One of the great figures in British military history died recently - Bill Carman. Aged ninety-four but with a mind as crisp as ever, he was the most knowledgeable of all on British military history in general and uniforms in particular. During his long life he was Patron, Founder Member, Chairman, and Honorary Life President of many societies with militaria connections including: Society of Army Historical Research, Military Historical Society, Military Heraldry Society, British Model Soldier Society, International Society of Military Collectors, The Company of Military Historians (USA), Organisation of Military Museums (Canada) and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society. Bill served in World War II in North Africa, and went on to the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum (housed at that time in an unused gymnasium in the grounds of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst). He, under the leadership of Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer, took those National Army Museum beginnings into the new purpose built building in Chelsea where they remain to this day. He was Deputy Director until, as a civil servant, he had to retire at sixty. He wrote, compiled or introduced twenty-four books, his first in 1940 and most recent of which he was working on when he died. Lionel Leventhal recalls that ‘Bill was one of the most loved, and the most knowledgeable, person in British military history and I knew him over the years. His tall but stooped figure was a distinctive sight at society meetings and fairs. When I was starting Arms & Armour Press I visited him in his home south of the Thames and it was absolutely crammed and bulging with reference works and items of uniforms and accoutrements that he had started collecting before World War II. Indeed he carried on collecting throughout his life. One of his specialisations was the ephemera which so often was lost. He was enormously encouraging both to me and all he met, and probably two or three generations have been encouraged by Bill Carman. As Arms & Armour Press I published four books with his help, and his introductions: Louis Napoleon and Artillery (1967) Dress Regulations for Officers, 1900 (1969) Dress Regulations for Officers, 1848 (1971) Glengary Badges, Pre-1881 (1973) He helped as a uniform adviser on a number of films including 55 Days at Peking and The Charge of the Light Brigade. Lt. Col. R. J. Wyatt of the Military History Society recalls ‘As one of our Vice Presidents Bill had worked tirelessly for the Society, the quality of his research and the wealth of information that he had accumulated over his very long life enabled him to become perhaps the greatest living expert on military dress and accoutrements. He was producing articles for the Bulletin of this Society until a few weeks before his death and they were as well researched and as fresh as ever. Unlike many experts, Bill was not one for keeping all his information to himself. He was always ready to help others and to share his wonderful knowledge. We will all miss a very great expert and a fine friend whose memory will live on in the work that he has left behind.’ It is most unfortunate that the passing of this very fine man went largely unrecorded in the obituary columns of the major newspapers. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 126 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com