author
Lieutenant J. R. Ferris
A World War I officer wrote this practical 1916 guide to the fast-changing world of trench bombing, offering a rare firsthand look at how soldiers were trained for one of the war’s most dangerous jobs.
1 Audiobook
Bombers' Training, and Application of Same in Trench Warfare
by Lieutenant J. R. Ferris
About the author
Little is firmly documented online about the person behind the name, but the surviving record of his work is clear. He is credited as Lieutenant J. R. Ferris, and the original 1916 edition of Bombers' Training, and Application of Same in Trench Warfare identifies him as "LIEUT. J. R. FERRIS, 63rd O. Bn., C.E.F."—placing him in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Ferris wrote his book as a hands-on manual for officers and non-commissioned officers training bombers. In the preface, he explains that it was meant as a practical guide, complete with lectures, a short training syllabus, and equipment lists. That purpose gives the book its distinctive voice: direct, instructional, and grounded in the urgent realities of trench warfare rather than in memoir or literary reflection.
Because so little biographical information is readily confirmed, Ferris is best understood through this manual itself. His work survives as a compact historical document from 1916, valuable for readers interested in military training, the evolution of battlefield tactics, and the day-to-day demands placed on soldiers in the Great War.