Society for Army Historical Research

The Society for Army Historical Researchis alearned society,founded in 1921 to foster "interest in the history and traditions of British andCommonwealtharmies, and to encourage research in these fields. "It is one of the oldest societies of its kind. Past members include notable British Field MarshalsWavell,AuchinleckandTempler.The current president is Lieutenant-General SirEdward Smyth-Osbourneand Major-GeneralAshley Truluckis chairman of its council. The patron of the society is Field Marshal HRHthe Duke of Kent.

The society's interests embrace both army and regimental history, military antiquities and pictures, uniforms, badges and medals, arms and equipment and the history of land warfare in general. The study of campaigns, commanders and the political aspects of war are covered from the sixteenth century to the recent past.

From 2022, the society has conferred a small number ofFellowships,allowing the holder the use of thepostnominalsFSAHR.

Journal

The society's main activity is the publication of the peer-reviewed quarterlyJournal of the Society for Army Historical Researchreflecting its members' interests. Issues of the Journal contain a mixture of articles, which are peer-reviewed, communications, which typically deal with more specialised subjects and are not subject to peer-review, and book reviews. Listings are also included of recent academic work in the field of military history, and of new archival resources of relevance to the topic. Each issue typically contains at least one colour plate, as well as other illustrations. Not all articles are dryly academic; there are often interesting or amusing anecdotal forays into historical nooks, or revealing examinations of unjustly forgotten soldiers. In addition, over the years, the society has produced a number ofspecial issues:topics for special issues include monographs on dress distinctions and bibliographical or regimental research aids, previously-unpublished soldiers' letters or diaries, and anthologies of material dealing with specific topics - most recently thePeninsular Warand theBattle of Waterloo,and theGreat War.

Templer Medal

Since 1982, the society has awarded theTempler Medalto the author of the most impressive or significant book relating to the British, Commonwealth or Dominion armies published in the preceding year. This prize was founded to commemorate the life and achievements of Field Marshal SirGerald Templer,best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954. He was president of the society from 1965 to 1979. The prize is awarded at the society annual general meeting in the year following the year of publication. The Templer Medal has been awarded for the following books:

• 1981Fit for Service: The Training of the British Army 1715–1795,by J.A. Houlding.
• 1982A History of the British Cavalry, Volume 3: 1872–1898,by theMarquess of Anglesey.
• 1983For the Sake of Example: Capital Courts-Martial 1914–1920,byAnthony Babington.
• 1984The British Army and Theory of Armored Warfare 1918–1940,byRobert H. Larson.
• 1985From Waterloo to Balaclava: Tactics, Technology and the British Army 1815–1854,byHew Strachan.
• 1986Monty: The Field Marshal 1944-1976,byNigel Hamilton.
• 1987The British Army of William III,byJohn Childs.
• 1988Kitchener's Army: The Raising of New Armies 1914–16,by Peter Simkins.
• 1989 No award made.
• 1990British Counterinsurgency 1919–60,by Thomas R. Mockaitis.
• 1991The Crimean Doctors. A History of the British Medical Service in the Crimean War,by John Shepherd.
• 1992Politics and Military Morale: Current-Affairs and Citizenship Education in the British Army 1914–1950,byS.P. Mackenzie.
• 1993To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950–1966,by Ian McNeill.
• 1994 No award made.
• 1995British Victory in Egypt 1801: The End of Napoleon's Conquest,byPiers Mackesy.
• 1996The English Ordnance Office, 1585–1625: A Case Study in Bureaucracy,by Richard W. Stewart.
• 1997Small Arms of the East India Company, 1600–1856, Vols 1 and 2,by David Harding.
• 1998British Logistics on the Western Front, 1914–1919,by Ian Malcolm Brown.
• 1999British Military Intelligence in the Crimean War, 1854–1856,by Stephen M. Harris.
• 2000Raising Churchill's Army: The British Army and War against Germany 1919-45,by David French.
• 2001 No award made.
• 2002The British General Staff: Reform and Innovation,edited by David French &Brian Holden Reid.
• 2003Phoenix from the Ashes: The Indian Army in the Burma Campaign,byDaniel P. Marston.
• 2004Medicine and Victory: British Military Medicine in the Second World War,by Mark Harrison.
• 2005Military Identities: The Regimental System, the British Army, and the British People, c.1870–2000,by David French.
• 2006Field MarshalSir Henry Wilson:A Political Soldier,byKeith Jeffery.
• 2007 No award made.
• 2008Douglas Haig and the First World War,by J. P. Harris.
• 2009Bloody Victory: The Sacrifice of the Somme and the Making of the Twentieth Century,by William Philpott.
• 2010The Medical War: British Military Medicine in the First World War,by Mark Harrison.
• 2011Soldiers,byRichard Holmes(posthumously).
• 2012A Military History of Scotland,by Edward Spiers, Jeremy Crang & Matthew Strickland.
• 2013Monty’s MenbyJohn Buckley.
• 2014National Service: A Generation in Uniform, 1945–1963byRichard Vinen.
• 2015Wellington: Waterloo and the Fortunes of Peace 1815–1852by Rory Muir.
• 2016Early Modern Systems of Command: Queen Anne's Generals, Staff Officers and the Direction of Allied Warfare in the Low Countries and Germany, 1702–1711,by Stewart Stansfield.
• 2017Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815,by John Hussey.
• 2018Our Boys: The Story of a Paratrooper,by Helen Parr.
• 2019Fighting the People's War: The British & Commonwealth Armies and the Second World War,by Jonathan Fennell.
• 2020Britain’s War: A New World 1942-1947,by Daniel Todman.
• 2021The 1945 Burma Campaign and the Transformation of the British Indian Army,by Raymond Callahan and Daniel Marston.
• 2022The Wandering Army: The Campaigns that Transformed the British Way of War,by Huw Davies.
• 2023England and the Thirty Years War,by Adam Marks.

