WWI ref book recommendations please

[richard carrick]

Hi - perhaps someone can help. I want to get deeper into figure building, painting and presentation. I have an idea for a diorama in 1/16 / 120mm depicting soldiers of my great great Uncle's unit, the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, in WWI (1917 to be precise, which is when he died)

I know next to nothing about WWI so can you guys recommend some reference books? It doesn't matter if they are rare or obscure, commonly available, electronic format etc (I guess in that respect that web links are also eligible)

I need to know how British soldiers were dressed in 1917, the equipment they carried etc - also the kind of equipment, both German and British, that I could have lying around to dress up the diorama

So - please recommend to me:

books about British & German equipment with good quality photos
good photo albums for inspiration
good websites that have images of daily life

Any help greatly appreciated!

Rich

 

[steve j]

hi rich
two great books for germans are grabenkrieg german trench warfare vol1and2 both are packed with photos

 

[richard carrick]

great, that's the kind of thing I'm after
thanks

 

[steve j]

hiya rich got them from a show from these guys
http://www.aviationbookcentre.com/search.html?searchterm=german trench warfare

 

[Dan Morton]

For German info, I don't see how you could do better than the Verlag Militaria books. Great stuff! For the British, I would go to the Great War Forum, uniforms section. The Schiffer book is very good, but you'll learn more from the GWF.

If you need something specific, just ask.

All the best,
Dan

 

[housecarl]

http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/1925/pics/khaki/1925_khaki_belts_straps.html
http://www.kaisersbunker.com/index2.htm
Carl.

 

[Colin_Fraser]

Don't neglect reenactor sites....often a mine of good photos based on specialist research if you hit the right unit and date.

Colin

 

[Dan Morton]

This photo is probably posed but it purports to show the KOYLI and looks 17 or 18.

 

[Dan Morton]

The first photo shows the shoulder diamond device and brass epaulette and cap KOYLI device.

The second shows the epaulette Yorkshire title much better Both are probably from 1915 or 16.

All the best,
Dan

 

[Tony Barton]

For the Brits, you could do worse than buy the two Ospreys : " The British Army in World War I " Nos. 391 & 402, and " Battle Insignia 1914-18 "No. 182 . They cover the basics. For equipment , the website" karkeeweb " is the best place, with huge pics of genuine original stuff, with explanations of its issue.
As already said, the GWF is the place where much knowledge is stored, but it's not laid out in an accessible way: they should create a Beginners Corner !. But if you use the Search facility to look up your particular battalion of interest, it may turn up pics.
I don't know of anywhere where the absolute basics are explained for beginners.
There's a very good recent book , aimed perhaps at collectors, called " Tommy'sWar " by Peter Doyle. Covers everything Tommy wore, carried, ate, or wrote on.

 

[richard carrick]

thanks guys

 

[megroot]

I can recommend this one for the British Troops.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tommys-War-Military-Memorabilia-1914-1918/dp/186126996X

Marc