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An Englishman at War: The Wartime Diaries of Stanley Christopherson DSO MC & Bar 1939-1945

Stanley Christopherson

Start date: August 17, 2018

Finish date: August 24, 2018

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Oct 04, 2021 Chris Wray rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021, non-fiction, second-world-war, military-history

There are a plethora of Second World War memoirs, diaries, and biographies currently in print, but this is an excellent example of the genre. Stanley fought through the whole war, starting as a mounted yeomanry troop commander in Palestine and ending as the CO of one of the finest armoured regiments in the British Army. As such, the story he tells is comprehensive and satisfying as he records the passage of his regiment through the entire war. In addition, Stanley's writing is vivid and complete There are a plethora of Second World War memoirs, diaries, and biographies currently in print, but this is an excellent example of the genre. Stanley fought through the whole war, starting as a mounted yeomanry troop commander in Palestine and ending as the CO of one of the finest armoured regiments in the British Army. As such, the story he tells is comprehensive and satisfying as he records the passage of his regiment through the entire war. In addition, Stanley's writing is vivid and completely lacking in self-consciousness, and he comes across as a thoroughly decent and likeable man.

James Holland, who edited and commented on Stanley's diary, summarises both his and his unit's experience when he says, "The Sherwood Rangers can be seen as a leitmotif of the British Army in the Second World War. They began rooted in an earlier age with little understanding of what modern war had become, but gradually, often painfully, learned the lessons, and evolved into a highly efficient outfit...[They] had left England in 1939 with their horses, sabres and little idea about modern soldiering, and had finished the war as one of the finest armoured units in the British Army. It was quite a journey for a local yeomanry outfit; there cannot have been many regiments that saw more action than they did throughout the whole of the war or were engaged in so many major battles. They were the first to enter Bayeux after D-Day, the first British troops into Germany, and during their time in north-west Europe, they supported every single British infantry division and three American divisions, and were often specifically asked for by other formations. Between 1939 and 1945, the Sherwood Rangers amassed an astonishing 30 battle honours, 16 under Stanley's command, more than any other single unit in the entire British Army. And he was in the thick of it for all 30, collecting a Distinguished Service Order, two Military Crosses and a Silver Star, as well as being Mentioned in Dispatches four times." ...more

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