The San Fairy Ann book is very well researched and a well written account of how motorcycles were used in World War 1.
The San Fairy Ann book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in World War 1 or who likes motorcycles or both. For this San Fairy Ann book review we have obviously read the whole book from cover to cover (unlike some internet reviews..) and have then delved back into it and have talked with two others that have also read it. I have read a couple of other autobiographical accounts of despatch riders in World War 1 and I own and ride a 1914 Triumph motorcycle so I have a reasonable understanding of the topic. The San Fairy Ann book is written by Michael Carragher who earned himself an MA in First World War Studies, so he knows what he is talking about. It is surprising that with so many thousands of books written about World War 1, that this is the first to cover motorcycles during the war.
The San Fairy Ann book covers 285 pages of mostly text, but with a few period photographs to let us see what the bikes and conditions were like almost a century ago.
We are all familiar with how many new innovations helped the Allies win World War 1 and if prompted you might mention the Tank, aeroplanes, gas warfare, machine guns etc. but few if any would add the motorcycle to the list of what helped the Allies to victory. The San Fairy Ann book makes a very strong case for the motorcycle despatch rider also being a key part of the Allies victory.
The San Fairy Ann book reminds us that one of the keys to military victory is to know what your enemy is doing and then being able to quickly move your forces to the optimum position to deal with the situation. In 1914 mobile communications were almost nonexistent and those that did exist were primitive and in very short supply. In 1914 the main forms of rapid communication were posted letters, telegrams and the telephone and in the opening months of World War 1 speed was essential and with no real working radio communications and very limited telephone communication - almost all communications had to be hand delivered.
The San Fairy Ann book points out that most people now think of World War 1 as a war that existed in trenches and for much of it that was the case. However, at the start of World War 1 it was a war of movement with the Germans ignoring the neutrality of Belgium and Luxembourg and invading them anyway and then heading into France. The German plan was to invade everyone at the same time and ignore any neutrality and just invade anyway - who could have foreseen the Germans behaving like that - very out of character. The French had decided to retreat from their own borders and pull back 6 miles to avoid provoking the Germans, which seems very French. The British being very British kept up very polite discussions with the Germans trying to avoid a war, but after most of their European allies had been invaded and they had politely asked the Germans to stop and they had not stopped the British had few options left. The final straw was when the Germans gave the British an "unsatisfactory reply" to an ultimatum to leave Belgium alone and on August 4th 1914 Britain declared war on Germany and World War 1 started in earnest.
In 1914 communications were sent on foot, by pigeon, by bicycle, by telephone line (if one existed) and by motorcycle despatch rider. All of these methods were important, but the motorcycle despatch rider seems to have been critical for communications in the mobile stages of World War 1. In August 1914 the British military asked Triumph to supply all the bikes they could for immediate military use. The senior officers often had no clear idea where their forces were and what enemy forces they were encountering, this was further hampered by the fact that most senior commanders had their headquarters many miles away from the conflict and it could be many hours or even days before they knew what was going on and hence be able to react. At the start of World War 1 many motorcycle riders took up the call for volunteers to work as despatch riders and many at the start of the war even took their own motorcycles to war as the military had a very limited supply. Imagine this situation today with troops taking their own vehicles out to Iraq! In 1914 you would need to be quite wealthy to own a motorcycle and so the first despatch riders were often well to do young men, keen to serve their country and do so by riding a motorcycle.
San Fairy Ann explains how the despatch rider was key to keeping the military command informed about troop movements and how this enabled us to react more quickly and gain an advantage over the enemy. The despatch riders rode what we now see as very primitive motorcycles that today would be ridden very gently and certainly never off road. In World War 1 they would speed along at 30-40 mph over potholed dirt roads, crowded with other traffic with shells exploding all around them - heroic stuff. With few maps and signposts it made getting from A to B quite a challenge and throw in being fired upon by enemy machine guns or chased by their cavalry and the despatch rider would certainly have an exciting time. Finally, you may be wondering why this book is called San Fairy Ann, well it comes from a darker side of British sense of humour and you will have to read the book to find out!
In summary San Fairy Ann is an excellent book that is now THE book on World War 1 motorcycling. It has clearly been expertly researched and is full of facts and details and period accounts of what it was like to ride a motorcycle during World War 1. It is a fascinating read and if you are interested in either World War 1 or early motorcycles, then you should read it.
You can buy it from Amazon on the link below -
You can read my ramblings about my 1914 Triumph on my 1914 Triumph pages.