A personal memoir that is full of interest.

John Reith, later the Right Honourable Lord Reith of Stonehaven and first Director-General of the BBC, served as a Territorial officer until severely wounded in October 1915. He was with the 5th Battalion, the Scottish Rifles until his efforts to move to the Royal Engineers paid off and he joined the 1/2nd Highland Field Company.

Reith was at first appointed Transport Officer of his battalion, and much of the memoir concerns his time in and around the Armentieres area organising the supplies to the front. Living in comparative luxury in town, he is nonethless shelled several times and develops a penchant for going out into the saps of no man's land. He is clearly a good man-manager, and has a sharp eye for opportunity. On many occasions he 'finds' better horses, men and billets for his column, and defends them against equally opportunist officers from other battalions and inspections by Generals alike. Many of the men of the transport column are named in the narrative.

Unfortunately, Reith fell foul of a domineering Adjutant and - being what appears to be a rather independent character - transgressed too many times. He was removed from Transport, a job he enjoyed and excelled at, and was sent to a Company in the trenches. Reith admitted to a failure on his part to properly address what had been an uncomfortable situation; the Adjutant and CO do seem, however, to have favoured confontation rather than resolution. It is an interesting insight into human nature at work among the abnormal stresses of the front line.

Having finally obtained a posting to the RE Company which was in the Cuinchy area, Reith was badly wounded by a gunshot wound to the face and saw no more of the fighting.

The entire book is dedicated to Reith's military career, although there are one or two hints at his future activities. I found it a good read.

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