---
product_id: 62282452
title: "The Unreturning Army"
price: "184 zł"
currency: PLN
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 6
url: https://www.desertcart.pl/products/62282452-the-unreturning-army
store_origin: PL
region: Poland
---

# The Unreturning Army

**Price:** 184 zł
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- **What is this?** The Unreturning Army
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## Description

Buy The Unreturning Army by Gordon, Huntly (ISBN: 9780857501950) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

Review: One of the very best personal WW1 memoirs - Ranks alongside Guy Chapmans' "A Passionate Prodigality" as one of the finest personal memoirs of the conflict. Huntly Gordon is in his final years in Clifton College when the war breaks out, and the initial chapters describe rather eerily the growing realisation that this is an immense and society shattering conflict without precident. The list of Clifton Old Boys killed and maimed grows steadily through 1914 and 1915 and the reader gets a good understanding of the domestic impact of loss, in this instance on a public school, but it must of been similar in all realms of society. Huntly Gordon firmly believing that this German outrage needs to be repulsed becomes an artilleryman, and quite matter of factly accepts that his new profession (and he sees it very much as his job) is to kill as many Germans as possible. The book is brilliant on detail, and provides a fascinating close up view of the appalling 3rd Ypres battles of 1917 where in fact he encounters action for the first time, and describes the practical realities of trying to stop horses, mules and men from drowning in mud. It also gives a matter of fact, but unnerving description of the experience of being under heavy shellfire. In late 1917 and early 1918 Huntly is withdrawn to quieter sectors (although he is in reserve at Cambrai), and then catches the full force of the German onslaught in the spring/summer of 1918, where his account of the chaos of the Allied retreat really enhanced my understanding of this phase of the conflict. He is badly wounded during a "backs to the wall" stand at Meteren and his life his saved by the prompt, brave and competent action of a fellow officer and loyal men. When they get him on to a stretcher and have to cross open space under heavy machine gun fire seeing a brave and badly wounded man, the German gunner ceases fire. The book is full of poignant personal moments like this. The description of his medical treatment and recovery is fascinating, and it makes one realise just how medieval the treatment of badly wounded men was in a pre-antibiotic and pre-painkiller age. This compelling account is interspersed with great humour, and lovely and moving personal vignettes, such as the account of him having to discipline a bus driver for being late for work in his post war employment as an inspector for London Transport. The driver asks him if he happened to have been a British Officer badly wounded during the Meteren actions in the spring of 1918. The driver turns out to be one of the men that dragged him to safety under heavy fire. The matter of fact, but somewhat incongruous nature of this piece of happenstance reduced me to tears. There was no glory in this conflict, just endurance, professionalism, and a commitment to professionalism and doing your own job well. Huntly Gordon was not yet 20 years old. A brilliant, informative and moving account which ranks with the greats. Essential reading for those interested in social and behavioural aspects of the First World War, but also strong on technical and military detail.
Review: A candid, closely observed memoir of one young man's journey from schooldays to Passchendaele - This is the story of a young man's journey through public school and following the outbreak of WWI, his training as a Regular Officer in the Royal Artillery and subsequent service through the battle of Passchendaele and the final German Spring Offensive in 1918, where he was severely wounded. First published in 1967, it has been revised and extended by Huntley Gordon's son David with a new introduction for this edition and a postscript providing details of his father's life after the war ended. The memoir is derived from Huntley Gordon's letters home combined with an extensive memoir written immediately after the war ended when memory was fresh. The writing is superb, with an eye for detail, self deprecation as a young junior officer finding his feet and not a little wry humour. The memoir is particularly interesting from two aspects. First is that unlike most of the famous WWI memoirs told from an infantry perspective, this is about a field artillery officer's experience, where the popular belief was that the artillery were sited well back from the front line. In the field artillery's case they were well forward in support of troops but without the benefit of trenches for protection. Gordon's descriptions of enemy shelling are particularly forceful. The second departure is that the events happened after the 1916 Somme offensive and deal with the final stages of the war, particularly Passchendaele and the huge German offensive of spring 1918. Both Gordon and his son David have avoided any descriptions of the strategic sweep of these actions, but have grounded the narrative in the day and night experiences of Gordon and his Battery, in their immediate war of fields, ditches, destroyed villages and OPs. The writing is immediate and grips the reader. Once I started to read it I finished it in two sittings, such was the immersive quality of the writing. The battle areas described are accompanied by excellent uncomplicated maps that allow you to follow Gordon's progress. The text is also supplemented with very carefully chosen photographs, where a short textual quote accompanies each one bringing the narrative further to life. One in particular stands out of a gun crew coming into action near Meteren where Gordon was seriously wounded. The youth of the subaltern in the picture is striking - a further reminder that Huntley Gordon was only 19 when he was commissioned and went to war. Finally each chapter is headed with a very fine ink line drawing of WWI scenes to complement the chapter subject. This is a first rate account of a young man at war and deserves to be read by anyone interested in peronal experiences of WWi. Highly recommended.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 442,290 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 132 in World War I Biographies (Books) 1,511 in World War II Biographies (Books) 5,162 in Historical Biographies (Books) |
| Customer reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (298) |
| Dimensions  | 12.7 x 1.6 x 19.8 cm |
| ISBN-10  | 085750195X |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0857501950 |
| Item weight  | 189 g |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 256 pages |
| Publication date  | 4 Jun. 2015 |
| Publisher  | Bantam |

