Delane's War [Hardback]

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Description of Delane's War

In his role as editor of The Times during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, John Delane revealed to the British people all the horror and incompetence of that conflict, setting in chain events that would in time lead to the fall of the government of his day.

Delane sent his correspondent William Howard Russell to cover the Crimean War. In a decision it would surely come to regret, the War Office allowed Russell to accompany a regiment but in so doing laid open unprecedented details of the regiment's operation. For the first time a war correspondent dared to criticise the army's arrangements. Delane trusted Russell completely and printed what he wrote verbatim. Furthermore, Russell's despatches prompted Delane to visit the Crimea for himself, finding the commanders 'completely lacking in unity and decision' and the ranks decimated by cholera.

On his return he published a series of articles highlighting the hardships of the soldiers and the incompetence of their commanders, whilst the government tried to hide the situation. The articles prompted the first English newspaper appeal for funds for a good cause and inspired Florence Nightingale’s endeavours in the Crimea. What Delane published inevitably set him on a collision course with senior officers in the British army, but his dogged refusal to moderate or desist would eventually lead to events of even greater importance – the recall of the Queen from Balmoral, questions in Parliament and a vote of no confidence in the government conducting the war.

A fascinating history, vividly recounted, Delane's War has striking parallels with contemporary events, from the embedding of journalists within army units in Afghanistan to the decision to hold a public inquiry into the Britain’s role in the war in Iraq. It is a testament to a man who dared to print the truth in the face of a government's lies.