Richard Van EmdenRezensionen

This was First World War historian Richard van Emden's first book, originally published in 1990 and reissued in 2013 for the centenary. The author had interviewed and pieced together the war time experiences of Private Ben Clouting of the 4th Dragoon Guards, a survivor of the regiment that saw the first shots of the war fired by the British Expeditionary Force on 22 August 1914. Ben was a very ordinary soldier, who joined the army in peacetime in summer 1913, lying about his age, claiming to be 18 when he was in fact not even 16. He spent some of the war in the trenches and some of it behind the lines looking after officers' horses. But his experiences are those of a very ordinary man in what he does and what happens to him, reacting unemotionally and with British phlegm. Overall Ben could be said to have been lucky in being away from the front line much of the time, though he was wounded twice, slightly gassed and nearly died of pleurisy. His account is remarkable for being unremarkable. Van Emden's editorial interpolations at times I thought were too long and unnecessarily dry and sometimes detracted from Ben's account, though on other occasions they helped with contextualising Ben's subjective experiences. Worth a read.

Not the blood and guts fest of some memoirs as this guy is definitely a product of his generation; brave, modest, gentlemanly... All those qualities we appear to have lost unfortunately.
At 16 he was barely old enough to leave school, but he defied his regiment (who wanted to leave him at home) and set off for war, being present at both the first shot of the Great War, and the last great cavalry charge of the British Army.
Legend.
I think this memory sums it all up; Ben relays to the interviewer that each cavalry battalion had a member of the pioneer corps attached to them, there to dig latrines x 4 each time they made camp and fill in the holes when they moved again. And what did Ben and his friends name these lucky fellows?
...the rear admiral.
Priceless.
The world is a poorer place without these old contemptibles.

Historians can give us a big-picture view of major battles, but big-picture views don't necessarily reveal what that battle was really like for those on the battlefield. For that you need to hear from the soldiers themselves. And that is what makes Richard Van Emden's “The Somme: The Epic Battle in the Soldiers' Own Words and Photographs” (2016) something special.

By the time the Somme offensive against the German lines began early in July of 1917 (it continued almost until the end of the year), British soldiers were forbidden to have cameras, probably because the military did not want people back in England to see just how bad conditions were on the front lines. Still a number of soldiers, especially officers, did take cameras with them, and the photographs that survive are often stunning. Van Emden also includes photos taken by German soldiers.

Between the photographs, Van Emden shows us the progress of the battle (not that there was much actual progress) via excerpts from letters, diaries and memoirs written by soldiers on both sides.

British soldiers, being British, enjoyed their tea time even with a battle going on. "Oh, what should we do without our tea here!" one man writes. Officers often refer to their servants, whose service included doing their masters' bidding with bullets flying.

The men write about their chances of surviving the next attack (slim in the case of those ordered to advance against German machine guns), about the terrible wounds inflicted upon their fellows, about the constant noise, about the mud and the rats, and about the stink of decaying bodies (something war movies never seem to mention).

Deadly combat actually seems to have been viewed as fun by a couple of the writers. One of them says, "I say that this feeling of joy and lightheartedness does not come from any pleasure in killing — that's the rotten part — but in the risk of being killed. My days in the trenches were days of utter content; I cannot explain why, even to myself." Yet another soldier writes, "War is indescribably disgusting. Any man who has seen it and praises it is degenerate."

One man tells of being hugged by a German prisoner relieved to still be alive. Another tells of trying to take pictures of some of the men. "The snaps are not very good as I could not ask the troops to stand still and look pleasant!"

In the snaps Van Emden has collected, few of the troops look very pleasant. Still, like the written commentary by the soldiers, they are quite good on the whole, making the book something that should interest anyone with an interest in World War I in general or the battle of Somme in particular.

