Books by Ray Westlake

The British Army''s Home Service Helmet was introduced in 1878. It was of a German influence and would replace a long line of shakos going back to the days of the Peninsular War and Waterloo. With the new headdress came the helmet plate, those highly desirable items of militaria much sought after today by collectors. Concentrating mainly on the Regular Army, this ''Guide'' will describe and illustrate many of those plates. It will, by using contemporary photographs and artwork by leading military artists, also show them being worn. Besides the Regulars, the many hundreds of Victorian and Edwardian Militia, Volunteer and later Territorial Force regiments, would also take into use the home service helmet. But here, as ever, we now tread on a vast and, in most cases, un-charted area of militaria collecting. By including this important aspect of British military history in this book, I will certainly not be in any position to claim completeness. But include it I must, albeit that just the tip of the proverbial iceberg will most likely be reached. Fortunately, and returning to the subject of the Regular Army now, details of the helmet plates worn by officers appear in the several editions of ''Dress Regulations''. I have consulted those for 1883, 1891, 1894, 1900, 1904 and 1911 and from these essential reference works have quoted verbatim. For the helmet plates worn by other ranks, I have turned to old friends, Arthur L Kipling and Hugh King and Volume One of their comprehensive reference work, Head-dress Badges of the British Army, referred to in the ''Guide'' as ''Kipling and King''.

The purpose of this book is to set out in an easily readable and well-illustrated form the structure of each Line Infantry Regiment from 1881 up until the beginning of the First World War, a setup which can often be seen referred to as the 'Regimental Family'. The book follows on from A Guide to the British Army's Numbered Infantry Regiments of 1751-1881, published by The Naval & Military Press in 2018. The new 'Territorial' or 'Country Regiments' have all been dealt with, along with their associated Militia, Volunteer and Territorial Force Battalions and affiliated Cadet units. The book is illustrated with 627 colour plates and contemporary photographs and will be a worthy addition to the 'Guide' series of British Army reference works.

In A Guide to the Volunteer Training Corps, Ray Westlake has provided for the first time records of many of these fascinating early home defence volunteer units; his main source of information being contemporary records. A short history of the Volunteer Training Corps has also been provided, together with a comprehensive listing of all Volunteer Regiments, Volunteer Battalions, Artillery, Engineer, Army Service Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps and Motor formations. This will be an essential reference book for all those researching the men who, being too old or too young to fight, voluntarily set aside their private time during the First World War for their King and Country.A regular question put to Ray Westlake during his fifty or more years writing and researching Britain's auxiliary forces has been, 'Where can I find a list giving details of the several Volunteer Training Corps units raised during the early months of the Great War?' True, the post-1915 years that saw the smaller companies merged into battalions, and later regiments, has been adequately covered in the several Volunteer Lists available. But what about the 'Citizens' corps, or the 'Fencibles', the 'Defence' organisations, the 'Village Guards'; those raised by shooting, cricket, golf or football clubs, or by railway companies, factories or athletes, businessmen or old school fellows? The answer, until now, has regrettably been there is none.

In A Guide to the Civic Heraldry of England, Ray Westlake has gathered together a comprehensive collection of seals and coats of arms in use by England's counties, cities and towns. Much local history is expressed in the devices used by these places this fact, together with the opportunity to enjoy beautiful artwork, being the main intention of the book. Heraldry has its own wonderful language, but for the purpose of this work plain descriptions have been used. From the Berkshire town of Abingdon to the County of Yorkshire, almost 500 places are mention, their seals and arms described and supported by more than 570 illustrations. A Guide to the Civic Heraldry of England will be a useful reference tool for those interested in heraldry, local and military history. I add the latter as many of the devices used found their way onto the badges worn by the British Army.We see them all about in stone, metal and wood. There above town hall entrances, on library walls, law courts and on gates to refuge departments. Crematoriums have them, so do park keepers' huts, the sides of buses, dustcarts and offices of weights and measures. Caretakers in council flats have them on their hats. They come in paper, too. Rate demands have them; so do letters from the mayor's parlour which, before 'cut backs' possibly, were embossed on fine paper. From these lions, stags, fierce bulls, wolves with chains around their necks, dogs with collars, beasts, real and mythical, look down on us. To the dexter and sinister, steadfast they perch on heraldic wreaths alongside mottos inscribed on ornate scrolls. In sable, vert, gules and azure: wheat sheaves, scallop shells, fleurs-de-lis, bishops' mitres, open books showing learning, wheels and cogs for industry adorn the shields (whole, divided or quartered) which they guard. Civic coats of arms, some ancient and 'official', some the whim, perhaps, of a past mayor. Their records of adoption long lost and, if ever written down, now hidden among the dusty minute books and archives of local authorities.

∩╗┐In A Guide to the Volunteers of England 1859–1908, the second of his ‘Guides’ series, Ray Westlake deals with the Volunteer Force of 1859 to 1908, the predecessors of the future Territorial Army. Well known for his valuable research into this important aspect of British Army history, the author presents details of the several branches of the Victorian system that saw men from all walks of life give up their spare time to prepare for any invasion, should it take place. In this single volume Ray Westlake has gathered together formation dates, names of officers and the location of each corps, together with details of any amalgamations, higher organisation or disbandments concerning the Light Horse Volunteers, Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Artillery Volunteers, Engineer Volunteers and Rifle Volunteers raised and recognised throughout England. Notes on any affiliated cadet corps have been included, along with mention of what Territorial Force unit was formed from each corps in 1908. An essential reference work to both military and family historians, A Guide to the Volunteers of England 1859–1908 includes some 135 illustrations of uniform and badges.

The book provides the formation date of each regiment, names of colonels prior to 1751, changes of title, battle honours awarded before 1881 and brief descriptions of uniform and badges worn. Helpful to the collector will be the badge authorisation dates included. With a view to further research, details of important published regimental histories have been noted. The numbering of infantry regiments reached 135 but, come the reforms of 1881, only 109 were still in existence. Much has already been written about these, but recorded here, in many cases for the first time, are details of the 110th to 135th Regiments of Foot and all others that were raised and disbanded, albeit that service was short for many. For easy reference, the text has been set numerically by regiment. Illustrations, most of them in colour, number 146 and include uniform, head-dress, badges and portraits.

English and Welsh Infantry Regiments

This details the organization and equipment of volunteer units who fought alongside their regular comrades in almost every major British engagement of the war and without whom victory could have proved impossible. This volume is part of the "Men-at-Arms" series.