Society for Army Historical Research

The Society for Army Historical Research is a learned society, founded in 1921 to foster "interest in the history and traditions of British and Commonwealth armies, and to encourage research in these fields." It is one of the oldest societies of its kind. Past members include notable British Field Marshals Wavell, Auchinleck and Templer. The current president is Lieutenant-General Sir Barney White-Spunner and Major-General Ewan Carmichael is Chairman of its Council. The Patron of the Society is Field Marshal the Duke of Kent.

The society's interests embrace both army and regimental history, military antiquities and pictures, uniforms, badges and medals, arms and equipment and the history of land warfare in general. The study of campaigns, commanders and the political aspects of war are covered from the sixteenth century to the recent past.

Journal

The society's main activity is the publication of the peer-reviewed quarterly ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'' reflecting its members' interests. Issues of the Journal contain a mixture of articles, which are peer-reviewed, communications, which typically deal with more specialised subjects and are not subject to peer-review, and book reviews. Listings are also included of recent academic work in the field of military history, and of new archival resources of relevance to the topic. Each issue typically contains at least one colour plate, as well as other illustrations. Not all articles are dryly academic; there are often interesting or amusing anecdotal forays into historical nooks, or revealing examinations of unjustly forgotten soldiers. In addition, over the years, the society has produced a number o
special issues
topics for special issues include monographs on dress distinctions and bibliographical or regimental research aids, previously-unpublished soldiers' letters or diaries, and anthologies of material dealing with specific topics - most recently the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo, and the Great War.For instance: John Marshall Deane, ''A Journal of Marlborough's campaigns during the War of the Spanish Succession, 1704–1711'' / edited and introduced by David G. Chandler, SAHR Special Publication 12, (London, 1984) and ''The Victorians at War: New Perspectives'', edited by Ian F.W. Beckett, SAHR Special Publication 16, (London, 2007). The special publications also include a full index to the journal from its foundation up to 2006.

