Book description
Lt Colonel E. W. Hermon died in a hail of bullets on the 9th April
1917, the first day of the Battle of Arras, leading his men of the
24th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers into the attack. Like hundreds
of thousands of others in the Great War, he gave his life for his King
and country. He was shot through the heart, one bullet slicing through
the papers in his top pocket, including the four-leaf clover his wife
had given him for good luck. His final words to his Adjutant were 'Go
on!' before he sank to his knees and died almost instantaneously. He
was carried from the battlefield by his faithful soldier servant,
Buxton, and now lies buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at
Roclincourt, three miles from Arras. This could have been the end of
the story but he left a testament of his life and ideals in a unique
and hitherto unknown and unpublished collection of long and detailed
letters he wrote to his darling wife and his children, 'the Chugs'.
Now, nearly a century after his death, he speaks to us of a past, less
cynical life, where selflessness, honour, duty and courage were
admired above all else. His own courage was officially recognised as
he was mentioned in despatches three times and posthumously awarded
the D. S.O.
The letters have been transcribed and edited by Hermon's
granddaughter Anne Nason with the guidance and historical advice of
James Holland, the distinguished historian and writer. Peter
Caddick-Adams, who works alongside Richard Holmes at Cranfield
University, believes the letters to be unique in their candour and
context since Hermon was Battalion Commander and thus his letters were
not censored.
E. W. Hermon had a privileged education at Eton and Christ Church,
Oxford, but it was while he was up at Oxford that he answered the
appeal to 'defend the Empire' and joined the 7th Queen's Own Hussars
in 1900 in order to fight in the Boer War in South Africa. After this
conflict ended, he returned to England with the regiment.
The editor, Anne Nason, is the granddaughter of Lt. Colonel E. W.
Hermon and the daughter of 'Mairky' (Mary), who bequeathed her the
letters. She lives with her husband in Wiltshire and currently has
nine grandchildren.
