Book description
DIV>
Through the stories in this groundbreaking history, we realise not
just what became of our grandfathers but how their experiences
influenced the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of a
generation that they left at home. Against all the odds some stories
ended happily - missing fathers did return, men thought to be dead
returned from prisoner of war camps to a joyous reunion. For others
the loss, while difficult to bear at the time, gave them an
independence, drive and ambition that ensured that their lives were
successful and a fitting tribute to those who died.
Very few people know that only the first minute's silence on
Armistice Day is in memory of the dead of the Great War and all the
subsequent wars. The second minute is for the living, the survivors of
the war, and the wives and the children they left behind. Through a
unique collection of over fifty interviews, private diaries and a
remarkable collection of unpublished letters written by the soldiers
to their families back home, The Quick and the Dead is a
history of those who are commonly forgotten and neglected when the
fallen are remembered on Armistice Day.
I> will pay tribute to the families who were left to suffer at home
while their husband, fathers and sons went off to fight, and the
generations that followed.<At the end of the First World War
more than 192,000 wives had lost their husbands, and nearly 400,000
children had lost their fathers. A further half a million children had
lost one or more siblings. Appallingly, one in eight wives died within
a year of receiving news of their husband's death. Few people remained
unscathed and the effects of the conflict are still with us.
The
Quick and the Dead<
Praise for 'The Soldier's War' 'Thousands of books
have been written about the Great War, but perhaps none so vividly
evocative as The Soldier's War ... an extraordinary homage to a lost
generation' Daily Mail 'In The Soldier's War, Richard van Emden has
toiled in archives and hunted down caches of letters to tell the
story of the war chronologically through the eyes of the Tommies who
fought it' The Times 'Not the least remarkable aspect of Van Emden's
trawl through the memories of these survivors is that they are
accompanied by around 100 unpublished photos ... Since original
images from the war's sharp end are rarities, these pictures -
blurred and fuzzy though many of them are - are themselves worth the
price of the book' Literary Review
DIV>
Through the stories in this groundbreaking history, we realise
not just what became of our grandfathers but how their experiences
influenced the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of
a generation that they left at home. Against all the odds some
stories ended happily - missing fathers did return, men thought to
be dead returned from prisoner of war camps to a joyous reunion.
For others the loss, while difficult to bear at the time, gave
them an independence, drive and ambition that ensured that their
lives were successful and a fitting tribute to those who died.
Very few people know that only the first minute's silence on
Armistice Day is in memory of the dead of the Great War and all
the subsequent wars. The second minute is for the living, the
survivors of the war, and the wives and the children they left
behind. Through a unique collection of over fifty interviews,
private diaries and a remarkable collection of unpublished letters
written by the soldiers to their families back home, The Quick
and the Dead is a history of those who are commonly
forgotten and neglected when the fallen are remembered on
Armistice Day.
I> will pay tribute to the families who
were left to suffer at home while their husband, fathers and sons
went off to fight, and the generations that followed.<At the
end of the First World War more than 192,000 wives had lost their
husbands, and nearly 400,000 children had lost their fathers. A
further half a million children had lost one or more siblings.
Appallingly, one in eight wives died within a year of receiving
news of their husband's death. Few people remained unscathed and
the effects of the conflict are still with us. The Quick and
the Dead<
