Michael Chappell


Michael John William Chappell BEM, better known as Mike Chappell, was an English military historian and illustrator of military books.

Early life and education

Chappell came from an Aldershot family with links to the British Army going back several generations. His maternal grandfather, Pte George Green was among a group of soldiers of the Royal Welch Fusiliers killed in France on 14 September 1915 while laying a signal line to an outpost; he is buried in the Guards Cemetery at Windy Corner near Cuinchy. Mike Chappell's late parents were Samuel Chappell and Kathleen. His siblings are Anthony Chappell, who served in the Royal Corps of Signals; Anna Chappell, and Russell Chappell.
As a boy, he attended St. Joseph's Roman Catholic School in Aldershot, the Army School at Blackdown in Hampshire, and Guildford Technical College.

Career

Military career

After leaving school, Chappell briefly served an industrial blacksmith apprenticeship with 13 Command Workshop REME. However, finding this not to his liking, in 1952, at age 17, he enlisted as a private in the Royal Hampshire Regiment, a British Army line-infantry regiment, and in 1955, transferred to the Gloucestershire Regiment, another British Army infantry regiment. During his 22-year military career he saw service in Cyprus, Germany, Libya, Malaya, Swaziland, Ulster and various British garrisons.
He retired in 1974 as a Regimental Sergeant Major of the 1st Battalion of the Wessex Regiment, a British Army Territorial Army infantry regiment.

Writing and illustrating career

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 gave him a unique insight in his illustrations. Consequently, Chappell gained worldwide popularity as a military illustrator, having written and illustrated over 100 books, many for Osprey Publishing.
A number of his original artworks are held in the Glenn Christodoulou Collection.

Personal life

Formerly a resident of Aldershot, Chappell lived in the village of Malras in France with his second wife, Marilyn until his death in August 2020. His marriage to his first wife, Edna, was dissolved. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours List on 15 June 2013.

Osprey books written and/or illustrated by Chappell

Japanese Paratroop Forces of World War IIThe British Army in World War I The Western Front 1914–16The British Army in World War I The Western Front 1916–18The British Army in World War I The Eastern FrontsBritish Tommy 1914–18The Guards Divisions 1914–45World War II Infantry Tactics Squad and PlatoonWellington's Peninsula Regiments The Light InfantryWellington's Peninsula Regiments The IrishLuftwaffe Air & Ground Crew 1939–45The British Army 1939–45 North-West EuropeThe British Army 1939–45 Middle East & MediterraneanThe British Army 1939–45 The Far EastBritish Cavalry Equipments 1800–1941Axis Cavalry in World War IIThe Indian Army 1914–1947The US Army in World War II The PacificThe US Army in World War II The MediterraneanThe US Army in World War II Northwest EuropeUS Paratrooper 1941–45The King's German Legion 1803–12The King's German Legion 1812–16British Infantry Equipments 1808–1908British Infantry Equipments 1908–2000French Foreign Legion 1914–45French Foreign Legion Infantry and Cavalry since 1945 The French Indochina War 1946–54The French Army 1939–45 The French Army 1939–45 The Algerian War 1954–62Redcaps: Britain's Military PoliceJunkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader 1937–41Panzerkampfwagen III Medium Tank 1936–44Army Commandos 1940–45 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front US Marine Corps 1941–45 Scottish Divisions in the World WarsInternational Brigades in Spain 1936–39The Gurkhas 18th-Century HighlandersChurchill Infantry Tank 1941–51Security Forces in Northern Ireland 1969–92British Battledress 1937–61Napoleon's Italian TroopsBritish Territorial Units 1914–18The War in Cambodia 1970–75The British Army in the 1980sBritish Battle Insignia 1914–18British Battle Insignia 1939–45Modern African Wars Rhodesia 1965–80The Korean War 1950–53The Canadian Army at WarArmies of the Vietnam War 1962–75Armies of the Vietnam War Partisan Warfare 1941–45German Airborne Troops 1939–45British Cavalry Equipments 1800–1941 Germany's Eastern Front Allies 1941–45Battle for the Falklands Land ForcesThe Israeli Army in the Middle East Wars 1948–73 Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars 1948–73The Malayan Campaign 1948–60The Australian Army at War 1899–1975 British Guards Armoured Division 1941–45Allied Tank Destroyers The Lee / Grant Tanks in British Service
  • ''The Australian Army in World War I''

Other books by Chappell

  • The Somme 1916 Crucible of a British Army Windrow & Greene
  • The British Soldier in the 20th Century 2: Field Service Head Dress 1902 to the present day Wessex Military Publishing