Most years around Remembrance Day I read a non-fiction book on a relevant theme and Richard van Emden's books tick all the right boxes: they let First World War veterans' and their families' stories speak for themselves within a well-balanced narrative that cover a wide range of human experience, avoiding cliches and over simplification of issues around this conflict whose course and conduct still give rise to strong emotions today, over a century after it ended. This book is the story of the surviving family members of those who died, particularly of their children. The author interviewed many such survivors, between the ages of 95 and 109, in the early 2000s. A number remained alive when this book was published in 2011 (I'm not sure if any remain alive now in 2019). Their stories cover a wide range of experiences and reactions: some had no memories of their fathers, but maybe owned a memento of him that acted as a personal link; others had memories of kissing him goodbye when he left for the front, and/or from brief encounters when he was back home for short spells of leave. Most of their memories were affected by the reactions of their mothers and other family members. Some mothers were so grief stricken they could never mention again the name of their dead husband, while others set up shrines in the family home to their memory. Some refused to marry again, while others did so fairly quickly, maybe for understandable economic reasons. Some refused to accept their loved one could possibly be dead and spent years hoping and waiting for them to turn up - appallingly, they were sometimes exploited by fraudsters claiming to have contacts who could help find them. In a very few cases, missing soldiers did turn up, only to find their wives or sweethearts, reasonably believing them dead, had found someone else. In short, they showed the same wide range of human emotions and reactions as any other group of people, though in the majority of cases they genuinely believed - or perhaps in some cases made themselves believe - their loved ones had died in a worthwhile cause. Further, in a country where belief in God was still almost universal, most also believed they would be reunited with them in an afterlife.

The book also deals with some other issues such as the campaign by a minority of family members for their loved ones' remains to be repatriated to Britain after the war. However, aside from the vast expense and emotional trauma the exhuming of remains in varying conditions would have caused, veterans' views were usually that the dead of their own regiments should rest together in death as they had fought together in life.

2019 is the centenary of the unveiling of the first, temporary wooden, Cenotaph and there is a description of that original ceremony, in which many family members took part, while others couldn't face it. In the same way, in later years, some families gained solace from visiting battlefield cemeteries and other graves, while others preferred not to (or could not afford to, though cheap packages were offered).

Overall, this offers a very human look at the after effects of war, while avoiding resorting to cliches.

Moving account of fighting in WW1 and the society he returned to by an ordinary Tommy.

The Somme -The Epic Battle in the Soldier’s own Words and Photographs.

The bestselling author and expert on World War One has gathered together researched and edited one of the most moving and comprehensive books available for the centenary of the Battle of The Somme. Like those that have researched and studied history over many years, the only time you are really touched is when you read the words of those who were there and those that perished. This book is packed with these feelings and it is brilliant.

In his introduction he quotes the historian AJP Taylor, whose views are today often ignored, ‘Idealism perished on the Somme,’ just about sums up the feeling of the soldiers. Whether we like the sentiment or not, Taylor’s point is just as valid today as when he wrote it, and this book justifies that sentiment. In a picture of 5 officers of the 9th Rifle Brigade 2 were to be wounded and the remaining 3 were killed in action, look exhausted, these men had to lead other exhausted men in to battle.

Across eight chapters the reader is taken on a journey that deals with the harsh reality of battle, and when you are bogged down in mud how cold life, if you were surviving was. None of the chapters glorify in any way the Somme, but the harsh life the men face drips from every page, with their own words and pictures.

With the words of tunnellers who had to carry 50lbs of explosives for the mines which they would blow up to aid the advance of the soldiers on the first day of the battle. Captain Stanley Bullock describes what it is like to be down there, that the job was the least desirable in the army and with the amount of explosives they were using they could blow the Germans back to Berlin.

When you read some of the officers asking for reinforcements that were desperately needed and not getting a reply from headquarters, to the description of Thiepval Wood disappearing under the hail of shrapnel. Watching his men reach the limit of human endurance, or that they received messages from men less than an hour later were dead.

When using the words of the men that were there to describe the toil and strife, it is the pictures that really hammer home the points. When you see the mud, the endless mud or the stumps where trees once stood. One letter sums up the Somme, ‘Darling Moth’, I am so thankful to be alive …’ before listing those friends who are dead.

If you want to be chilled to the bones by the description of The Somme, not by historians, but those that were there then this is the book for you. There has been a great deal of research undertaken, both in documents, letters and diaries but also pictorially and it all brings through the sense of idealism dying on the battlefield or more truthfully the battle mud.

