by N.W. Bancroft with an introduction by B.P. Hughes. (8 1/2 x 5 1/2; 155 pages. Ian Henry Publications - £ 4.95. A decade ago when writing my books "All For a Shilling a Day" and "At Them With the Bayonet!" - both about the Sikh War of 1845/46, I repeatedly came across references to a book written by N.W. Bancroft a veteran of that war published in Calcutta in 1885. At that time I was unable to obtain it, nor did I feel that there was very much chance of getting a sight of it without a great deal of luck. Well, the luck has come my way and now I own a copy of a replica re-print of this book! A year or so ago that wonderful writer and English gentleman Major-General B.P.Hughes R.A. told me that this book was in the course of preparation and that he would be writing a foreword to it andv as anything written by General Hughes of "Firepower"; "The Bengal Horse Artillery"; and "British Smoothbore Artillery" fame is worth reading, I looked forward to it with keen appetite. Rudyard Kipling, out of fashion today except to those of us who like stirring patriotic words, wrote a memorable piece called "Snarleyow", taken from Bancroft's story of the wounded artillery horse at the Battle of Ferozeshah. This book is a saga of the early Victorian army in India, telling in vivid but almost undramatic manner the story of the bloody battles against the Sikhs, and of that famed elite corps the Bengal Horse Artillery whose colourful uniform is shown in the photograph of Sergeant Bancroft himself in this book. One can learn much about British Colonial wars from these pages, surprisingly the British soldier seemed to be given quite a lot of freedom to wander around India from one station to another -- some of his marches to different postings took six months or more! General Hughes' introduction leads the way into the un-tutored writing of this Old Soldier - all of it provides the greatest information and stiumulus for us who wargame in the Colonial period. Now and then one has the opportunity to acquire a book that has become a legend - its existence is rumoured but doubted over the years because one never gets the chance to see it. Well, here is one of them - and it is hoped that other publishers will get the idea and do the same, providing this one is supported and becomes commercially viable. More Book Reviews Wavell's Offensive Great Battle Tanks Patrick Stephens Catalogues Infantry Weapons of the World From Recruit to Staff Sergeant English Weapons and Warfare 449-1660AD Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter #210 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1979 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com