Best first-hand accounts

[Dave Phillips]

I am interested to find out what others may consider are the best first-hand accounts about life on active service.

My list includes:

'Nothing of importance' by Bernard Adams

'There's a devil in the drum' by John Lucy

'Old soldiers never die' by Frank Richards

'Ghosts have warm hands' by Will Bird

'The war the infantry knew' by James Dunn

We are indeed fortunate that The Naval and Military Press are reproducing so many of these accounts.

Are there other accounts that I should condider reading?

[Terry_Reeves]

Dave

Try a favourite of mine "The Great Push" by Patrick Macgill. This is a superb first-hand account of Loos.

Although Naval and Military have reprinted it, it is a wee bit expensive for a paperback when the postage is added. Shop around on the internet though and you may find a cheaper copy.

Terry Reeves

[Steve_McGarry]

Dave

A very interesting selection, I have not read any of them apart from the last one. But I will ...

My personal favorite is "With a machine gun to Cambrai" by George Coppard... The last chapter when he goes back to the front as an old man in the early 70's is wonderful...

[Jimmy Taylor]

Dave,

You could add

Stand To by Capt F.C. Hitchcock (Leinster Regt)

Goodbye To All That by Robert Graves

[Simon Furnell]

Hi Steve.

I would agree with you on George Coppards"With a machine gun to Cambrai",a marvellous little book.

Another one that i remember is"I survived,didn't i" although the authors name escapes me.I believe his first name was Ginger.

Only read it once and then had to get it back to my local library.

There are some very good first hand accounts in most of Lyn Macdonalds books and in Martin Middlebrooks.

I shall start looking for the other books mentioned by Dave.You can't ever read to many first hand accounts.

Regards.

Simon Furnell.

[kevin]

Hot Blood and Cold Steel. by Andy Simpson

All encompassing portrayal of front line life,taken from letters and Diaries of the front line soldiers in France and Flanders.

[ianw]

Can I put forward "Undertones of War" and "Some Desperate Glory"

[Terry Carter]

"Soldiers from the war returning" & " A Subaltern's War" by Charles Carrington. "Up to Mametz" by Wynne Griffiths.

[Steve_McGarry]

I agree, you cannot get better than first hand accounts. Simon, I stopped getting books from the library because I didn't like giving them back! I have found that by using second hand book shops I have built up a nice little library and can now read and reread them at my lesuire. "Undertones of war" is also a great read. I don't know why but I became very fond of George Coppard whilst reading his book "with a machine gun to Cambrai" The lump in the throat did over time !!! I was weaned on the great war with lynn Mac Donalds books ... a great way to get an insight and I would recommend her books to any novice. I now use good old Ray Westlake books if there is something I really can't wait for... It is interesting that the regimental history of the buffs is being reprinted and will be avalible soon from Ray ( I hope its ready before crimbo) as its firmly on my list... ( the wife thinks I'm sad) But she also thougt I was sad when I bought her a dust pan and brush for her birthday !!! Don't ask me, I thought she would find it useful (women) !

[Marco]

What I read can be viewed at

http://www.igr.nl/users/vandenheuvel/Oddsa...ndends/book.htm ,

A question such as this usually gets lists of the known books. Wouldn't it me more useful (and perhaps fun) to list those we didn't like?

I nominate the following:

West, G.A. THE DIARY OF A DEAD OFFICER. ca. 1918, 96 pages, 19x13 cm., George Allen & Unwin.

I skipped pages, and I don't do that often.

And I'm as yet undecided about:

Hiscock, E. THE BELLS OF HELL GO TING-A-LING-A-LING. 1976, 149 pages, 23x14 cm., Arlington Books.

A book worth to be read because of its for WW1 strange sexual content, but it leaves you wondering whats true or not.....

Regards,

Marco

[Steve_McGarry]

sexual content !!!!

was there such a thing in those days

Are you referring to "Ladies" in the trenches...... please explain

[Marco]

Hello Steve,

I salute your innocence

WW1 (combat) was mainly a male thing, so the sexual content is predominantly, euh, male orientated. Think about the well known 40 men in a cattle wagon and apparently the lesser known fact what can happen if one can’t keep his hands to himself. As said in the previous mail: is it all true??

A nice image for Sunday evening: Our young (17 when enlisting, IIRC) writer has recently turned down the sexual advances of a girl when still in England. She is well known for liking soldiers, but our writer got ‘cold feet’ (no pun intended) and didn’t get further then the ‘deep petting’ stage. Later on the whole Bn is called on parade to hear a speech by the CO that a man of the Bn. has impregnated the mentioned girl, who’s present during the parade. Our writer nearly has a fit when his name is read out as the culprit. Then the younger sister of the girl who is standing at the gate shouts "it’s all a lie, he is still a virgin!" and that her sister just wants revenge for his earlier behaviour. ... Do you think he felt better?

Perhaps I should reconsider if I like this one or not. I did learn the phrase 'deep petting' from this one...

Regards,

Marco

[Kate Wills]

Don't worry Steve - you are not missing out on any porn!! I can't say I enjoyed Bells of Hell much, because I found Hiscock's company tiresome, though as it has been some years since I first read it, so perhaps I should have another go.

I very much enjoyed Sagittarius Rising, not least because Cecil Lewis is so companionable. Reading his book is like sitting by the fireside while listening to a favourite uncle. He has a sense of wonder at his own boyish enthusiasm, and a touching regard for friends and foes alike.

[Steve_McGarry]

Sagittarius Rising is on my must read list.... along with about 20 others... I have read extracts and thought they were wonderful.

Marco, Quote .."WW1 (combat) was mainly a male thing, so the sexual content is predominantly, euh, male orientated."

