The reconstruction of Ieper

[keithjk]

Which takes this thread full-circle Dave, apart from the original topic of course !!

Keith

[Paul D Kendall]

As from 2012, there is some coverage of the BEF actions which took place on the Aisne and Chemin des Dames during 1914. My book 'Aisne 1914: The Dawn of Trench Warfare' was published in May and has sold many copies and has recieved positive feedback. Jerry Murland's book on the same subject 'The Battle on the Aisne1914: The BEF and the Birth of the Western Front' is due out later this year. I am looking forward to reading Jerry's book and I hope that these books will inspire other authors to write about this subject in the future for there is a lot more to learn about Aisne 1914.

I do empathise with some of the sentiments on this thread that some WW1 subjects get neglected, but there are two primary reasons why this is the case. Firstly, the author must be motivated to commit several years of reasearch to a particular subject and secondly a publisher needs to be comfortable that the money that they are investing to publish the work will provide them with financial returns.

I have visited many WW1 battlefields across the Western Front and I have a list of subjects that I want to tackle during the next ten to twenty years. Some of them have not been covered, or had little coverage, while others have been covered. My next book will focus upon the first day of the Somme which has been covered extensively, but in this case I feel I can add to the subject. I've been inspired by these places and have the desire to obtain the information from the archives, musuems, libraries, etc plus try to locate descendants. I really get a buzz from researching the subject for my own knowledge and understanding of the subject. However there are also other factors to consider. time is a major issue. A lot of authors such as myself have other commitments. I have a daily commute from the Kent coast to London to go to work to my day job. When I get home I have father who was disabled by a stroke to care for. Money is also an issue when going to archives and gathering material. There is a lot of effort that goes into writing a book.

However, I do believe, as we approach 2014 there will be more books written on the WW1 including topics that have never been written about before. There will be a stong interest in WW1 during the centenary. The British Government are making plans as to how Britain will commemorate the hundreth anniversary of WW1 together with France and Belgium. The Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed Dr Andrew Murrison MP as Special Representative for teh Centenary Commemoration of The First World War. Last week my friend Yves Fohlen guided him around the Chemin des Dames and showed him where the BEF fought during the Battle of the Aisne. TV programmes are being prepared and as Paul Reed wrote coach tours will be planned to various WW1 battlefield sites depending on demand. Hopefully, as a consequence more authors will write about WW1, including uncovered subjects and publishers will produce their books.

Paul

[chrislock]

Totally agree with Dave, especially the bit about the Germans being quite "heavily involved" here.

[jacksdad]

hmm - if it wasn't for the Germans we would have struggled to have a war!

[keithjk]

hmm - if it wasn't for the Germans we would have struggled to have a war!

I'm sure we'd have settled for a play-off against the French.

Keith