C. N. Barclay
Cyril Nelson Barclay CBE DSO | |
---|---|
Born | 20 January 1896 Dartford, Kent, England |
Died | 30 January 1979 (aged 83) London, England |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1915−1946 |
Rank | Brigadier |
Service number | 11785 |
Unit | Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) |
Commands held | 2nd Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 156th Infantry Brigade |
Battles/wars | World War I Third Anglo-Afghan War World War II |
Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Alma mater | Thanet College, Kent |
Signature |
Brigadier Cyril Nelson Barclay
He wrote a number of regimental and unit histories and other non-fiction books on military subjects such as The New Warfare (1953) which dealt with the emerging Cold War, which he predicted would continue for many years, and addressed topics such as proxy warfare between the eastern and western power blocs.
Reviewers approved of his careful judgements and even-handed approach such as in his account of British military leadership in the early years of the Second World War, On their Shoulders (1964), which used an insider's view to explain some of the possible causes of early British failures. His last books, Battle 1066 (1966) about the Battle of Hastings, and Armistice 1918 (1968) about the end of the First World War, were workmanlike military history books published on the anniversaries of those events.
Early life and family
Cyril Barclay was born in Dartford, Kent, on 20 January 1896,
Military career
Barclay was commissioned in the
During the
Writing
After he retired from the army, Barclay was editor of
In 1953 he published The New Warfare in association with the AQ in which he discussed the nature of the stand-off between the West and the Soviet Union after the end of the Second World War, now commonly known as the
Stephen Longrigg in International Affairs appreciated the workmanlike way that Barclay told the story in Against Great Odds: The story of the first offensive in Libya in 1940-41 (1955), with "little room for, or inclination to, jeux d'espirit or literary fireworks".[12]
In 1964, The Economist praised Barclay's study of British military leadership in the early part of the Second World War, On their Shoulders. British generalship in the lean years, 1939-1942, for its even-handed and un-dogmatic approach. The magazine felt that Barclay's careful judgements, which contrasted with some less objective works, avoided the lionisation of the successful and the damning of those who failed, and in his comments on British Army training deficiencies, helped to explain some of the early military failures during the war.[13]
His Battle 1066 was published in 1966 to mark the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings and gave an account of the events that led to the battle and an account of its course in his view.[14] The cover was designed by Eric Fraser.[15]
His last book was Armistice 1918, published by Dent in 1968 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the armistice at the end of the First World War. Like Battle 1066 it gives an account of the events leading up to the event, and a detailed account of the armistice itself with the first printing in one place of the Fourteen Points, the Armistice Agreement, and the Peace Treaty.[16] The dust jacket features an image of the fighting while the front boards reproduce a line drawing of The Cenotaph in London's Whitehall with draped flags.[17]
Death
Cyril Barclay died in London,[18] England, on 30 January 1979.[2]
Selected publications
Regimental and unit histories
- The History of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers in the Second World War. William Clowes & Sons, London, 1952.
- The London Scottish in the Second World War 1939 to 1945 &c. William Clowes & Sons, London, 1952.
- The History of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment 1919-1952 &c. William Clowes & Sons for the Regimental Council, the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 1953.
- The Regimental History of the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles. Volume II, 1927 to 1947. Compiled under the direction of the Regimental History Committee, 3rd Q.A.O. Gurkha Rifles. William Clowes & Sons, London, 1953. (Editor)
- The First Commonwealth Division. The story of British Commonwealth land forces in Korea, 1950-1953. Gale & Polden, Aldershot, 1954.
- The History of the 53rd, Welsh, Division in the Second World War. William Clowes & Sons, London, 1956.
- The History of the Sherwood Foresters, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment, 1919-1957. William Clowes & Sons, London, 1959.
- History of the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers, 1925 to 1961. Gale & Polden, London, 1963.
Other
- Part-Time Farmer. An introduction to agriculture as a part-time occupation, &c. Sifton Praed, London, 1948.
- The New Warfare. William Clowes & Sons, London, 1953. (Reprinted Greenwood Press, 1983)
- Against Great Odds: The story of the first offensive in Libya in 1940-41 - the first British victory in the Second World War. Sifton Praed, London, 1955.
- On their Shoulders. British generalship in the lean years, 1939-1942. Faber and Faber, London, 1964.
- Battle 1066. Dent, London, 1966.
- Armistice 1918. Dent, London, 1968.
References
- ^ Cyril Nelson Barclay Birth • England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008. Family Search. Retrieved 30 November 2021. (subscription required)
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1, retrieved 28 November 2021
- ^ Cyril Nelson Barclay Vital • India Marriages, 1792-1948. Family Search. Retrieved 30 November 2021. (subscription required)
- ^ "No. 29432". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 1916. p. 427.
- ^ "No. 33602". The London Gazette. 2 May 1930. p. 2722.
- ^ International Authors and Writers Who's Who 1976. Cambridge: Melrose Press. p. 32. ISBN 0900332344
- ^ Cyril Nelson Barclay Migration • New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957. Family Search. Retrieved 30 November 2021. (subscription required)
- ^ "No. 34931". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 August 1940. p. 5201.
- ^ "Service Awards", The Times, 30 August 1945, p. 8.
- ^ a b Cyril Nelson Barclay. britannica.com Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ "The New Warfare-Barclay, Brigadier C. N. etc.", Army Aviation Digest, Vol. 2, July 1956, p. 24.
- ^ "Reviewed Work: Against Great Odds", S. H. Longrigg, International Affairs, Vol. 32, No. 3 (July 1956), p. 354.
- ^ "Uncertain Reputations", The Economist, Vol. 212, No. 6311 (8 August 1964), p. 562.
- ^ "Hastings and Battle" by Philippe Barbour in Trudy Ring (Ed.) (1995) Northern Europe: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 334-339 (p. 339). ISBN 9781136639449
- ^ Backemeyer, Sylvia. (1998) Eric Fraser: Designer & illustrator. London: Lund Humphries. p. 145. ISBN 9780853317531
- ^ "Barclay, C. N. (1968) Armistice 1918. London: Dent. Dust jacket notes.
- ^ Armistice 1918 by Brigadier C. N. Barclay. Morgan's Rare Books. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Cyril Nelson Barclay Death • England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007. Family Search. Retrieved 30 November 2021. (subscription required)