This is an excellent book, well worth reading and keeping as a reminder why war is not always the answer, and that it is our young that are the ones who are expected to surrender their lives for the greater good.

This is a fascinating and well-researched account of the very large number of boy soldiers who fought and in many cases died during the First World War. It focuses on those who were boys by the military standards of the time, which said that no one under the age of 19 should be fighting overseas (in this context it is worth remembering that the age of majority at this time and for over fifty years afterwards was, of course, 21). During the early years of the war, the rule was routinely breached, as boys as young as 13 (in the extreme case of George Maher) enlisted, though the majority of underage boys enlisting were 16-17. They were motivated by a mixture of feelings: patriotism; peer pressure or guilt at not doing their bit; the bravado of extreme youth; the desire for adventure and excitement; or a simple escapism from humdrum everyday life - many recruits from poor backgrounds had a much better diet, exercise and a sense of purpose in the army. So how were they able to get away with enlisting so young, when it must have been obvious in many cases that they were not the age they claimed to be? A combination of reasons - simply lying so they could fulfill one or more of the motivations above, especially with boys who were strong or tall; manpower shortages in the pre-conscription phase meaning that anyone willing to fight and not obviously decrepit was not turned away; combined with the perverse incentive caused by the bonus that recruiting sergeants and doctors conducting medical examinations received for every recruit admitted.

Due to public and Parliamentary pressure (especially from the Liberal MP Sir Arthur Markham), the rules were gradually better enforced, so that those underage were not sent to fight, and those underage boys already out fighting were removed from the front line and kept in reserve in the rear until they were old enough; but these rules were still often flouted, partly because the flow of volunteers was erratic and would sometimes decline after news of appalling losses reached Britain (though it would rise again on occasions such as the sinking of the Lusitania or the execution of Edith Cavell. The introduction of conscription in January 1916 changed the situation, though even then many commanders on the spot preferred to keep an underage boy who had proved himself rather than take on a perhaps reluctant conscript. From mid 1917, very few underage boys enlisted as the rules were tightened and better enforced, though during the desperate German Spring offensive of 1918, boys of eighteen years and a few months old had to fight as part of the mighty effort to push the Germans back and ensure final victory.

Complete with photos of a number of the boys whose stories are movingly told threaded throughout the generally chronological narrative, this is an excellent book and surely the definitive modern guide to this aspect of the Great War.

A collation of interviews, conducted late in their lives, with a handful of veterans of the Great War, plus extracts from memoirs, and all arranged in thematic cliches (e.g. "The Weary Road").

The themes are linked by some thin narrative, but the book doesn't do its interviewees justice.

There is heroism here, and courage in the face of adversity, but it is under-told and under-sold by the author, in my opinion.

Overall : a disappointment, though it may be useful as background research for social or military historians.

Quite short, but some fascinating accounts of life for the other ranks as a POW in World War 1.

As in World War 2 the general belief is that life was like in the films like The Great Escape, Colditz and the Wooden Horse, however these were officer's camps and as such officers were excluded from labour under the Geneva Convention.

Those that weren't officers had a far more bleak and dangerous existence working in mines and factories, subsisting on minimal and very poor quality food. Van Emden reckons that possibly 10% of WW1 British POWs died in these camps.

Excellent collection of the little known stories of the many under age recruits who rushed to volunteer at the outbreak of WWI and even subsequently when more was known about the horrific conditions in the trenches.

