In Their Own Write

[PMHart]

In their Own Words: Untold Stories of the First World War

Anthony Richards

224pp. Illustrated.

ISBN-13: 978-1904897538

IWM 2016

 

All historians have to start somewhere – and the Department of Documents at the Imperial War Museum is one of the first ports of call for the study of the Great War. Tony Richards has been Head of the Department for several years, succeeding in that position to the much respected Rod Suddaby. Between them they have built up a brilliant resource that opens a door to the past. We can read the diaries, the letters and the unpublished accounts of the people who actually experienced the Great War. For this we owe them both a great debt of gratitude. Richards has now produced a book that allows us to sample some of the very best from that collection. Of course a slim volume can barely scratch the surface of the archive, yet Richards’ depth of knowledge is such that he not only demonstrates the treasures available, but produces a brilliantly entertaining book in its own right.

 

Richards has selected just eleven individuals to carry the story of the war from a British perspective. Each is introduced and a succinct background provided to allow us to understand what is going on in the selected extracts from their writings. He also gives us an idea of what happened to them after the war. This works brilliantly: allowing us to cut to the most exciting or interesting parts of their memoirs, but without losing context. A young girl marooned with a theatre troop in Germany as the war looms in 1914, who managed to escape disguised as neutral Americans. Soldiers serving at Gallipoli, or during the Battle of Loos in 1915. A pilot captured over the Western Front in 1915, enduring captivity in Germany before escaping in 1916. An absolutist conscientious objector who held out against everything the authorities could throw at him after the introduction of conscription. A young sub-lieutenant aboard the superdreadnought HMS Malaya at the battle of Jutland in 1916. A couple of months later, a doctor witnesses the horrors that war inflicts on the human body during the Battle of the Somme. A change of pace with a young woman who worked as a canteen worker and policewoman on the home front. Then the big finish – a machine gunner who survived the torments of The Third Battle of Third Ypres in 1917, an officer recalls the fantastic stresses of the great German Spring Offensives in 1918, and there is a final poignant account of the lead up to the Armistice on 11 November 1918.

 

There could have been more pictures – I would have liked to see more of the images that we get to know so intimately, but I suspect they were simply not available.

 

All told an excellent book – Richards is to be congratulated for producing a great introduction to the experiences of people who lived through what we can now only read about. The quality of the writing within the accounts is the stand-out point for me. These are well-educated people expressing themselves fluently and collectively they represent a glowing testament to the Edwardian education system.   Highly recommended.

Edited 3 March , 2017 by PMHart

[paulgranger]

An enticing review. And good to see you back, though I fear it's a just a brief visit.

[Gallipoli Trench Rat]

Enticing review indeed...I just ordered a copy!! I look forward to reading it and it will look great on my shelf next to Voices From the Front!