Beginning with the 2014 prize, an award has also made for the best first book submitted in each year's competition. From the 2023 award, this has been branded as the Chapple Prize in honour of past-President Field Marshal SirJohn Chapple.For this prize, edited volumes and co-authored books and monographs are discounted by the judges, who will consider only sole authored and substantial works. This prize has been awarded as follows:

• 2014Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of British Armed Forces during the Seven Years Warby Erica Charters.
• 2015High Command: British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghanistan Warsby Major-General Christopher Elliott.
• 2016Till the Trumpet Sounds Again: The Scots Guards 1914–19 in Their Own Words,by Randall Nicol.
• 2017The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning, 1880–1914,by David G. Morgan-Owen.
• 2018Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army 1914–18,by Aimée Fox.
• 2019The Veterans' Tale: British Military Memoirs of the Second World War,by Frances Houghton.
• 2020Major-General Oliver Nugent: The Irishman who led the Ulster Division in the Great War,by Nicholas Perry.
• 2021The Changing of the Guard: The British Army since 9/11,by Simon Akam.
• 2022Ham & Jam: 6th Airborne Division in Normandy - Generating Combat Effectiveness,by Andrew Wheale.
• 2023Birdie: More than the Soul of ANZAC: Field Marshal Lord Birdwood of ANZAC and Totnes 1865-1951,by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Farrimond.

Other activities

The society also awardsresearch grantsto graduate students and maintainsessay prizesfor sixth-form pupils, undergraduates, and junior Army officers. Other activities include the organisation of lectures, discussion events, and tours.

Past presidents

• 1921–1932Harold Dillon, 17th Viscount Dillon
• 1932–1947 ColonelThomas Fremantle, 3rd Baron Cottesloe
• 1947–1950 Field MarshalArchibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
• 1950–1961George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge
• 1961–1965 Field MarshalSir Claude Auchinleck
• 1965–1979 Field MarshalSir Gerald Templer
• 1980–1993 GeneralSir David Fraser
• 1993–2012 Field Marshal SirJohn Chapple
• 2012–2024 Lieutenant-General SirBarney White-Spunner

References

• Society for Army Historical Research
• The society entry at theRegister of Charities,including some of the recent annual reports.