'Guns of the British Empire; Firearms of the British Soldier, 1837- 1987', by George Markham. Arms and Armour Press, ISBN 1-85409- 072-0, price ?

As the sub-title suggests, this is a survey of British military firearms from 1837 until modern times. As such, it covers not only the hey-day of the British Empire, but also vast technological improvements, which saw firearms develop from the first percussion rifles up to today's semi- automatics. The emphasis is on the weapons themselves, how they developed, when they were issued, and the improvement in the performance of each successive type; there's not too much on their use in action, on the wars in which they were used, but there is a nice selection of contemporary photos from various campaigns, each with various pertinent observations on the weapon-type shown. Famous types such as the Snider and Martini-Henry are illustrated with both photographs and diagrams, and the section on machine guns includes both photos and plans of those stalwarts of the 1880s, the Gatting and Gardner guns; there is also a short section on revolvers. However, because the time-span extends so much into recent history, a good deal of the book is taken up with weapons of WWs 1 and 2, which may not be of interest to purely Colonial enthusiasts. Nevertheless, a useful survey, nicely illustrated.

Reviews

Introduction
Fearful Hard Times: The Siege and Relief of Eshowe 1879
Lord Chelmsford's Zululand Campaign 1878-1879
But Burdens Shouldered; Anglo-Zulu War Graves and Memorials in the United Kingdom
Deeds of Valour: A Victorian Military And Naval Trilogy
Warrior Chiefs of Southern Africa
Fuzzy Wuzzy; The Campaigns in the Eastern Sudan, 1884-85
Buller: A Scapegoat?
Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815-1905
Victorian Military Campaigns
British Campaign Medals: Waterloo To The Gulf
Guns of the British Empire: Firearms of the British Soldier, 1837-1987
Reflections From The Bridge: The Victorian Sapper in Photographs
Osprey Round - Up: Colonial Titles
Pony Wars Round-Up

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