Biblio Library

Frederick Maurice Crum (1879–1952) fought in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) in the Mounted Infantry, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. After peacetime service in India he retired due to the effects of his injuries, and became involved in the Boy Scout movement, founding the 7th Troop of Boy Scouts at Stirling in Scotland in 1909. On the outbreak of war in 1914 he rejoined the Rifle Corps and served with its 8th Battalion in France until 1919, specialising in trench sniping.

Made up from his extensive diaries and letters to family and friends at the time, this book details the development of sniping in the British Army in the First World War. It was through the work of expert marksmen and trainers like Major Crum that the initial dominance of the Germans in this type of fighting was eventually overcome. These memoirs provide a unique insight into the life of a British Army officer before and during the First World War. Major Crum's involvement in the Boy Scout movement is also a fascinating account of that organisation's origins, showing what the true motives behind its foundation were.

With a new Foreword by sniping expert Adrian Gilbert, this is not only a first-rate memoir of sniping in the trenches, but also of a long, outstanding life of bravery