Gunners in Normandy Errata Please

The History Press tell me that they are planning to publish a paperback edition of Gunners in Normandy in September. I have an opportunity to revise the work, as long as I tell them any amendments by 21 July.

If you have read Gunners in Normandy and noticed any errors or omissions , please let me know by 20 July 2025

 

The painting on the Cover...
Artillery FOOs embedded with the Infantry on D-Day

 

Thanks for your note, but I am not going to act on your observations about the imperfections of David Rowlands' interpretation of the scene.

It's on the cover because it is the official RA painting of the scene. It would not be appropriate to cast aspersions on matters of artistic interpretation and Regimental Heritage. (See Turner's Maligned Masterpiece and George Macdonald Fraser's account of the tune played by the VC winning piper in "The Whisky and the Pipes" in The General Danced at Dawn.")

You may be correct in your observations and if you feel strongly about them, please feel free to write to the Royal Artillery Institute or Gunner Magazine.

 

Just sayin'...

I do not think that I am "casting aspersions", just pointing facts as requested, nor do I consider than gently pointing out a few understandable mistakes in an old painting will disrespect the Regimental Heritage, whatever this might mean.

Anyway, I do not feel anything about it either way. Deciding whether to state the historical truth or to keep with official stories, when they do not match, is indeed a personal decision that would depend on context.
I have in the past withheld results of research because they were at odds with what a veteran remembered, out of respect for him, as long as he was alive. But when they pass away, my view is that their descendants, when they ask for it, should know the truth, however disappointing it may seem. To me this does not make veterans any less heroes, on the contrary, it makes them more real because more human.

 

It may only have been my copy, it has been a while, and it is currently in storage but I do recall I thought the work would have benefitted greatly from a thorough editing job by a good copy-editor. IIRC there were multiple copy-editing issues - unfinished sentences, repetition, etc. It might well have been a result of your having to complete a work initially started by another author. I think someone on AHF said similar when the hardback was first issued.

None of which affects the fantastic detail the book contains, just made it enormously frustrating to read for me.

Regards

Tom

 

I have the Kindle version and looked to see if there was a section about the maintenance, repair and salvage organization. I could not find what I was looking for using the search box.