The sudden expansion of the British Army to a strength undreamed of
prior to August, 1914, brought in its train an ever-increasing desire
on the part of the public for a better knowledge of the Army and of its
glorious traditions, a subject that had previously attracted little
or no attention outside military circles. Even among an average body
of soldiers there is curiously enough a lack of knowledge of military
history outside that closely associated with their own regiment. Yet
the history of the British Army is unequalled by any other in the
world for splendid achievement, while the regimental histories and
traditions teem with instances of devotion to duty, gallantry in the
face of overwhelming odds, and self-sacrifice of the most glorious
nature. These traditions are highly treasured in the regiments, and
their preservation has tended to build up and sustain in each unit
that splendid _esprit de corps_ which has animated all ranks, and made
almost the impossible possible to our gallant soldiers in the presence
of hardships and danger, and has led them to face death with a courage
and heroism unsurpassed in the history of the world.
The traditions of the British Army stretch back over four centuries,
during which it has been the acknowledged means of winning and building
up the greatest Empire the world has ever known. The Army's deeds are
a sealed book so far as the general public are concerned, for military
matters except in times of actual war have never been a popular
subject, the great heroes of the battlefield being far less known to
the British public than popular performers on the football field or
pampered professional boxers.