The first history of World War I to place centre-stage the British soldier who fought in the trenches this superb & important book tells the story of an epic & terrible war through the letters diaries & memories of those who fought it. Of the six million men who served in the British army nearly one million lost their lives & over two million were wounded. This is the story of these men
- epitomised by the character of Sgt Tommy Atkins
- & the women they left behind. Using previously unseen letters diaries memoirs & poetry from the years 1914-1918 Richard Holmes paints a moving picture of the generation that fought & died in the mud of Flanders. He follows men whose mental health was forever destroyed by shell shock women who lost husbands & brothers in the same afternoon & those who wrote at lunchtime & died before tea. Groundbreaking & critically-acclaimed this book tells the real story of trench warfare the strength & fallibility of the human spirit the individuals behind an epic event & their legacy. It is an emotional & unforgettable masterpiece from one of our most important historians.