From Hexham to Barry - One Moment in Grandad's War: Part fiction, part mini-memoir - one moment in a soldier's WW1 story

by Maggie Holman

In March 1918, my grandfather, private John 'Jack' Vause, was declared medically fit after being wounded in the fighting around Ypres in Belgium. After two weeks' leave with his family in Hexham, Jack travelled to the other end of the country, to Barry in Wales, to join a reserve battalion and await his next orders. While in Barry, Jack struggled with his experiences and his situation, which resulted in his making a decision which interrupted the direction of his war.
Part fiction and part 'mini-memoir', 'From Hexham to Barry' explores Jack's emotional dilemma at this moment in his young life, raising questions about the purpose - and the futility - of war which still have resonance today, over one hundred years after Jack's own story.

100 pages, Paperback

Published September 10, 2025

About the author

Maggie Holman writes speculative fiction for all ages. Her love of the fantastical stems from early childhood, when she would often withdraw into imaginary worlds. In her writing, she loves to explore the possibilities that lie outside and alongside the real world.

Four of her books - 'The Wishing Sisters & Other Forest Tales' (2008), the children's story 'Footprints in the Snow' (2011), 'The Knocking (2017) and 'Save the White Stag' (2021) - were all inspired by the fifteen years she spent in the beautiful and atmospheric Forest of Dean. 'The Things We've Seen' (2021) marked a departure from this Forest-based fiction.

Although born in the UK, Maggie has lived in Europe since 2009, where she can explore her second passion, travelling on motorbike road trips with her husband.

Find Maggie at:
www.twitter.com/runjumpjive
and
www.facebook.com/maggieholmanwriter