Tommy Rot

by John Sadler, Rosie Serdiville

A "General Shute." The General inspecting the trenches, exclaimed with a horrified shout, 'I refuse to command a Division, Which leaves its excreta about.', But nobody took any notice, No one was prepared to refute, That the presence of shit was congenial, compared to the presence of Shute, And certain responsible critics, Made haste to reply to his words, Observing that his staff advisors, consisted entirely of turds. For shit may be shot at odd corners and paper supplied there to suit, But a shit would be shot without mourners, If somebody shot that shit Shute.

Genres: Poetry

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2013

About the author

Born in 1953, John Sadler has law degrees from Northumbria University and the University of Westminster. A part-time lecturer in military history at Sunderland University Centre for Lifelong Learning, he is currently studying toward a PhD in history and is soon to begin an Imperial War Museum Fellowship in Holocaust Studies. He is the author of over 20 books, including Scottish Battles, published by Birlinn in April 2010. He is married with two children and lives in Newcastle.

Reviews

[Dan Lutts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book a few years ago at the Imperial War Museum in London. The World War I era is one of my interests. Some of us are familiar with the well-known war poets such as Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, and Siegfried Sassoon. But unlike today, many people in Britain wrote poetry and quite a few British soldiers in the trenches wrote poems too. So I thought this little book would be interesting.

The book is divided into six chronological parts from 1914 to 1918: Expectations, Resignation, Death, Mud, Home Front, and Victory. The contents don’t always follow the theme of the chapter title, though, which is fine. The poems range from poor to excellent but all reflect the heart-felt emotions of the men and women who wrote them and give us an insight into their thinking.

Many of the budding poets died in battle or from wounds. In fact, the first poem, “To Germany,” was written by Charles Hamilton Sorley. The authors contend that Sorley would have become one of the great war poets if he hadn’t died in the Battle of Loose when he was 20. “His final poem was found in the kit bag attached to his lifeless body.”

For me, the most poignant poem in the book is “Waiting," by Samantha Kelly, that gives the thoughts of a young wife on the home front whose husband was killed. Here a just a few lines:

I wanted to beg you to stay; instead I smoothed my apron and watched you walk away.
I wanted to fall down on my knees and scream and plead and plead and plead,
Instead I boiled water, made tea while you fastened braces, polished boots, shone buttons.

. . .

I knew you all my life, loved you since we were fifteen, and now I had to say goodbye.

. . .

‘It’s not for long love,’ you said, 'we will all be home by Christmas love.' You kissed me and held my gaze with those blue, blue eyes and turned and walked away.

I held that image in my mind till this day, you striding down the street, proud to be in khaki, prouder still of the red cap covering your sandy blond hair.

. . .

Sixty-five years to the day I watched you stroll down our street, round the corner, gone.

I’m old now Johnny, and now at last, I hope, soon, to see you again.

The book contains more than just poetry. The authors included introductions to the poems, sketches drawn by soldiers, prose and excerpts from plays written by the soldiers, wartime propaganda illustrations, a list of things nurses shouldn’t do, and other interesting tidbits.

I recommend Tommy Rot to anyone who wants to see World War I from a different and interesting perspective.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the 100th anniversary (31st July 1917) of the commencement of the Third Battle of Ypres (Wipers to the Tommies!) which came to be known as Passchendaele, I thought this an appropriate book to finish a day of reflection on my paternal grandfather and several great uncles on both sides of my family who knew something of the nightmare of the Western Front 1914-18, and paid a heavy price for their ordeal - early deaths from war wounds (poison gas & shrapnel), severe mental distress (now known as P-T.S.D)., muted, tangled emotions etc.
Having watched the light-show & tableau last night (July 30) in modern, rebuilt Ypres's Market Square I was emotionally-prepared for some of the excerpts of diaries, letters & poems, and the cartoons & doodles of ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances. They were men who experienced a true hell on earth indeed. We more fortunate descendants of these valiant & dutiful men should never forget them.Extraordinary men who made us what we are, warts and all!. May their tragic fates never be visited on future generations either. This book is an eclectic mix to be read with all due respect for the humanity of the men & women whose words are collected here.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like the authors found some poems and thought a book would be a good idea. But there weren’t enough poems so they decided to add some other quotes from the war. But it still wasn’t long enough so they added some pictures. Still not long enough so now they add some random writing. The book still being a bit short and being out of ideas they added lot of white spaces.

[Liz C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different perspective to the story of the average soldier in WWI

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up as one of the books to carry along on a long-planned visit to the 1914 battlefields of the First World War in Belgium and France - emphasizing those of the British Expeditionary Force - that "contemptible little army". The collection brings together prose and poetry by the soldiers themselves as well as from their contemporaries on the Home Front. These are collected in six chapters by theme, several grouped by year - 1914 through 1918 and one for the Home Front. This is not a collection limited to the established soldier-poets, for whom there are many other volumes and collections, but it includes some of them as well as other contributions culled from period letters, diaries, army newspapers, etc. That direct connection to the soldiers themselves was for me the great draw of this collection and it was not disappointing. Reflected in these are the humor they often employed to carry themselves through hard times but also the honest sense of loss and other emotions experienced by the front line soldier.