T. (Timothy) Gowing

author

T. (Timothy) Gowing

1834–1908

A rank-and-file soldier who turned hard experience into vivid memoir, he wrote with unusual directness about the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, and later campaigns. His best-known book stands out for showing war from the view of an ordinary serviceman rather than a famous commander.

1 Audiobook

A Soldier's Experience; or, A Voice from the Ranks Showing the Cost of War in Blood and Treasure. A Personal Narrative of the Crimean Campaign, from the Standpoint of the Ranks; the Indian Mutiny, and Some of its Atrocities; the Afghan Campaigns of 1863

A Soldier's Experience; or, A Voice from the Ranks Showing the Cost of War in Blood and Treasure. A Personal Narrative of the Crimean Campaign, from the Standpoint of the Ranks; the Indian Mutiny, and Some of its Atrocities; the Afghan Campaigns of 1863

by T. (Timothy) Gowing

About the author

Born in Halesworth, Suffolk, on April 5, 1834, and raised largely in Norwich, Timothy Gowing was the son of a Baptist minister. He joined the Royal Fusiliers in 1854, when he was still a young man, and went on to serve in major nineteenth-century conflicts including the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, and the Afghan campaign of 1863.

Gowing is remembered for A Soldier's Experience; or, A Voice from the Ranks, a memoir first published in the nineteenth century and later preserved by archives and Project Gutenberg. What makes the book memorable is its viewpoint: instead of writing as a general or statesman, he wrote from the ranks, describing the cost of war in practical, human terms.

That plainspoken perspective gives his work much of its lasting appeal. For listeners interested in military history, Victorian life, or firsthand accounts by people who usually stay in the background of history books, Gowing offers a rare and vivid voice.