Michael Chappell
Encyclopedia
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
of military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
books. Mike Chappell comes from an Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
family with links to the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
going back several generations. He enlisted as a Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in the Royal Hampshire Regiment
Royal Hampshire Regiment
The Royal Hampshire Regiment was a British Army line infantry regiment from 1881 to 1992. Its lineage is continued today by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.-Formation and antecedents:...
in 1952 aged 17, and transferred to the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1955. He retired in 1974 as RSM
Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...
of the 1st Battalion The Wessex Regiment
Wessex Regiment
The Wessex Regiment was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army between 1971 and 1995. It had two battalions: The 1st Bn with its headquarters at Le Marchant Barracks in Devizes and the 2nd Bn which was headquartered at Brock Barracks in Reading...
(Rifle Volunteers). During his military career of 22 years he saw service in Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
and various British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
garrisons.
He first began painting military subjects for his own interest in 1968, turning professional when he left the Army. His many years of military service actually wearing the kit and using the weapons in his illustrations give him a unique insight. Consequently, Chappell has gained worldwide popularity as a military illustrator, having written and illustrated over 100 books, many for Osprey Publishing
Osprey Publishing
Osprey Publishing is an Oxford-based publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces over a dozen ongoing series, each focusing on a specific aspect of...
. He now lives in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Osprey books written and/or illustrated by Chappell
- Japanese Paratroop Forces of World War II
- The British Army in World War I (1) The Western Front 1914–16
- The British Army in World War I (2) The Western Front 1916–18
- The British Army in World War I (3) The Eastern Fronts
- British Tommy 1914–18
- The Guards Divisions 1914–45
- World War II Infantry Tactics Squad and Platoon
- Wellington's Peninsula Regiments (2) The Light Infantry
- Wellington's Peninsula Regiments (1) The Irish
- Luftwaffe Air & Ground Crew 1939–45
- The British Army 1939–45 (1) North-West Europe
- The British Army 1939–45 (2) Middle East & Mediterranean
- The British Army 1939–45 (3) The Far East
- British Cavalry Equipments 1800–1941
- Axis Cavalry in World War II
- The Indian Army 1914–1947
- The US Army in World War II (1) The Pacific
- The US Army in World War II (2) The Mediterranean
- The US Army in World War II (3) Northwest Europe
- US Paratrooper 1941–45
- The King's German Legion (1) 1803–12
- The King's German Legion (2) 1812–16
- British Infantry Equipments (1) 1808–1908
- British Infantry Equipments (2) 1908–2000
- French Foreign Legion 1914–45
- French Foreign Legion Infantry and Cavalry since 1945
- The French Indochina War 1946–54
- The French Army 1939–45 (1)
- The French Army 1939–45 (2)
- The Algerian War 1954–62
- Redcaps: Britain's Military Police
- Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader 1937–41
- Panzerkampfwagen III Medium Tank 1936–44
- Army Commandos 1940–45
- Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front
- US Marine Corps 1941–45
- Scottish Divisions in the World Wars
- International Brigades in Spain 1936–39
- The Gurkhas
- 18th-Century Highlanders
- Churchill Infantry Tank 1941–51
- Security Forces in Northern Ireland 1969–92
- British Battledress 1937–61
- Napoleon's Italian Troops
- British Territorial Units 1914–18
- The War in Cambodia 1970–75
- The British Army in the 1980s
- British Battle Insignia (1) 1914–18
- British Battle Insignia (2) 1939–45
- Modern African Wars (1) Rhodesia 1965–80
- The Korean War 1950–53
- The Canadian Army at War
- Armies of the Vietnam War 1962–75
- Armies of the Vietnam War (2)
- Partisan Warfare 1941–45
- German Airborne Troops 1939–45
- British Cavalry Equipments 1800-1941
- Germany's Eastern Front Allies 1941–45
- Battle for the Falklands (1) Land Forces
- The Israeli Army in the Middle East Wars 1948–73
- Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars 1948–73
- The Malayan Campaign 1948–60
- The Australian Army at War 1899–1975
- British Guards Armoured Division 1941-45
- Allied Tank Destroyers
- The Lee / Grant Tanks in British Service