ANNALS OF AN ACTIVE LIFE Volume 1

Blue boards with gilt title to spine. 336pp, frontis, 16 Black and White photographs. Binding showing stitching in some sections but sound. Wear to edges of boards and spine. Light foxing to preliminary pages. A fair to good copy

Annals of an Active Life, Volume 1 is General Sir Nevil Macready’s memoir of his early life and army career up to the First World War, blending personal recollection with insights into late‐Victorian and Edwardian military life, regimental service, and staff work.

A key part of the volume covers his years in South Africa, beginning in late 1899 when he arrived as a major of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders just before the Second Boer War. He served in Natal, notably in the besieged garrison at Ladysmith from October 1899 to February 1900, describing the strain of the siege and the eventual relief. After this he took part in later mobile operations against Boer commandos, earning two mentions in dispatches and marking his shift from regimental duties to broader operational and staff concerns.

Macready also held several South African staff and administrative posts, including assistant provost‐marshal at Port Elizabeth and staff roles in the Johannesburg and Cape Colony districts, culminating in his position as assistant adjutant‐general and chief staff officer of Cape Colony (1903–1905) and later assistant quartermaster‐general there (1905–1906). These years gave him a close view of the logistical and political challenges of wartime occupation and demobilization, and his account in Volume 1 offers a practical, often critical perspective on British rule and military administration in South Africa.