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Walter Reid (born 6 August 1944) is a Scottish historian and author. He has written books on British military and political history, including the First World War, Winston Churchill, British imperial policy in India and the Middle East, and British prime ministers. He was educated at the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.[1]
Education and academic career
[edit]Reid was educated at Glasgow Academy and studied at Jesus College, Oxford, where he was an Open Exhibitioner in 1962.[2] He subsequently studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he was a subseqebtly a tutor in jurisprudence.
Reid is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, having been elected a Fellow in 1969, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.[3][4]
Historical writing
[edit]Reid's first book, To Arras, 1917: A Volunteer's Odyssey, was published in 2003. It concerned his uncle Ernest Reid, an officer of the Black Watch who died of wounds sustained in the Battle of Arras in 1917.[5] The book was subsequently republished as Arras, 1917: The Journey to Railway Triangle.[6]
In 2006 Reid published Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig, a biography of Field Marshal Douglas Haig.[7]
His Churchill, 1940–1945: Under Friendly Fire examined Winston Churchill's conduct and relationships with political and military colleagues during the Second World War.[8] The book was reviewed by historian Richard Toye in War in History in 2014.[9]
In 2011 Reid published Empire of Sand: How Britain Made the Middle East, a study of British involvement in the creation of the modern Middle East.[10]
His subsequent books included Keeping the Jewel in the Crown: The British Betrayal of India (2016), Five Days from Defeat: How Britain Nearly Lost the First World War (2017), and Neville Chamberlain: The Passionate Radical (2021).[11]
Five Days from Defeat examined the military and political events surrounding Britain's position in the First World War in 1918. It was reviewed in the Journal of Military History.[12]
Reid also co-authored Supreme Sacrifice: A Small Village and the Great War with Gordon Masterton and Paul Birch. The book examined the experience of the First World War through the lives of men from Bridge of Weir who died during the conflict.[13]
Churchill and India
[edit]Reid's later work increasingly examined British policy towards India and the British Empire. Fighting Retreat: Churchill and India, published by Hurst in 2024, examined Churchill's relationship with India and his opposition to Indian independence.[14]
The book received substantial newspaper and academic attention. Gerard DeGroot reviewed it in The Times, while Mihir Bose reviewed it in The Irish Times.[15][16]
Alan Lester reviewed the book in the academic journal Asian Affairs in 2024.[17]
The book received differing assessments. Andrew Roberts criticised Reid's interpretation in The Daily Telegraph, while other reviewers offered more favourable assessments.[18]
Ramsay MacDonald biography
[edit]In 2026 Reid published The Cancelled Prime Minister: The Extraordinary Rise and Tragic Fall of Ramsay MacDonald, a biography of Ramsay MacDonald, Britain's first Labour prime minister.[19]
The book received reviews in British newspapers, including the Financial Times.[20]
Selected bibliography
[edit]To Arras, 1917: A Volunteer's Odyssey (2003) Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig (2006) Churchill, 1940–1945: Under Friendly Fire (2008) Empire of Sand: How Britain Made the Middle East (2011) Keeping the Jewel in the Crown: The British Betrayal of India (2016) Supreme Sacrifice: A Small Village and the Great War (2016), with Gordon Masterton and Paul Birch Five Days from Defeat: How Britain Nearly Lost the First World War (2017) Neville Chamberlain: The Passionate Radical (2021) Fighting Retreat: Churchill and India (2024) The Cancelled Prime Minister: The Extraordinary Rise and Tragic Fall of Ramsay MacDonald (2026)
References
[edit]- ↑ "Walter Reid". Hurst Publishers. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "University and College notices". Oxford University Gazette. 1962.
- ↑ "Meetings of the Society". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 100: 302. 1969. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "Walter Reid". Hurst Publishers. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Reid, Walter (2003). To Arras, 1917: A Volunteer's Odyssey. Tuckwell Press. ISBN 9781862322424.
- ↑ "Arras, 1917: The Journey to Railway Triangle". Books from Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Reid, Walter (2006). Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig. Birlinn. ISBN 9781841585178.
- ↑ Reid, Walter (2008). Churchill, 1940–1945: Under Friendly Fire. Birlinn. ISBN 9781843410447.
- ↑ Toye, Richard (2014). "Churchill, 1940–1945: Under Friendly Fire by Walter Reid". War in History. 21 (1): 130–131. doi:10.1177/0968344513505934.
- ↑ Reid, Walter (2011). Empire of Sand: How Britain Made the Middle East. Birlinn. ISBN 9781843410539.
- ↑ "Walter Reid". Casemate Publishers. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Phillips, Christopher (2020). "Five Days from Defeat: How Britain Nearly Lost the First World War". The Journal of Military History. 84 (4): 1242–1244.
- ↑ Reid, Walter; Gordon Masterton; Paul Birch (2016). Supreme Sacrifice: A Small Village and the Great War. Birlinn. ISBN 9781780273501.
- ↑ "Fighting Retreat: Churchill and India". Hurst Publishers. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ DeGroot, Gerard (6 January 2024). "Fighting Retreat by Walter Reid review — was Churchill racist? Yes". The Times.
- ↑ Bose, Mihir (26 April 2024). "Fighting Retreat: Winston Churchill and India by Walter Reid – An interesting exploration of a moral black hole". The Irish Times.
- ↑ Lester, Alan (2024). "Fighting Retreat: Churchill and India: Walter Reid. Hurst, London, 2024". Asian Affairs. doi:10.1080/03068374.2024.2329619.
- ↑ Roberts, Andrew (27 December 2023). "This attack on Churchill is appalling – and nonsensical". The Daily Telegraph.
- ↑ "The Cancelled Prime Minister". Hurst Publishers. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "The Cancelled Prime Minister – Ramsay MacDonald's charismatic and unloved leader". Financial Times. 13 February 2026.