Frederick James Hodges > Quotes

“Our world was stripped of unessentials; each man was complete in himself, his equipment, weapons and food were his responsibility. We could move at a moment’s notice; everything was concentrated on the present moment; our past life was another world, our future could not be planned or foreseen.”
― Frederick James Hodges, Men of 18 in 1918: Memories of the Western Front in World War One

“War changes the spirit of a people.”
― Frederick James Hodges, Men of 18 in 1918: Memories of the Western Front in World War One

“Love is giving, not getting”.”
― Frederick James Hodges, Men of 18 in 1918: Memories of the Western Front in World War One

“The spirit of those far off days now seems rather quaint to some. Two world wars have receded into the past. New generations have been born who know nothing of war.”
― Frederick James Hodges, Men of 18 in 1918: Memories of the Western Front in World War One

“During service in the armed forces in wartime, one is inevitably a mere cypher; a pawn that can be moved at any time by the powers that be; powers that are usually quite impersonal.”
― Frederick James Hodges, Men of 18 in 1918: Memories of the Western Front in World War One

“It was a period of British history which is so totally alien to the present day and age, that any account of it reads like grotesque fiction.”
― Frederick James Hodges, Men of 18 in 1918: Memories of the Western Front in World War One