Often fresh out of school, still with their recent Latin lessons fresh in their minds, many junior officers in the First World War went straight from being prefects to having to lead their men in a charge over the top, knowing that the German machine guns would be trained on the man at the front, knowing that so many of their predecessors had fallen before them. In this remarkable book, John Lewis-Stempel focuses on the oft-overlooked men who were crucial to Britain's war effort, the men who had to persuade the ordinary Tommy to follow them into action. Basing his account on a huge range of first person accounts, including poignant letters and diaries sent home or back to their school, Lewis-Stempel reveals what motivated these men who faced an average life expectancy of just six weeks once they reached the frontline. He shows the life they led in the trenches, how they sought to keep up the spirits of their men, and how they tried to behave with honour in a world where their codes of conduct were being quite literally shot to pieces. In the bestselling tradition of books such as 'Tommy' and 'Forgotten Voices', this is an extraordinary book about some extraordinary men.
- ISBN10 1409100987
- ISBN13 9781409100980
- Publish Date 20 May 2010
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Out of Print 24 November 2009
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Orion Publishing Co
- Imprint Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 400
- Language English