Addiscombe Military College and its Zulu war officers. A new book.

Hope this is okay Pete.
Forum members may be interested in my third book as some of the officers featured served in the Anglo Zulu War.
In fact my interest in the college came from when I was researching  Captain Alan Colstoun Gardner's life as it was the institution which he attended before joining the Bombay Artillery.

"Addiscombe Military College and the Cadets who Forged an Empire"  is the first photographic history of this Victorian training establishment since its closure in 1861.
(Note- There has only been one other book published about the history of the college and that was in 1894.)

The book is hardback, 633 glossy, photographic quality pages with over 650 photographs and drawings of the college, its staff and cadets most of which have never been published before.
I have been given exclusive permission by various archives and museums around the world, including the National Army Museum, to publish images from their own collections.
There are nearly 400 narratives of individual cadets who served in various campaigns all over the Empire.
See attached images below for more details.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

If anyone is interested, I have a small number of books allocated to me which can be signed. PM me if you are interested or it can be purchased from here

https://www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk/products/addiscombe-military-college-and-the-cadets-who-forged-an-empire?_pos=1&_sid=62516aab2&_ss=r

The offical launch of the book will be at the Anglo Zulu War symposium next month where I will be giving a presentation about the history of the college.
More details here
https://clashofempires.org/

Kate  

Well Done Kate!

Thank you Pete.  

It's taken over two years of hard work visiting museums and libraries searching their archives looking for photographs and articles and people have been very kind in allowing me to use their own collections.
I wanted it to be like a Mac and Shad of Addiscombe officers but rather than photographs of the officers in later life festooned with medals and associated regalia this shows them at the beginning of their military careers.
Photography was still in its infancy when it was taught to the cadets in the late 1850's which makes the rare images they captured even more poignant.

Kate  

Hi Kate

WOW Fantastic work, well done.

Loving the Cadet photos, great one of Alan and all the ones of Robert Alexander (I only have one of him in later life.)

Well worth every penny.

Great work Kate

Andy

Thanks Andy, glad you are enjoying it
Thank you to everyone for their kind words of support and encouragement.
All the books ordered have now been despatched, if anyone has not received theirs please let me know.
Kate

As a response to a private e-mail I will have small number of signed Addiscombe books at the Clash of Empires Exhibition starting tomorrow.

Oh and for those thinking "Oh they are East India Company officers I'm not interested in them" most of the narratives (nearly 400 in total) are about officers who moved across to the British army and subsequently fought in all of the Victorian campaigns that took part after 1860.
Kate

There is an independant review of the book here
https://insidecroydon.com/2023/07/16/spectacular-history-of-addiscombe-college-is-required-reading/

Acccesson number for the copy at Croydon Museum
LH-2023-016 and it’s catalogue reference number is S70 (355) BIR.

Accession number at Talana Museum, South Africa
04/29826

Accession number at National Army Museum
BKS 62280

Kate

Seem to be having problems with the link so here is the review :-

Spectacular history of Addiscombe college is required reading

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: It played a significant part of the history of Croydon, and of Britain, yet today is largely forgotten.

DAVID MORGAN reviews an important and surprising new book about Addiscombe Military College

Kate's new book Addiscombe Military College and the Cadets Who Forged an Empire is a treasure of a publication which will delight local historians and provide a wealth of information for a wider audience.
The Military College at Addiscombe was a significant institution which, after its closure in 1861 and subsequent demolition by 1864, has largely disappeared from Croydon’s collective memory. This book will bring back to life many long-forgotten stories and personalities.
The result of Kate's lengthy research is spectacular. She has put her material together into a format that can be easily read and accessed.

One group of people who will find the book particularly fascinating are those who now live in the Addiscombe area and whose roads and properties are built over the former college grounds.
Residents of Outram Road can find out their houses were built over what was once a chapel or a dairy or a bakehouse.
Those people living in Fryston Avenue can find their road on Victorian maps which reveal the extent of the college grounds.
Kate has also collected a number of artifacts which are pictured in the book. One is an examination paper from 1860 which all cadets had to sit. It reveals the sort of curriculum which the young men were taught and the standards they were expected to achieve.

Translations of Greek and Latin, as well as Hindustani and Urdu, would stretch the linguistic ability. Pure Maths questions required a deep knowledge of logarithms and calculus, vital for future artillery officers. Freehand drawing skills were important, as was a technical approach to geometric drawing. It was a demanding course designed to give the young men a solid foundation.

One of the great features of the book are the photos. The College incorporated the new art of photography into its curriculum in 1855 and Kate's impressive collection provides a face for many of the names that previously had just been printed on a page or etched onto a memorial stone.
Cohorts of cadets stare out towards the camera as part of their valediction; professors sit proudly in front of the latest piece of technology; prizewinners and sporting champions show off their trophies and medals.
To my mind though, Kate's finest achievement within these pages has been the pen portraits she constructed. The triumphs and tragedies of both cadets and staff have been meticulously put together to provide the reader with a myriad of pictures of Victorian, and later Edwardian, life. They contain insights into the family and social life of the times.

Military careers are documented. Planning and decision-making in constructing railways, dams, irrigation systems and roads are seen as practical extensions of what was taught as part of the curriculum. The mapmakers who opened up large parts of the sub-continent are revealed.
Throughout the portraits, it is clear that the risk of death from disease or injury was never far away from the majority of the college alumni.

As a historian closely associated with Croydon Minster (the Parish church as it was back then), it is so interesting to read the paragraphs about the cadet, John Baillie, who was buried there after a tragic accident in the grounds, as well as the background to Sir Ephraim Stannus, the second Lieutenant-Governor of the Seminary whose gravestone is now a portion of the pathway outside the Minster.
The parishioners from St James, Addiscombe, will also be able to reflect on photos and information about the men from the College who were buried there.

Addington Palace, the summer residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury, was right next to the College. Kate paints a lovely picture of cadets venturing beyond the confines of their own grounds and into the Palace estate where they would do a little poaching to supplement their diets and their incomes, “under the noses of the Archbishops”.

Of course, there will be surprise moments for readers of the book. In my case it was to discover someone who, when they returned from active service, lived in a house next door to where I was to be born many years later!

Kate's information in the book will provoke a great deal of thought. It sheds much light on the era of “empire-building” and the influence which this College and the East India Company wielded towards that end. The cadets were trained to provide a service, which they did exceedingly well. Many grew up and had stellar careers in the military or in civil engineering. Whatever their achievements, it is fair to say they never forgot their time in the College.
Kate is to be congratulated on producing a book which will delight many and which will become a staple for researchers in years to come.

• David Morgan is a former Croydon headteacher, now the volunteer education officer at Croydon Minster, who offers tours or illustrated talks on the history around the Minster for local community groups