I cannot believe my grandads generation did such things, It surely had not been invented

[Kate Wills]

My husband Martin (who has yet to get around to registering) wishes to cast a vote for P J Campbell's In the Cannon's Mouth; as interesting on routine as on the excitement and dangers of action.

[charlesmessenger]

A book, of which I was not previously aware, but have read during the last week, is I L Read's `Of Those We Loved' (Pentland Press, 1994). He served in France in the ranks of the Royal Sussex, rising to the rank of Sergeant, then went to Officer Cadet School, was commissioned posted to Egypt, but returned to France in time for the final campaign, being awarded a Croix de Guerre. It is very illuminating and contains many of his sketches, which are evocative.

Charles M

[Guest Sidney]

There are a fair number of first-hand accounts of

battlefield experiences in my book --

"THE BANTAMS: The Untold Story Of World War One."

(Out of print, but still widely available via public libraries.)

Most of these accounts were recounted to me personally

by aged veterans of the First World War.

-- Sidney Allinson,

Victoria, British Columbia,

Canada.

We didn't know that Sidney was that Sidney! I fully concur. A great book, on a neglected subject. Chris

[Andrew P]

One of my favourite's of WW1 is

'To the Last Ridge' by WH Downing.

Downing was in the 57th Bn AIF and fought through the terrible Fromelles battle in 1916 and continued to serve with this unit for the rest of the war.

One that has been recommended to me but I have not read yet is

'Hells, Bells & Mademoiselles' by Joe Maxwell VC

Cheers

Andrew

[Hedley Malloch]

I agree with Steve. Coppard's 'With a machine-gun ... ' takes a lot of beating. He writes well (one can see that he was nephew A.E. Coppard, the noted Edwardian short-story writer) and about issues no-one else touches - such as the importance of being small in avoiding bullets. I also like Graves and Blunden. I have had a go with Dunn, but find he works best as a 'dip-in' book rather than a cover-to-cover read.

Lyn MacDonald - I don't know. I have great reservations about undiluted second-hand survivor accounts and I find her to be very formulaic; read 10 pages and you've read the lot. '1915' still sits unread on my bookshelf. In my view Middlebrook is far better at presenting survivor testimony. But I would like my bank account to be £10 behind hers.

What about non-UK accounts? Jünger's 'Storm of Steel' is a wonderful account; vivid descriptions and wonderful pictures of trench life. It's in my top four

[ianw]

Couldn't agree more with your comments on "1915" . I also found "To the last Man" to be equally dreadful . Problem is that as she has ticked off all the years of the war to her and her publishers delight , she probably put off other writers who could see they had been "Macdonaldized". That said , there is always room for a good book on whatever subject . Arras still seems neglected.

[Guest jbd]

My husband Martin (who has yet to get around to registering) wishes to cast a vote for P J Campbell's In the Cannon's Mouth;

Objection Mr Webmaster. Surely proxy voting is not allowed, not even from a household where they are sophisticated enough to drink coffee in bed?

Barrie Dobson

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Well it seems that the German side did get mentioned at least once in a previous post. Having read most of the British books listed I always wanted to know what the 'enemy' was like. Many years later it seems that I have a fairly good idea but there is always room for improvement.

I would add the following books that are printed in English for the viewer to get some idea of the experience and point of view of the German side. I especially liked The Advance from Mons and Storm of Steel but all were very good for the subject presented.

The books I would add to everyone's list are:

The Advance from Mons by Captain Walter Bloem (Infantry)

The Passage by Gustav Ebelshauser (Infantry)

Storm of steel by Ernst Jünger (Infantry)

Copse 125 by Ernst Jünger (Infantry)

Fritz by Fritz Nagel Artillery/Anti-Aircraft artillery)

Attack by Erwin Rommel (Infantry)

With the German guns by Herbert Sulzbach (Artillery)

The last one, With the German Guns is interesting as the author becomes a commissioned British officer in WWII, an interesting turn of fate. His book was also listed on a recommended reading list by the Nazi Government in the 1930's before the government realized he was Jewish.

Ralph Whitehead

[Chris_Baker]

Here are a few of my own favourites:

"To hell and back with the Guards", by Norman D. Cliff. The harsh training and high standards of the Grenadier Guards.

"From Ypres to Cambrai - the 1914-1919 diary of an infantryman", bu Frank Hawkings. Queen Victoria's Rifles.

"Honour satisfied - A Dorset rifleman at war 1916-18", by 2/Lt Frank Warren. 20th KRRC. Includes a brilliant account of the retreat in March 1918.

"A Kitchener man's bit", by Rifleman Gerald V.Dennis. 21st KRRC.

"Occasional gunfire", by Alec W.Paton, MM. A fairly unusual account of life with a Scots Siege Battery of the RGA. Brilliantly written. I couldn't put it down. And some superlative sketches. A "must read". Bishop-Laggett Publishing. ISBN 0 946273 17 0.

[Myrtle]

Some of my favourites have already been mentioned but I also like MACHINE GUNNER 1914-1918 ( Personal Experiences of the Machine Gun Corps) compiled and edited by C.E.Crutchley.

Regards

Myrtle

[Patrick Mooney]

Friends,

I would like to add my two cents worth to the list of my favorite first person accounts:

Over the Top - Guy Empey...an American who fights in the BEF

Under Fire - Henri Barbusse...one of the best French soldier accounts

Storm of Steel - Ernst Junger...a powerful book which opened my eyes

Fix Bayonets - John Thomason...stories of the US Marines in WWI

Suddenly, we didn't want to die - Elton Macklin...tale of a US Marine in every battle of the Marines in France

With the German Guns - Herbert Sulzbach...as mentioned above, a great book

Isn't it grand that the Great War spawned such an incredible wealth of literature that we could reflect on? What a truly inspirational gift to leave to us by these men and women.

Patrick