Ironside

From spying in the Boer War through brigade command in the First World War and the White Army in Russia in 1919, to Chief of the Imperial General Staff and Commander-in-Chief Home Forces in the Second – this was a man born to command. The Field Marshal was a born commander and, besides being a gifted linguist, was mobilised as a Subaltern for the Boer War to act as a secret agent and to streamline the peace process. With an appetite for battle, in WW1 he became the Allied C-in-C of the Expeditionary Force in North Russia and, being ranked as a knighted Major General at the age of 39, he then modernised the Staff training to deal with armoured and aerial warfare. His Generalship was tested out in the Raj and, in 1939, on the day war was declared, the British Army leadership as CIGS was placed in his hands, so that he was able to defend Calais and free-up the BEF escape route to Dunkirk. Back in business as C-in-C Home Forces he was given his baton. Ironside surely had one of the most varied and long military careers of any military leader in the 20th century. AUTHOR: Lord Edmund Ironside served in the Royal Navy and went on to a varied career with, amongst others, Marconi and Rolls-Royce. He was Honorary Secretary of the all-party Defence Study Group and Vice-president of the Institute of Patentees and Inventors. He is the author of High Road to Command. 80 b/w illustrations

“"A long overdue study."-- A Blog on Winston Churchill”

"A long overdue study."--A Blog on Winston Churchill

EDMUND IRONSIDE served in the Royal Navy and, after succeeding to his father’s title, went on to a varied career with, amongst others, Marconi and Rolls-Royce. He was for many years an active member of the House of Lords, focusing on scientific issues and defence procurement, and was Honorary Secretary of the all-party Defence Study Group. He also served as Vice President of the Institute of Patentees and Inventors, and was the first President of the Electric Vehicle Association. He edited High Road to Command, based on his father’s diaries covering the years 1920–22.

Field Marshal Lord Ironside was a born commander and, besides being a gifted linguist, was mobilised as a subaltern for the Boer War to act as a secret agent and to streamline the peace process. After serving on the Western Front for most of the First World War he became C-in-C of the Expeditionary Force in North Russia and, being knighted and promoted to major general by the age of 39, went on to modernise staff training at Camberley and to champion mechanised and aerial warfare. His generalship was tested out in the Raj and, in 1939, on the day war was declared, he reached the top of the British Army leadership as CIGS. In that capacity he played a key role in developing strategy during the first months of the war, before helping to organise the defence of Calais to free up the British Expeditionary Force escape route to Dunkirk. After a final stint as C-in-C Home Forces, preparing to resist German invasion, he was given his baton and raised to the peerage. This first full authorised biography, written by his son, Edmund Ironside, and based upon the field marshal's meticulously kept diaries covering more than fifty years, is the definitive account of the incredibly varied and long career of one of the most prolific military leaders of the twentieth century.

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