The history of the Cragg family, who lived in England until 1859 before emigrating to Sydney Australia. The story commences in the heart of England's Lake District in a Keswick poor house and moves to the towns of Workington and Cockermouth. The majority of the family, while in Cockermouth, enter the woollen mills in the midst of a socially tumultuous time where mass rallies call for significant political change and widespread enfranchisement. Hunger, disease, imprisonment and the hint of rebellion.

A cultural, military and imperial history of the Black soldiers of Britain's West India Regiments.

On the cover of the 1970 record THE VANISHING REGIMENTS, Colonel CH Jaeger OBE made an interesting observation: ‘Be it true or not that old soldiers never die but only fade away, it is absolutely certain that the music connected with soldiering never does in fact. Many famous Regiments in the last few years have passed off the scene, others have been amalgamated. Much of the music of former Regiments is still in use, though the names of the Regiments concerned have vanished, perhaps forever’. Regimental colours are the symbolic spirit of the regiment; their marches are the musical spirit. Their histories are sometimes older than the regiments themselves and very much guarded and cherished by them. When you hear a regimental band play a march, why that march? This book is an attempt to cover the fascinating histories of military marches, how and why regiments adopted them, even those that have faded into history. It will appeal to those interested in Regimental Marches of Canadian and United Kingdom Armed Forces. Over 500 marches are covered with many band photos from across the centuries. Also included are narratives of the composers, Victoria Cross musicians and even words to many marches. So, get out the records, crank up the volume and listen to the bands play their MUSICAL COLOURS while reading all bout them.

“The hitherto forgotten story of the development of the regimental band, mainly drummers and buglers. A rare piece of social history” (Books Monthly). The Instruments of Battle examines in detail the development and role of the British Army’s fighting drummers and buglers, from the time of the foundation of the army up to the present day. While their principal weapon of war was the drum and bugle—and the fife—these men and boys were not musicians as such, but fighting soldiers who took their place in the front line. The origins of the drum and bugle in the classical period and the later influence of Islamic armies are examined, leading to the arrival of the drum and fife in early Tudor England. The story proper picks up post-English Civil War. The drum’s period of supremacy through much of the eighteenth-century army is surveyed, and certain myths as to its use are dispelled. The bugle rapidly superseded the drum for field use in the nineteenth century—until developments on the battlefield consigned these instruments largely to barrack life and the parade ground. But there are surprising examples of the use of the bugle in the field through both world wars as the story is brought up to modern day and the instruments’ relegation to an almost exclusively ceremonial role. This is all set against a background of campaigns, battles, changing tactical methods, and the difficult processes of command and control on the battlefield. Interwoven is relevant comparison with other armies, particularly American and French. Stories of the drummers and buglers themselves provide social context to their place in the army.