I neighbour came round the other day with a plastic bag full of stuff, and said 'Can you make head or tail of this' Most of it were photos and documents of a Captain who served with the Royal Engineers. But, also this book. Lessons from Operations M.E.T.M No7 Oct and Nov 1942 printed in 1943 covers El Alamein. I know you can get reprints or pdf's but I have never seen an original. Anyone tell me anything about it? Is an original valuable?
Does it have any mention of the battle @ Deir el Shein, on 1/7/1942? I'd be interested and intrigued if it did. The 18th Indian Infantry Brigade was overwhelmed by the Afrika Korps.
Dubman I can't tell you what is in the pamphlet having never seen one. The value of items such as Lessons from Operations M.E.T.M No7 Oct and Nov 1942 vary widely based on rarity and content. Most of the time, one will seek pamphlets like this for research purposes. A search in WorldCat didn't turn up any holdings in libraries, so one looking for a copy could possibly turn to the market place. I don't know if TNA holds a copy, my skill at searching their collection is suspect. I did a quick search for copies of this pamphlet and found two: a download (copy) for £11 and an original for 3000 Zar (£124). So an original can be worth £124, but only for the right buyer/collector. At that price, I feel it will stay on one's shelf for quite a long time. It would be interesting to see if this pamphlet has been cited in works on Alamein or studies of British Generalship, etc. That would provide an idea of how well regarded the lessons in the pamphlet are viewed and its value to scholarship. . Original items related to famous events/personalities generally carry a greater premium than everyday items. A collector who is focused on North Africa will likely pay more for this than a generalist. v/r Jeff
Dubman, Just found the advert in South Africa for the booklet, the contents do not list actions before October 1942. See: Lessons from Operations - M.E.T.M. No. 7 - 2nd Battle of Alamein - Oct. and Nov. 1942 | bobshop.co.za
Lessons from Operations were part of a concerted effort by the British command to disseminate knowledge throughout the ranks. They were cheaply and quickly printed and in terms of content were a distillation of a number of operations from all departments in the Middle East on how they performed. This was systematically gathered during and after operations and reviewed. It then filtered into instructional booklets for specific arms of service that would contain an overview of doctrine and likely enemy behaviour. The series of these booklets is preserved in the National Archives in the UK. Very nice find. All the best Andreas