## Images

![The Unreturning Army - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91D2VWavEgL.jpg)
![The Unreturning Army - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/917mbJ9d6-L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the very best personal WW1 memoirs
*by S***S on 4 February 2014*

Ranks alongside Guy Chapmans' "A Passionate Prodigality" as one of the finest personal memoirs of the conflict. Huntly Gordon is in his final years in Clifton College when the war breaks out, and the initial chapters describe rather eerily the growing realisation that this is an immense and society shattering conflict without precident. The list of Clifton Old Boys killed and maimed grows steadily through 1914 and 1915 and the reader gets a good understanding of the domestic impact of loss, in this instance on a public school, but it must of been similar in all realms of society. Huntly Gordon firmly believing that this German outrage needs to be repulsed becomes an artilleryman, and quite matter of factly accepts that his new profession (and he sees it very much as his job) is to kill as many Germans as possible. The book is brilliant on detail, and provides a fascinating close up view of the appalling 3rd Ypres battles of 1917 where in fact he encounters action for the first time, and describes the practical realities of trying to stop horses, mules and men from drowning in mud. It also gives a matter of fact, but unnerving description of the experience of being under heavy shellfire. In late 1917 and early 1918 Huntly is withdrawn to quieter sectors (although he is in reserve at Cambrai), and then catches the full force of the German onslaught in the spring/summer of 1918, where his account of the chaos of the Allied retreat really enhanced my understanding of this phase of the conflict. He is badly wounded during a "backs to the wall" stand at Meteren and his life his saved by the prompt, brave and competent action of a fellow officer and loyal men. When they get him on to a stretcher and have to cross open space under heavy machine gun fire seeing a brave and badly wounded man, the German gunner ceases fire. The book is full of poignant personal moments like this. The description of his medical treatment and recovery is fascinating, and it makes one realise just how medieval the treatment of badly wounded men was in a pre-antibiotic and pre-painkiller age. This compelling account is interspersed with great humour, and lovely and moving personal vignettes, such as the account of him having to discipline a bus driver for being late for work in his post war employment as an inspector for London Transport. The driver asks him if he happened to have been a British Officer badly wounded during the Meteren actions in the spring of 1918. The driver turns out to be one of the men that dragged him to safety under heavy fire. The matter of fact, but somewhat incongruous nature of this piece of happenstance reduced me to tears. There was no glory in this conflict, just endurance, professionalism, and a commitment to professionalism and doing your own job well. Huntly Gordon was not yet 20 years old. A brilliant, informative and moving account which ranks with the greats. Essential reading for those interested in social and behavioural aspects of the First World War, but also strong on technical and military detail.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A candid, closely observed memoir of one young man's journey from schooldays to Passchendaele
*by D***D on 7 January 2019*

This is the story of a young man's journey through public school and following the outbreak of WWI, his training as a Regular Officer in the Royal Artillery and subsequent service through the battle of Passchendaele and the final German Spring Offensive in 1918, where he was severely wounded. First published in 1967, it has been revised and extended by Huntley Gordon's son David with a new introduction for this edition and a postscript providing details of his father's life after the war ended. The memoir is derived from Huntley Gordon's letters home combined with an extensive memoir written immediately after the war ended when memory was fresh. The writing is superb, with an eye for detail, self deprecation as a young junior officer finding his feet and not a little wry humour. The memoir is particularly interesting from two aspects. First is that unlike most of the famous WWI memoirs told from an infantry perspective, this is about a field artillery officer's experience, where the popular belief was that the artillery were sited well back from the front line. In the field artillery's case they were well forward in support of troops but without the benefit of trenches for protection. Gordon's descriptions of enemy shelling are particularly forceful. The second departure is that the events happened after the 1916 Somme offensive and deal with the final stages of the war, particularly Passchendaele and the huge German offensive of spring 1918. Both Gordon and his son David have avoided any descriptions of the strategic sweep of these actions, but have grounded the narrative in the day and night experiences of Gordon and his Battery, in their immediate war of fields, ditches, destroyed villages and OPs. The writing is immediate and grips the reader. Once I started to read it I finished it in two sittings, such was the immersive quality of the writing. The battle areas described are accompanied by excellent uncomplicated maps that allow you to follow Gordon's progress. The text is also supplemented with very carefully chosen photographs, where a short textual quote accompanies each one bringing the narrative further to life. One in particular stands out of a gun crew coming into action near Meteren where Gordon was seriously wounded. The youth of the subaltern in the picture is striking - a further reminder that Huntley Gordon was only 19 when he was commissioned and went to war. Finally each chapter is headed with a very fine ink line drawing of WWI scenes to complement the chapter subject. This is a first rate account of a young man at war and deserves to be read by anyone interested in peronal experiences of WWi. Highly recommended.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good history
*by M***E on 25 April 2025*

Really good and can recommend!!

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*Last updated: 2026-03-19*