Templer Medal

Since 1982, the society has awarded th
Templer Medal
to the author of the most impressive or significant book relating to the British, Commonwealth or Dominion armies published in the preceding year. This prize was founded to commemorate the life and achievements of Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer, best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954. He was president of the society from 1965 to 1979. The prize is awarded at the society annual general meeting in the year following the year of publication. The Templer Medal has been awarded for the following books:
* 1981 ''Fit for Service: The Training of the British Army 1715–1795'', by J.A. Houlding.
* 1982 ''A History of the British Cavalry, Volume 3: 1872–1898'', by the Marquess of Anglesey.
* 1983 ''For the Sake of Example: Capital Courts-Martial 1914–1920'', by Anthony Babington.
* 1984 ''The British Army and Theory of Armored Warfare 1918–1940'', by Robert H. Larson.
* 1985 ''From Waterloo to Balaclava: Tactics, Technology and the British Army 1815–1854'', by Hew Strachan.
* 1986 ''Monty: The Field Marshal 1944-1976'', by Nigel Hamilton.
* 1987 ''The British Army of William III'', by John Childs.
* 1988 ''Kitchener's Army: The Raising of New Armies 1914–16'', by Peter Simkins.
* 1989 No award made.
* 1990 ''British Counterinsurgency 1919–60'', by Thomas R. Mockaitis.
* 1991 ''The Crimean Doctors. A History of the British Medical Service in the Crimean War'', by John Shepherd.
* 1992 ''Politics and Military Morale: Current-Affairs and Citizenship Education in the British Army 1914–1950'', by S.P. Mackenzie.
* 1993 ''To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950–1966'', by Ian McNeill.
* 1994 No award made.
* 1995 ''British Victory in Egypt 1801: The End of Napoleon's Conquest'', by Piers Mackesy.
* 1996 ''The English Ordnance Office, 1585–1625: A Case Study in Bureaucracy'', by Richard W. Stewart.
* 1997 ''Small Arms of the East India Company, 1600–1856, Vols 1 and 2'', by David Harding.
* 1998 ''British Logistics on the Western Front, 1914–1919'', by Ian Malcolm Brown.
* 1999 ''British Military Intelligence in the Crimean War, 1854–1856'', by Stephen M. Harris.
* 2000 ''Raising Churchill's Army: The British Army and War against Germany 1919-45,'' by David French.
* 2001 No award made.
* 2002 ''The British General Staff: Reform and Innovation,'' edited by David French & .
* 2003 ''Phoenix from the Ashes: The Indian Army in the Burma Campaign'', by Daniel P. Marston.
* 2004 ''Medicine and Victory: British Military Medicine in the Second World War'', by Mark Harrison.
* 2005 ''Military Identities: The Regimental System, the British Army, and the British People, c.1870–2000'', by David French.
* 2006 ''Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: A Political Soldier'', by Keith Jeffery.
* 2007 No award made.
* 2008 ''Douglas Haig and the First World War'', by J. P. Harris.
* 2009 ''Bloody Victory: The Sacrifice of the Somme and the Making of the Twentieth Century'', by William Philpott.
* 2010 ''The Medical War: British Military Medicine in the First World War'', by Mark Harrison.
* 2011 ''Soldiers'', by Richard Holmes (posthumously).
* 2012 ''A Military History of Scotland'', by Edward Spiers, Jeremy Crang & Matthew Strickland.
* 2013 ''Monty’s Men'' by John Buckley.
* 2014 ''National Service: A Generation in Uniform, 1945–1963'' by Richard Vinen.
* 2015 ''Wellington: Waterloo and the Fortunes of Peace 1815–1852'' by Rory Muir.
* 2016 ''Early Modern Systems of Command: Queen Anne's Generals, Staff Officers and the Direction of Allied Warfare in the Low Countries and Germany, 1702–1711'', by Stewart Stansfield.
* 2017 ''Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815'', by John Hussey.
* 2018 ''Our Boys: The Story of a Paratrooper'', by Helen Parr.
* 2019 ''Fighting the People's War: The British & Commonwealth Armies and the Second World War'', by Jonathan Fennell.
*2020 ''Britain’s War: A New World 1942-1947,'' by Daniel Todman.
*2021 ''The 1945 Burma Campaign and the Transformation of the British Indian Army,'' by Raymond Callahan and Daniel Marston.

Beginning with the 2014 prize, an award has also made for the best first book submitted in each year's competition. For this prize, edited volumes and co-authored books and monographs are discounted by the judges, who will consider only sole authored and substantial works. This prize has been awarded as follows:
* 2014 ''Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of British Armed Forces during the Seven Years War'' by Erica Charters.
* 2015 ''High Command: British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars'' by Major-General Christopher Elliott.
* 2016 ''Till the Trumpet Sounds Again: The Scots Guards 1914–19 in Their Own Words'', by Randall Nicol.
* 2017 ''The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning, 1880–1914'', by David G. Morgan-Owen.
* 2018 ''Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army 1914–18'', by Aimée Fox.
* 2019 ''The Veterans' Tale: British Military Memoirs of the Second World War'', by Frances Houghton.
*2020 ''Major-General Oliver Nugent: The Irishman who led the Ulster Division in the Great War,'' by Nicholas Perry.
*2021 ''The Changing of the Guard: The British Army since 9/11'', by Simon Akam.

Other activities

The society also award
research grants
to graduate students and maintains a
essay prize
for undergraduates and sixth-form pupils. Other activities include the organisation of lectures, discussion events, and tours.

Past presidents

* 1921–1932 Harold Dillon, 17th Viscount Dillon
* 1932–1947 Colonel Thomas Fremantle, 3rd Baron Cottesloe
* 1947–1950 Field Marshal Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
* 1950–1961 George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge
* 1961–1965 Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck
* 1965–1979 Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer
* 1980–1993 General Sir David Fraser
* 1993–2012 Field Marshal Sir John Chapple

Footnotes

References

Society for Army Historical Research
* The society entry at th
Register of Charities
including some of the recent annual reports.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Society For Army Historical Research
Historical societies of the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1921