eBook - ePub
Letters from the Trenches
The First World War by Those Who Were There
- 176 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
A history of World War Iâtold through the letters exchanged by ordinary soldiers and their families.
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Letters from the Trenches reveals how people really thought and felt during the Great War, and covers all social classes and groups from officers to conscripts to women at home to conscientious objectors. Voices within the book include Sgt. John Adams, 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers, who wrote in May 1917: "For the day we get our letter from home is a red letter day in the history of the soldier out here. It is the only way we can hear what is going on. The slender thread between us and the homeland." Pvt. Stanley Goodhead, who served with one of the Manchester Pals battalion, wrote home in 1916: "I came out of the trenches last night after being in four days. You have no idea what four days in the trenches means . . . The whole time I was in I had only about two hours sleep and that was in snatches on the firing step. What dugouts there are, are flooded with mud and water up to the knees and the rats hold swimming galas in them . . . We are literally caked with brown mud and it is in all our food, tea etc."
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Jacqueline Wadsworth skillfully uses these letters to tell the human story of the First World War: what mattered to Britain's servicemen and their feelings about the war; how the conflict changed people; and how life continued on the home front.
Â
Letters from the Trenches reveals how people really thought and felt during the Great War, and covers all social classes and groups from officers to conscripts to women at home to conscientious objectors. Voices within the book include Sgt. John Adams, 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers, who wrote in May 1917: "For the day we get our letter from home is a red letter day in the history of the soldier out here. It is the only way we can hear what is going on. The slender thread between us and the homeland." Pvt. Stanley Goodhead, who served with one of the Manchester Pals battalion, wrote home in 1916: "I came out of the trenches last night after being in four days. You have no idea what four days in the trenches means . . . The whole time I was in I had only about two hours sleep and that was in snatches on the firing step. What dugouts there are, are flooded with mud and water up to the knees and the rats hold swimming galas in them . . . We are literally caked with brown mud and it is in all our food, tea etc."
Â
Jacqueline Wadsworth skillfully uses these letters to tell the human story of the First World War: what mattered to Britain's servicemen and their feelings about the war; how the conflict changed people; and how life continued on the home front.
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Yes, you can access Letters from the Trenches by Jacqueline Wadsworth in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Military Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: War is Declared: The Home Front Prepares for Conflict
- Chapter 2: Let Battle Commence: Firing the Opening Shots
- Chapter 3: Here Come the Volunteers!: Kitchenerâs Army Marches Off to War
- Chapter 4: Writing to Sweethearts and Mothers
- Chapter 5: Call to the Empire: The Experiences of Troops from Overseas
- Chapter 6: Putting Pen to Paper: The Postal Service in Wartime
- Chapter 7: Women at Home: A World Without Men
- Chapter 8: No Choice but Conscription
- Chapter 9: Marriage at a Distance: Spanning the Miles with Letters of Love
- Chapter 10: Regret to Inform You âŚ
- Chapter 11: Families in Search of the Facts
- Chapter 12: Tanks, Tin Hats and Aeroplanes: The New Face of Modern Warfare
- Chapter 13: âWith Our Backs to the Wallâ: The Final Push for Victory
- Chapter 14: The Long Road Home: Adjusting to a Changed World
- Epilogue
- Lest We Forget: The Letter-writers and Copyright-holders
- Bibliography