch, 1999)
Discusses Rudolph Hess' flight to Scotland and eventual imprisonment in 1941. The book considers how and why the set of circumstances that led to this came about.
Full catalogue record

J. Meyer, Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain. (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)
An examination of five types of personal narrative, including men's letters from the front, war time diaries, letters of condolence, letters from disabled ex-servicemen to the Ministry of Pensions and post-war memoirs to examine how understandings of masculinity were constructed in Britain during the First World War.
Full catalogue record

K.R. Krause (ed.), Culture and Security: Multilateralism, Arms Control and Security Building. (London: Frank Cass, 2000)
A series of case studies examining how and when cultural elements affect arms control and security building negotiations and policies. Considering issues such as religion, communal and normative orientations towards war and peace, the legacies of conflict, colonialism and state building, attitudes towards regional and multilateral relations, civil military relations, authority, violence and conflict management.
Full catalogue record

R.R. Denktas and M. Moran, Cyprus: Unity and Different. (Istanbul, Turkey: Istanbul Kultur University, 2009)
A discussion in a series of letters between Rauf R. Denktas, formerly president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Michael Moran, lecturer in philosophy and the University of Sussex.
Full catalogue record

T. Terrif et al. (eds.), A Transformation Gap: American Innovations and European Military Change. (Stanford, USA: Stanford University Press, 2010)
This book considers military transformation that has been primarily driven by the US who have exploited new information technologies in combination with new concepts for 'networked organisation'. The author hypothesises that European states have been unable to match the level of US investment in military technologies leading to a 'transformation gap'.
Full catalogue record

Donette Murray, Kennedy, Macmillan and Nuclear Weapons. (London: Macmillan, 2000)
The author offers an account of the events that threatened to destabilise the relationships between Britain and the United states. The discussion details the two key problems encountered by the allies; the Skybolt missile cancellation and the debate over the controversial Multilateral Nuclear Force proposal.
Full catalogue record

R.H. Taylor, The State in Myanmar. (London: Hurst, 2009)
This volume seeks to draw together Myanmar's complex history of statemaking and perpetuation with the issues of social, economic and political forces. The current political environment is considered through the lens of the last 300 years of development.
Full catalogue record