Our Best Lieutenant by Stewart Scott

We know that many of our supporters are interested in military history as well as aviation heritage. Students of the First World War will be interested in a book by Lincolnshire author Stewart Scott, describing the service of Lincolnshire lad Charles Ellwood in France in 1915 as 'Our best Lieutenant', one of many tributes from the men in Charles Hugh Ellwood's Platoon of 'C' Company, 1/4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, as they wrote home in the days following the death of their Platoon Commander.

Son of a farmer from Mareham-le-Fen, near Horncastle, Charles Ellwood was a member of the 1st Volunteer Battalion prior to it becoming part of the Territorial Force in 1908. For this local man, service was his ethos. In 1914, when the call came, he became one of the select few of the Territorials who immediately volunteered for Imperial Service, which meant that he could now be sent overseas. Along with his brother Arthur, in March 1915, the men found themselves bound for the Kemmel Sector on the Flanders Front. For the Territorials, lessons were hard learnt, and Charles would never again see his beloved Mareham. A sniper's bullet, three months after landing in France on March 1, 1915, cut down this fine young man in his prime. He was 27 years old. Only minutes before the fateful shot, Charles had been chatting to his brother Arthur in the trench that he was helping to hold.

Comprising many reproductions of original documents and photographs, including letters (many of a very poignant nature), telegrams and other official documents, this book records the life and times of a Lincolnshire Territorial who paid the supreme sacrifice on the Western Front. This 108-page softcover book, with a short print run of only fifty copies, privately published, may be obtained exclusively from the author. Price, including postage, is a not-for-profit £15. Contact Stewart at: stewartscott474@btinternet.com.