The cavalry is one of those features of the Great War that causes many people to question the sanity of those who were in command. The very existence of a mounted arm; the wastefulness of large numbers of men spending months in the rear areas wistfully awaiting the great breakthrough that would send them galloping in action; the thousands of horses and tons of forage taking up ships and manpower that may have been put to better use; all of these things raise the eyebrows. David Kenyon's book, based on a PhD study and drawing upon many primary documents, sets out to put the cavalry and its effectiveness into proper historical context. Or rather, I should say British cavalry in France and Flanders, for this is a study of the Western Front and not the campaigns elsewhere to which the cavalry appear better suited.

The book is, despite much technical content, highly readable and moves at a good pace through the early battles. It is more focused on the true problem for all of the armies on the Western Front: how to break into and through a deep, formidable, continuous and usually entrenched defensive system when the enemy's firepower aimed at stopping such a breakthrough is prodigious. The author describes and discusses each key point at which the cavalry goes into action in its mounted role: the best known (if often misinterpreted or even dismissed) actions at High Wood, Monchy le Preux and Cambrai; lesser known fights at Collezy, Moreuil Wood, Amiens, Honnechy and Reumont. All the issues are covered - command and control, firepower and tactical action, the performance of the leaders and men in battle and their effect on those battles. The cases are well argued and the author draws clear conclusions. It is well illustrated with some good maps and photographs. Personally I found it most interesting and it certainly made me question some of my own beliefs and prejudices, even if at the conclusion I remained unconvinced of the 'payback' from the commitment of huge resources to the cavalry. But do not let my feelings detract from the book: it is excellent.

The book includes a short foreword by the late Richard Holmes.

Trevor Harkin is one of the unsung heroes of military and local history research, for he works tirelessly on the stories of the men and the city of Coventry and has produced several excellent reference works.

The latest concentrates on the 330 soldiers who came from the city or had a connection with it, who died on the Somme, have no known grave and are commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial. The dreadful toll begins on 1 July 1916 and ends with the last of these men, Pte George Thomas Henson, who died on 22 November 1917. Each man is described with some personal details, which inevitably vary in volume depending on the survival of information. This includes employers rolls of honour and newspaper reports and obituaries - not the kind of information yet available via the popular family history services and perhaps not likely to be. The author blends the men's stories in with information regarding the battles and circumstances in which they died, and begins the book with some background on Coventry in the Great war. For anyone related to one of these soldiers, or who has an interest in Coventry or the Royal Warwickshire Regiment that enlisted so heavily there, this is a fine addition to your library.

This is a very nicely compiled and presented collection of material relating to correspondence between the old boys of Bournemouth Grammar School and their headmaster, Edward "Tig" Fenwick. Founded in 1901, under Fenwick the school produced excellent academic results and it is clear from the letters that the boys held him in high regard. No fewer than 622 former pupils, 24 teachers and 5 caretakers served in the forces during the Great War: of these, 94 pupils and 4 teachers lost their lives and a further 95 were wounded, some more than once. A dreadful toll indeed but sadly typical.

David Hilliam provides us with an introductory background and a novel structure of presentation: selected letters are arranged into chapters, covering life in the trenches, the air war, the experience of men sent further afield and of the wounded. The final chapter is a collection of short obituaries, written by Fenwick himself. The author rounds off with tables, facts and figures, and we are left to draw our own conclusions with regard to the grief felt by the families and school; of the impact of the loss of so many well-educated men; and of the long-term effect on the survivors. The story is at once heartbreaking yet uplifting in the sense of pride and awe at the spirit, bravery and endurance of these men.

For anyone connected with the school or Bournemouth, this is certainly something you should see. But it also stands as a testimony for many other schools and places and I recommend it to all.