Life, Death, and Growing Up on the Western Front

by Anthony Fletcher

352 Pages, 5.68 x 8.87 in, 13 b-w illus. & 16 pp. section

Paperback
9780300205381
Published: Tuesday, 9 Feb 2016

$25.00

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Description
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A powerful account of life and loss in the Great War, as told by British soldiers in their letters home

This book was inspired by the author’s discovery of an extraordinary cache of letters from a soldier who was killed on the Western Front during the First World War. The soldier was his grandfather, and the letters had been tucked away, unread and unmentioned for many decades. Intrigued by the heartbreak and history of these family letters, Fletcher sought out the correspondence of other British soldiers who had volunteered for the fight against Germany. This resulting volume offers a vivid account of the physical and emotional experiences of seventeen British soldiers whose letters survive. Drawn from different regiments, social backgrounds, and areas of England and Scotland, they include twelve officers and five ordinary “Tommies.”

The book explores the training, journey to France, fear, shellshock, and life in the trenches as well as the leisure, love, and home leave the soldiers dreamed of. Fletcher discusses the psychological responses of 17- and 18-year-old men facing appalling realities and considers the particular pressures on those who survived their fallen comrades. While acknowledging the horror and futility the soldiers of the Great War experienced, the author shows another side to the story, focusing new attention on the loyal comradeship, robust humor, and strong morale that uplifted the men at the Front and created a powerful bond among them.

Anthony Fletcher is a historian of the early modern period. He is a former professor at the Universities of Sheffield, Durham, Essex, and London.

“This is a vivid exploration of letters that were written by seven British soldiers, revealing both their physical and emotional experiences during the war in France."—Emma Stinchcombe, BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
~Emma Stinchcome, BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

“Both moving and coolly analytical, it is an excellent book.”—Nigel Jones, Literary Review
~Nigel Jones, Literary Review

“[A] wonderful book.”—Choice
~G. P. Cox, Choice

Life, Death, and Growing Up on the Western Front

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