Gun Fire (Number 19), edited by A.J. Peacock

Gun Fire (Number 19), edited by A.J. Peacock

Gun Fire (Number 19), edited by A.J. Peacock

A5 size booklet, 60 pages. (N6454X1)

Please note the second part of Jame's account can be found in 'Gun Fire Issue 20'.
A Pioneer in Picardy

From the start of Jame's account (Page 31): Notes and Reminiscences of Pioneer James Greenwood, of his active service during the 1914-1918 War - first as a driver in the Royal Horse Artillery and then as a Pioneer in the Special Brigade, Royal Engineers. Notes of the experiences of a pioneer in the Special Brigade Royal Engineers during the First World War - 1914-1918. The following notes for the period up to the beginning of April 1917 are a re-edited version of the notes I made from my diary some 40 years or more ago. I intended to continue those notes but never got down to it until in August 1981 I heard of the Western Front Association on Leeds Radio as a result of which I contacted Mr D. Smith of Halifax who sent me some literature concerning the Association which resulted in my producing the narrative which follows.


Gun Fire was an occasional journal produced by members of the Western Front Association, and it contained articles about aspects of the First World War. This edition contains the first part of a personal account by a soldier of his experiences during the war (James Greenwood started the war as a driver in the Royal Horse Artillery and later as a Pioneer in the Special Brigade of the Royal Engineers). This account takes up half of the booklet. The full contents are as follows:

Le Canon de Coucy-le-Chateu
The Forgotten Winter 1914-1915
Review
Notes And Querie


Interestingly, an earlier edition of the journal explained the origins of the slang phrase 'Gun Fire', detailing how it was a term for the early cup of tea served out to troops in the morning before going on first parade. In the War recruits in training always had Gun Fire supplied to them, as the work before breakfast was often particularly gruelling.

Condition of the booklet is generally good. The cover has one or two minor scuffs, but the staple spine is intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Their is a small price sticker on the rear side cover.

Condition New