Harlow War Memorial Institute
A new book by Peter Lees, entitled A Hero For All Times, is being launched on 20th November 2023 with it being available to purchase from this date.
Published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd, A Hero For All Times is available to pre-order now from Waterstones, priced £25.00
Click HERE to pre-order the book from Waterstones.
Peter is an expert in the field of Veterinary Pharmacology and has contributed to several books.
It was Peter's passion for Veterinary Pharmacology and Military History that brought James Neville Marshall, an unqualified veterinary based in Harlow before WWI, to his attention.
While searching for information on James Neville Marshall, Peter came across detailed information on him within the Memorial section of the HWMI website. He subsequently contacted HWMI at the end of 2019 where Steve Gabriel, who created and upkeeps the HWMI website, and who has attended James Neville Marshall's grave at Ors Cemetery in Northern France, and also the unveiling of the Blue Plaque in Manchester on Sunday 4th November 2018, 100 years to the day after Marshall's death, responded to Peter.
In early 2020, pre-Covid, Peter and Steve met to discuss and swap stories about James Neville Marshall with information on him also being shared.
Steve says: "Peter and I have kept in frequent contact for the past 3-4 years regarding JNM and the progress of his book, and I am very much looking forward to finding out more about this great man and hero of WWI and attending the launch of the book."
A Hero For All Times - Synopsis
In September 1914 Neville Marshall gave up a successful horse treatment practice to join first the Belgian and then the British Army. His diary, dormant in family archives for 105 years, and letters describe his tumultuous war service. An Irish Guardsman, who was seconded to three Lancashire battalions, he rose in rank from 2nd Lieutenant to Acting Lieutenant-Colonel. Wounded at least nine times and awarded five gallantry medals, he revelled as well as suffered in his encounters with the German enemy. Outspoken on the conduct of the war, he was without doubt a gifted and courageous leader who led from the front. Fiercely loyal to his men, he earned their respect and affection. Yet with soldiers who were uncaring of their own states of body and mind or lacking physical fitness and self-respect, he worked tirelessly to restore their morale and battle readiness through strict disciplinary regimes. While undoubtedly a patriot and a hero, Marshall VC was not without character flaws, impetuously rushing to judgements. In this superbly researched book, his diaries and letters are supplemented from a wide range of archival and other sources. The result is no ordinary biography of an extraordinary officer who gave his life for his country.
Foreword by Major General Sir Robert Corbett KCVO, CB