Mud beneath my boots

[john w.]

I bought this book in New Zealand whilst on my travels this summer and what a good little read it has been.

The book is based on the diaries of Allan Marriotts grandfather Len Coley, who was on the Western Front after lying about his age in 1915.

He survived the war and then went back in 1930, when he added to the original diary.

Allan Mariott uses the diaries to tell the story in Len's eyes

Worth a read if you can get it!

John

[alliekiwi]

I bought this one over the weekend and have been enjoying it very much so far. The style is very readable, and I like how the story is told from two perspectives: how it was in the war years, and then the reminicences when he goes back in 1930, seeing the same places, how they've changed and how it affects him.

Its secondary title is "A poignant memoir of the effects of war on a young New Zealander" and it certainly is that.

I'm not au fait enough with battles and dates to say if it is all entirely correct, but it's defintely worth a read.

Allie

[alliekiwi]

Oops, Moonraker did an indepth review in another thread here

Allie

[J Banning]

Just finished this book last night and really enjoyed it. I thought that Len told the story of his war very sensitively and liked the 1930s chapters where he revisited the battlefields of the western front. His sincerity shines through the pages and bizarrely, you really do feel somewhat ashamed as an Englishman at the number of con-artists and prostitutes he encountered on his various periods of leave in wartime London. God knows what impression that left on these country boys from the other side of the world! As for the fighting itself (which was very well described too), what left the biggest impression on me was the way in which soldiering totally broke Len. His physical state was very poor by 1918, not helped by a good dose of gas at Messines, and the sheer physical effort of being an infantryman in 1916-18 was shown very well.

In summary, a cracking read that I have already recommended to a friend with an interest in the NZ Division.

Jeremy Banning