The Second Blackstaff Book of Short Stories

Carragher, Michael

Blackstaff Pr

The Man Who Saved Paris offers a vivid account of the opening weeks of World War I as told by a volunteer dispatch rider who may have prevented a swift German victory.   Of Anglo-German stock, Roger West was conflicted when the war broke out but volunteered with the British out of a strong sense of duty. He was eventually assigned as a dispatch rider to the 19th Brigade, which bore the brunt of the fighting in the first few weeks in 1914. Though West was crippled with a badly damaged foot, he still rode around the clock, delivering dispatches and directing and assisting soldiers separated from their units. Most importantly, when he discovered that the bridge at Pontoise-lès-Noyon had been left open to the German advance, he volunteered to ride back and blow it up, preventing the retreating Fifth French Army from being taken in the flank, something that could have fulfilled the Schlieffen Plan’s aims and won the war for Germany. It’s a story that has been relegated to a footnote in the history of the war, but this book is certain to change our understanding of West’s hand in the resistance.  

The Man Who Saved Paris: Roger West’s Ride, 1914

History

Military

Uniform Press

The unsung heroes of many a military endeavor—particularly before the rise of mobile technology—messengers were often the deciding factor of who wins a battle and who loses. There are no finer examples of these crucial players than the Despatch Rider Corps of World War I. Essential to successful communication between soldiers during the war, these motorcycling rascals raced around the country delivering messages and occasionally wreaking mayhem on the enemy.   In San Fairy Ann?, Michael Carragher tells the story of these underappreciated riders who played a pivotal role in preventing German victory. He tracks the adventures of one despatch messenger in particular, Roger West, an amateur rider in the British Expeditionary Force. At one point in his career, West—one of his feet was so injured he couldn’t wear a boot—thought it “seemed a pity” that a bridge along the Great Retreat of August 1914 was open to the German armies, so he rode back to blow it up.  San Fairy Ann? gives life to the incredible forgotten stories of the motorcycle men who rode day and night to hold a desperate army together through a combination of grit, bravery, and a dash of roguery.

San Fairy Ann?: Motorcycles and British Victory 1914-1918

Firestep

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Books by Carragher, Michael