The British Soldier

Many of us have at least one ancestor who served in the British Army during the Second World War. We probably know where they served and what regiment they served with but we are not aware of exactly how they became soldiers. The British Soldier: Training for War focuses on those who became infantry soldiers, commandos and paratroopers and the training they received in the British Isles to fight 'at the sharp end' of combat all over the world during the years 1939 to 1945. Drawing on contemporary training manuals, battalion histories, magazines and newspaper articles, personal memoirs, regimental museum archives, declassified military files and interviews with those who experienced wartime military training first-hand, a vivid and authentic account is presented of training from 'square bashing' and skill at arms to the evolution of battle schools, assault courses, battle drill and significant training exercises. All infantrymen were trained hard but it gave them the skills, fighting spirit, endurance and confidence they needed in themselves, their comrades and their unit when in battle. By the end of the Second World War, nearly three million men had served in the British Army. Every one of them had to be trained to become soldiers. This is their story.