This new book, written by our Chief Executive Colonel (Retd) Patrick Crowley MBE DL, and commissioned by The Connaught Trust, is a unique history of the part-time soldier of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, from the time of the militia, yeomanry and volunteer, through to the Territorial Army and today’s Army Reserve. This is all placed in the wider context of the British Army’s history.
The book tells the fascinating story of citizen soldiers woven through times of war and peace. It begins nearly 500 years ago with the raising of a militia that repulsed the French invasion of the Isle of Wight and continues with an examination of volunteers and the subsequent birth of the yeomanry in the late 18th century. Drawn from towns, villages and hamlets across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, volunteers have served at home and in numerous territories abroad: including the former Ottoman Empire, Burma, Siberia, France, Belgium, the Balkans, as well as post-9/11 Afghanistan and Iraq.
Rose, Castle and Crown underscores the challenge and sacrifice that all military volunteers, throughout history, have had to make balancing the needs of service with family demands and their main civilian employment. It also demonstrates that reservists continue to significantly contribute to the United Kingdom’s military capabilities.
Alongside his role here at SERFCA, Patrick Crowley also a deputy colonel of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment. He has written seven previous books on military history including Kut 1916: The Forgotten British Disaster in Iraq, Loyal to Empire: The Life of General Sir Charles Monro 1860-1929 and Infantry Die Hards: The Anatomy of a Regiment.
The book is available to buy from Medina Publishing
