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The Irish Guards in the Great War
A regimental history and official account of the Irish Guards in the First World War, written by Rudyard Kipling in honour of his son, John, who served in the Irish Guards and was killed in his first action at the battle of Loos.This book also contains a listing of the battle rolls of honour and casualty lists of all officers and men who served with the First and Second Battalion.
- GenresMilitary History
223 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
About the author
Rudyard Kipling
7,387 books3,768 followersJoseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 6, 2025
I read this because I have a relative who was in the 2nd Battalion, WW1 who died and is buried in Ypres and this book gives a kind if diary account of the events and movements and daily life of that group of men.
On the day he died 2 others also were killed, buried near him and there is an account of those days, the nearest thing to imagining what it was like, not just the fighting but the camaraderie, the new arrivals.
On the day he died 2 others also were killed, buried near him and there is an account of those days, the nearest thing to imagining what it was like, not just the fighting but the camaraderie, the new arrivals.
June 17, 2020
The edition I read was older than this but apparently had the same number of pages.
The second battalion entered the war later than the first battalion and didn't see as much action, thus the book is shorter and perhaps less interesting.
Kipling's son was in this battalion and we learn of his death early in the book.
Both volumes are masterfully written and reflect the author's dedication to the history of the Irish Guards.
The second battalion entered the war later than the first battalion and didn't see as much action, thus the book is shorter and perhaps less interesting.
Kipling's son was in this battalion and we learn of his death early in the book.
Both volumes are masterfully written and reflect the author's dedication to the history of the Irish Guards.
March 31, 2023
Kipling wrote what is generally-considered to be the finest of regimental histories emanating from the Great War, as a result of his only son, John, having joined the Irish Guards and being killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915. It is a fine work of memorial, restrained in tone, evocative in style, and often brilliant, as one would expsect from so great a writer, in description. Kipling perhaps put more into this sorrowful task than into other of his endeavours, except for his enduring work for the Imperial War Graves Commission, the lasting-effect of which can be seen in every war cemetery.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews