A new book has just been published by Geoffrey A. Pocock, one of the proprietors of Lavant Workwear. We thought our customers would like to know a bit about it:

One Hundred Years of The Legion of Frontiersmen is a handsome, casebound, crown quarto volume, with approximately 100 b/w illustrations and has a recommended retail price of £25.00.. Please visit www.phillimore.co.uk.

This is the extraordinary story of the Legion of Frontiersmen, a band of patriots and adventurers, whose exploits throughout Britain and the Commonwealth in the hour of need cover the last hundred years. Formed in 1904 to be ‘the eyes and ears of the Empire’, the Frontiersmen came close to becoming the official British intelligence gathering and counter-intelligence organisation. Their unwavering patriotism shines throughout their century of adventure: the Legion’s Manchester troop were the first British in action in 1914, fighting with the Belgian army before Britain declared war; frontiersmen served between 1915 and 1917 in East Africa, winning many decorations, including a V.C. Frontiersmen from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the outposts of Empire rushed to serve the mother country and some 9,000 lost their lives in the First World War.

Between the wars, the Frontiersman’s distinctive uniform of Stetson hat, shoulder chains and riding breeches was a familiar sight on civic occasions, while in the Second World War the Legion saw action in all the Services.

The Legion attracted many well-known figures. Prince Louis of Battenberg was a founder-member, while his grand-daughter, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma continues the family link as its Patron. Geoffrey Pocock has brilliantly captured the spirit of this uniquely British organisation. His account, benefiting from much previously unpublished material, describes their successes and failures, their outstanding achievements and their errors of judgement. This book, with contributions from the Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Sir Patrick Moore, is the first to recount the history of this eccentric group of adventurers, fighters and, above all, patriots.