British Jewry Book of Honour - huge work in memory of the Jewish soldiers who fought in the British armies during ...

British Jewry Book of Honour - huge work in memory of the Jewish soldiers who fought in the British armies during World War I. London, 1922 - limited edition of only 3000 copies

British Jewry Book of Honour - a huge work in honor of the Jewish soldiers who fought in the British armies during World War I, edited by Rabbi Michael Adler, the first Jewish chaplain in the British Army during World War I, and Max R. G. FREEMAN. Caxton Publishing Company - London, 1922 - limited edition of only 3000 copies published. This copy is numbered 1302. Signed by publisher H. Bloom. who added in his own handwriting on the protective page the memory of the Jewish fighting unit: "Eastern Rifles, German S.W. Africa 1914, 1st S. A. Infantry, 2nd Battalion, 1915-1919, B Co".

A rare work that was published in order to commemorate their memory and show the contribution of Jewish soldiers in the British war effort during World War I. A particularly thick book that includes in the first part the names of some 50,000 Jews - men and women who served in the various corps in the British army, and in the second part their pictures. The book describes in detail the process of recruiting Jews to the various units, the various roles played by Jews on the battlefield in the units, the Jews wounded or killed in battle, the work of the Jews in hospitals, and their contribution to other Jewish institutions and agencies. Using many classified, military, and public sources to which Rabbi Adler had direct access, he was able to present in the book a detailed alphabetical list of Jewish soldiers killed in the war, including their dates of death, Jewish soldiers who were awarded honors, and a names lists of Jews who served in the various corps. All are listed by service location and by battalion name.

Also listed are the names of Jewish soldiers with the highest decorations of excellence – five who won the prestigious "Victoria Cross", 49 soldiers who received the "Medal of Honor", 263 soldiers who won various Military Crosses, 329 soldiers who won military medals, and many more who won secondary prizes. Also in the book are letters of support and appreciation from various Jewish and non-Jewish dignitaries, noting the great contribution of Jewish soldiers to the British war effort. In the impressive historical work before us, Rabbi Adler intended to preserve the memory of the Jewish fighters for future generations for the Jewish people internally, and at the same time to present to Great Britain the contribution of the Jews and social solidarity towards the kingdom of which the Jews felt an inseparable part.

The second part of the book, which spans no less than 364 pages, contains photographs printed on thick high-quality paper, of more than 4,000 Jewish soldiers who served in British army corps during the war, of whom more than 2,000 were killed in the war. Among other things, there are photographs of memorials erected especially in their memory, various group photographs of Jewish soldiers in the various British units, prayer ceremonies of Jewish soldiers held during breaks in the battles, group photographs of Jewish women who practiced medicine during the war, Jewish soldiers who worked alongside the British in Palestine during the war, tombstones on the graves of fallen Jewish soldiers, Jewish soldiers celebrating the Passover Seder, Group photographs of Jewish soldiers in front of synagogues and in the synagogues, "military rabbis" and Jewish clerics who served in the various corps, and many more. (See a small portion of the attached photos.) One of the pages contains photographs of Joseph Trumpeldor, as well as photographs of the Palestine Regiment.

British Jewry, before, and during World War I, was a diverse community that actually consisted of a collection of communities.

In 1914, Jewish individuals and families in Britain spanned the entire social spectrum, with some fully integrated into British cultural life and others maintaining a distinctly Anglo-Jewish identity. This led to the fact that when the war broke out, the Jewish volunteers, and later the army recruits, became an inseparable part of the British forces themselves, and they were recruited to the various combat units according to their qualifications, and according to their places of settlement, regardless of their religious or ethnic identity. With the exception of a few Jewish-only battalions of the Royal Fusiliers formed in 1917, known as the Jewish Legion.

The editor of the book, Rabbi Michael Adler, was the first Jewish chaplain in the British Army during World War I, and has a place of honor in assisting Jewish soldiers during the war through a wide variety of channels. When World War I broke out in July 1914, Rabbi Adler realized that his religious skills were needed at the front. He wrote to the War Office asking to be drafted as a chaplain, but was refused. Rabbi Adler ignored the refusal and, without waiting for an official appointment, immediately took action. In the first month of the war, he distributed an shortened Siddur for the use of the soldiers. After some time, when he again applied to the War Office, he received the official appointment. Rabbi Adler, like the other chaplains in the British army, walked around in uniform with a collar as a white clergyman. The chief chaplain was a bishop, and he suggested that he wear a large Star of David necklace so that the soldiers would recognize him as a Jew, an Idea which Rabbi Adler embraced. He aspired to help every Jewish soldier. As Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur approached, he received permission from the commanders to release the Jewish soldiers from the fighting for a few hours. He did the same before major battles, understanding that a moment of communion and prayer before battle could be meaningful to them. Rabbi Adler helped the soldiers as best he could: he visited wounded soldiers, received permission to mark the graves of Jewish soldiers with a Star of David, traveled far and wide to conduct burial ceremonies, and wrote a guide to Jewish burial for Christian clergy. Rabbi Adler completed his service in July 1918. He received a medal for his service and returned to his post as head of the congregation of the Central Synagogue in London. In finding the many names of the Jewish soldiers that appear in the book, Rabbi Adler used, among other things, the records of the Jewish Chronicle, which from the beginning of the war published on a weekly basis the names of the Jewish soldiers killed in the war.

Rare. Only two entries in the World Cat Library catalogue in London libraries.

XIX, 636 pages of text + 364 pages of photographs. Hardcover, Original, Covered in fabric with gilded letters. Gilt engraved top page edges. Light color peels on cover. Stains on some pages of the book - mainly on the first pages. Overall Condition Good.