Charles Messenger
Soldier who served in Germany, Libya and Ulster before becoming an acclaimed military historian
CHARLES MESSENGER, who has died aged 77, served in the Army for 20 years before becoming a full-time military historian and defence analyst. In 1980 Messenger retired from the regular Army and embarked on what turned out to be almost four decades of writing. Concentrating primarily on 20th century warfare, his books included The Battle of Britain and World War 2 in the Atlantic, yet it was in the land domain that he largely focused. He wrote The Art of Blitzkrieg, Commandos and The Tanks: The History of the Royal Tank Regiment 1976-2017.
Call to Arms: The British Army 1914-1918 was widely regarded as his masterpiece. It was as if he identified himself with the lost generation of that conflict, for he seemed to have an extraordinary empathy with those who had taken part, reinforced by an expert’s knowledge of the fighting on the Western Front.
Messenger also wrote acclaimed books on the Northern Ireland Troubles and the British infantry regiments, together with a number of campaign histories. He was a fine biographer, too, writing, for example,
His books were well received and he established a reputation as a soldierscholar of penetrating accuracy, great industry and versatility.
Charles Rynd Milles Messenger was born at Fulmer in Buckinghamshire on May 11 1941 and educated at Marlborough. After attending Sandhurst, in 1961 he was commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR). On the recommendation of Sir John Keegan, the eminent military historian, he then went to Exeter College, Oxford, to read History.
After rejoining 2 RTR, he served in Germany, Libya and Northern Ireland. In 1977, he commanded a squadron which was sent to the Province. A senior officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary had complained that the Provisional IRA was behaving with impunity on his territory, known as the South Derry Murder Triangle. “Badger” Squadron, led by Messenger, was tasked with supporting the security forces there.
Four months of vigorous and varied patrolling by night and day, on foot or in vehicles, in the towns and the countryside, transformed the situation. There was a number of bad incidents but the Provisional IRA went to ground and to the relief of the local people the area became comparatively peaceful. After retiring from the regular Army, Messenger served in the Regiment’s volunteer reserve for the next 13 years and finished his part-time service in the rank of lieutenantcolonel.
Apart from his writing, Messenger was much in demand for conferences and talks. His engaging and effervescent style won him many friends and admirers across all age groups and, as a battlefield tour presenter, his command of battle terrain, tactics and technologies and vivid commentary held his audiences captivated. A generous and entertaining host, he had a fund of good stories which he enjoyed sharing over a glass of wine after a long day.
He also wrote and helped to direct a number of television series on 20th century history and participated in several historical analysis studies for the Ministry of Defence. In 2000, working with Major Sir Michael Parker, he provided much of the historical, military input for the Royal Millennium Military Tattoo 2000, held on London’s Horse Guards Parade.
He was a member of the Army Records Society, the British Commission for Military History, the Society for Army Historical Research and the Western Front Association.
Charles Messenger married, in 1968, Anne Falconer, who survives him with their son and two daughters.
Charles Messenger, born May 11 1941, died March 20 2019