Eliot Antony Brett-James (24 April 1920 – 25 March 1984) was a British military historian.'Mr Antony Brett-James', ''The Times'' (27 March 1984), p. 16.

Early life and career

He was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist ...

and served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as Second Lieutenant in the Royal Signals (1941) and with the 5th Indian Division of the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

in the North Africa campaign. He commanded the 9th Infantry Indian Brigade Signals in Burma, where he helped defeat the Japanese in the

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

and

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the f ...

campaigns. After the war he studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a degree in modern languages. He was subsequently appointed modern languages editor at George G. Harrap and Co. and then reader and publicity manager for Chatto & Windus. He worked for Cassell from 1958 until 1961. In 1961 he was appointed as lecturer in military history at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and from 1970 until 1980 he was Sandhurst's Head of War Studies. Brett-James authored works on military history, principally on the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Works

*''Report My Signals'' (London: Hennel Locke, 1948). *''Ball of Fire: The 5th Indian Division in the Second World War'' (Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1951). *''The Triple Stream: Four Centuries of English, French, and German Literature, 1531-1930'' (Bowes & Bowes, 1953). *''General Graham, Lord Lynedoch'' (London: Macmillan, 1959). *'' Wellington at War, 1794–1815: A Selection of His Wartime Letters'' (London: Macmillan, 1961). *''Imphal: A Flower on Lofty Heights'', co-authored with Geoffrey Charles Evans (London: Macmillan, 1962). *''The Hundred Days: Napoleon's Last Campaign from Eyewitness Accounts'' (London: Macmillan, 1964). *''General Wilson's Journal, 1812–1814'' (William Kember, 1964). *''1812: Eyewitness Accounts of Napoleon's Defeat in Russia'' (London: Macmillan, 1966). *''Adventures of a Soldier: The Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns'' (London: Longmans, 1967). *''The British Soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, 1793–1815'' (London: Macmillan, 1970). *''Europe Against Napoleon: The Leipzig Campaign, 1813, From Eyewitness Accounts'' (London: Macmillan, 1970). *''Life in Wellington's Army'' (London: Allen and Unwin, 1972). *''The Korean War 1950–53: An Exhibition to Commemorate the Armistice in Korea, 19 July 1953'' (Department of War Studies and International Affairs and the Central Library, 1976). *''Conversations with Montgomery'' (William Kember, 1984).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brett-James, Antony 1920 births 1984 deaths People educated at Mill Hill School Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst British military historians Indian Army personnel of World War II Indian Army officers Royal Corps of Signals officers