2014 sees the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the first world war . Over the four year period 1914 to 1918 huge numbers of men fought and were killed in a relentless pulverizing of men in trenches by machine gun fire ... Millions of young men from all nations were lost in their prime . it was pointless and unforgivable . To have survived the war was a miracle and a matter of some surprise to the man himself, Harry Patch was one such veteran who survived to return to civilian life as a plumber and family man . What was even more remarkable was his longevity .He lived until 2009 and died aged 111, the oldest and only surviving soldier of the great war . He was Britsin's oldest man . He was given a grand ceremonial funeral and his obituary appeared in The Economist . Patch achieved fame in old age simply as a surviver and as a man who carried the memory and flame of life for the many who had died so wastefully in foreign fields . He wore his red armistice poppy with greater pride than his service medals . This is his autobiography published in 2007 and written with the help of recorded memories given to Richard van Emden , who has written movingly of [ the Boy Soldiers of The Great War ] . This is the story of an ordinary working class man who lived in extraordinary times . His was not a literary voice capturing the moment as happened in the words of the war poets of the First World War. His autobiography is that of a man who had an excellent memory , but buried those memories deep in his subconscious and who for decades did not speak of his war experiences . Only when he reached an immense old age was he discovered by the media He recalls and remembers events , fighting , the battle scene and what trench warfare was really like with great accuracy . In old age he was still angry and critical of military and political leadership . . He fought in , was wounded and survived the battle of Passchendale . His story for me is a personal one as my grandfather was killed in that same battle . Harry's story goes on to tell about recovery , convalescence, demobilization and a return to civilian life . he fought for his country but at the age of 20 could still not vote in the first post war election in Britain . His post war life was almost an anti climax though he went on to serve on the home front in the second world war . This memoir in a way was written too late in the author's life but then he never intended to be a writer and was not a diarist . His fame was an accidental consequence of unique survival . he was a special man , clearly loved by his Neighbours and friends . It is a worthy memory of a soldier of a war that is now a century past that it has become ancient history and there are no longer any men alive who fought in that war.½

Like most books is too long; very good on post war elements such as Cenatoph, war memorials and controversies such as burial, repatriation and recognition

This book is based on a documentary of the same name. The author launched a project in 1999 whereby he sought out the remaining British survivors of WWI German POW camps. These ex-POWs were enlisted men, not officers. Richard Van Emden covers their experiences from the point of capture through their release and repatriation after the war. There are numerous photos and copies of documents in the book; there are even clips from camp newspapers. Since the photos came from private sources, this is the first time they have been published.

The differences in the treatment received among the various ex-POWs was amazing. Some had a relatively easy time, while others were treated poorly. It all depended on the Camp Commandant and what he allowed to happen. One complaint was universal among the survivors: the lack of food. During the First World War, Germany was under blockade by the Royal Navy. Consequently, as the war went on there was a serious lack of food in Germany. So there was little food to spare for prisoners. Parcels from the Red Cross and other organizations became a significant source of food for the prisoners. It was surprising how well the parcel systerm worked. Most of the parcels mailed reached the serviceman to whom it was addrressed. Of course there was some theft, but overall the system worked.

Very interesting book. The first I have read on the subject of POWs. I recommend it.

Confusing and difficult to keep track of - probably a lot like the war itself. The collection of people itself has not real link other than fame at some stage in their life but with in the book we jump around thought the war something I found frustrating.
Each biography in the book is interesting and does give you a feel for what these men experience was like (interestingly very few of them spent long at the front before be wounded - only tow covered where killed in the War).
I would recommend this a book for people interested in the War because it offers very personal account, but the lack of real internal structure to the work is frustrating but worth persevering through.

This is not the "Secret Great War diary" of Jack Martin. That diary written during the events it chronicled was transcribed by the author after the war and one must presume, edited by him and deletions made. The originals are now lost or destroyed. This published volume has been further edited and more deletions made by Mr van Emden, who was not alive during WW I but who has written a number of books about it, erroneously listed on the back of the half-title page as "by the same author"; erroneously, that is, unless he made up the whole story! It is interesting enough but not well written

A classic of WWI oral history: Richard van Emden has done it again, with another riveting collection of first-hand stories from the trenches and beyond. As we say goodbye to the last of the Great War veterans, van Emden's work becomes increasingly precious.

His respect for these men shines through every page as he lets them tell their own stories, providing just enough context to maximise the drama and relevance of each scene. By the end, the reader mourns their passing along with the author.

A timeless record of humanity in the face of insanity.

I saved this for now as it is the 90th anniversary of the end of WWI. It is amazing how clear Harry's memories are and in what fine fettle he is considering his great age. The most remarkable thing about him is that he was an unremarkable man in remarkable, indeed shattering and horrific, times. Worth reading for a century and more of an ordinary man's life and memories.