From the Frontline of History
Teddy Campion at War with the Seaforth Highlanders
1895 - 1916
A major new biography of Lieutenant Colonel Edward “Teddy” Campion of the Seaforth Highlanders that draws on his never before published, private diaries and letters. These bring a unique, personal and fresh perspective to some of the British Empire’s most well-known and forgotten wars.
Teddy is an engaging companion through the wars that brought the long 19th century to a close. His first-hand accounts give a rare personal perspective across a sweep of British history, from the confident zenith of Empire to the sowing of the seeds of its destruction in the mud and blood of Flanders Fields. The heart-breaking horror of poison gas and death in the trenches are brought to life here with visceral feeling.
A career officer in the Seaforth Highlanders, Teddy Campion starts his account as a cheeky 2nd Lieutenant, the babe of the Regiment, during the International Occupation of Crete in 1897, before campaigning in Sudan in 1898, including participating in the Battles of Atbara and Omdurman, the Boer War, and duty in India. Landing in France in August 1914, his visceral account of rebuffing the German advance and the descent into trench warfare ends with his commanding the Seaforths through the horror of the Second Battle of Ypres and one of the first uses of poison gas against British troops by German forces.
Colonel James Hopkinson OBE, former Commanding Officer of The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland in Iraq, states in his foreword:
“There are many books and accounts covering the period before and during the First World War but few span as full a career as Teddy’s or give such a personal insight to the many campaigns and theatres where he saw service.
“What is extraordinary, is that despite the numbers of casualties, battalions like 2nd Seaforth never wavered and never broke, due in large measure to the toughness of the Jocks and the steadfast leadership at both Non-Commissioned Officer and Commissioned Officer levels. Nowhere is this better epitomised than Teddy’s order to 2nd Seaforth:
“Remember, no Seaforth Highlander ever has left, or ever will leave, his post. Whatever damnable engine of war the enemy use, the Seaforths will stick it out and will have their reward in killing the enemy.”
“This in the face of a gas attack.
“I like to think that this steadfast battle discipline endures today as warranted by the bravery of so many British soldiers, men and women, during the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Worthy descendants of an earlier extraordinary generation.”
The book contains a large number of previously unseen photographs that bring the campaigns and personalities to life.
