One of only accounts by a common soldier
Richards had seen regular service in the colonies by the time he was called up for WW I. This is one of the few accounts of what everyday life was like for ratings in Britain's army of that period, and that's where it really shines. He is not a war lover, bragging about his valor, like some other memoirists. Like all his mates who had served in the East, he suffered recurring malaria attacks---it's a glimpse into the vanished world of Kipling's characters. Hardy men, of medieval fatalism.