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The Band That Went to War: The Royal Marine Band in the Falklands War
£18.00£23.80 (-24%)
The Royal Marines are renowned for their military skill and also for having one of the finest military bands in the world. These highly trained and talented musicians are equally at home parading at Buckingham Palace, playing at the Royal Albert Hall, or on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in a foreign port. Why then when the Argentines invaded the Falklands in April 1982 did these superb musicians get involved in what became a serious and deadly military campaign? The answer is that, in addition to their musical expertise, the RM Band Service members are trained for military service and fully qualified in a multitude of military and medical skills, providing support to their comrades, the fighting commandos. The Band That Went to War is a graphic first-hand account of the Falklands War as it has never been told before. It describes the roles played by Royal Marine musicians in the conflict; unloading the wounded from helicopters, moving tons of stores and ammunition, burying their dead at sea and guarding and repatriating Argentine prisoners of war. These and other unseen tasks were achieved while still ready to provide morale boosting music to their commando brethren and other frontline troops. These men are not just musicians; they are Royal Marines.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Pen & Sword Military (30 Nov. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 224 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1399096400 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1399096409 |
| Dimensions | 17.78 x 2.54 x 24.77 cm |
by Mrs Christine R Gibbs
Bought as a gift.
by John M.
Finished this engrossing book in 2 days. It tells the story of the Royal Marine Band as they performed a myriad of tasks (all very well!), supporting the military operation whilst serving onboard Canberra during the Falklands War, including the repatriation of POW’s. To quote the author Brian Short, they were a “a small cog that just helped some of the bigger wheels keep turning”.
by Se C.
Well I promised Brian I’d do a review and I can safely say Brian, i don’t require you to reimburse me the 2 quid authors fee. This is not a story of soldiers and marines fighting on land but a story of an individual and his small band (pun intended) of brothers onboard the SS Canberra or the Great White Wale, as she was nicknamed. Brian tells his story with typical force’s dark humour and some. Within the first few pages i discovered Brian went on to be a copper, so I had to put the book down and quickly clean up my timeline. But as serious as war is, I found myself laughing a helluva lot through it. It’s not your typical war book, however without men like Brian, the logistics on a troop ship would of been a lot more difficult.
I was 13 years old when this war happened, so here I say “thank you Brian, not just to you but also your brothers in arms who made a young lad terribly proud to be British” Godfrey.
by Aaron Richardson
This book gave me a great insight into the exploits of the RM band onboard Canberra, and the rollercoaster of emotions that they faced. My Dad was a member of said band, but was never very talkative about that time. This book gave me a window into his world back then and also a really interesting first hand account of the Falklands war, from a different perspective than typically talked about.
by J Varga
I will have to start by admitting my thoughts of musicians in the army was based more on “It Ain’t Half Hot Mum” than any actual information, but I am of that age. I originally came across the author on Twitter, which is how I discovered the book and proud to have a signed copy even though I purchased a digital copy for my kindle.
Well this really did open my eyes. I’ve ready many self-authored books from “fighting soldiers” being string and details account of battle, and all that goes with it, yet this story shines a bright light on what happens behind the lines to support the battle effort, and often not far behind those lines and often in the middle of action.
The adaptability, resourcefulness and character shown by the author and his band (pun intended) of fellow soldiers is something to be admired. In a well oiled machine eery cog is important, and this is no exception.
As well as the content, the writing style is smooth, flowing and a pleasure to read. Beyond the story of the task force journey followed by the engagement there are also some telling friendships forged, and not always between who you would expect.
I want to tell you all about the book, the stories and recount the best bits of which there are many. Instead I just want to recommend reading this book.
I would love to meet Brian one day and have a chat, which I don’t think would be short, and buy him a beer, of which I am sure one won’t be enough.
Again, read the book…. it’s a great read.
by Garry P.
What an insight into what a Royal Marine musician went through.
by MR B.
This is a excellent read and would recommend to anyone who likes military especially about Royal Marines.
by savvyshopper
The Band That Went to War is a really interesting, sometimes emotional and sometimes funny first-hand account of the Falklands War. I had no idea about the vital role
played by Royal Marine musicians in The Falklands despite remembering the war vividly. The band were all medics and also provided morale boosting music to their comrades throughout the conflict. Brian has an engaging writing style and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the role played by Royal Marines bands in conflicts around the world.