Letters from the Trenches: The First World War by Those Who Were There

by Jacqueline Wadsworth

A history of World War I—told through the letters exchanged by ordinary soldiers and their families.  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.”   Jacqueline Wadsworth skillfully uses these letters to tell the human story of the First World 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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, World War I, Biography

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2014

Reviews

[Book Club of One · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a Free digital version of this book via NetGalley.

Letters from the Trenches: The First World War by Those Who Were There is mostly what is promised by the title. A selections of letters from servicemen serving in the British Army during the First World War. It is not a history of the first world war, and would be best read by those with at least an awareness of the major campaigns and events of the war.

Jacqueline Wadsworth appealed for letters through newspapers, magazines, and family history groups and despite the assumptions of gathering letters from archives and library she instead was approached by families throughout the former British Empire, including Australia, India and South Africa. This work is centered on transcriptions of the letters, but for each one Wadsworth contextualizes it within the greater scope of the war.

Though some of the letters are presented chronologically, overall they are more structured to adhere to Wadsworth's themes which align to the expected major events, technologies or common imagery of the war. The letters themselves are interesting as they are the thoughts, feelings and experiences of the soldiers as they presented them to their correspondent.

However, as a whole it felt lacking in depth. While the letters are wonderful primary sources, the course of time has lowered the number of surviving letters. And often what does survive is one sided, the soldier writing home. It often felt like Wadsworth was writing a series of biographies instead of speaking more collectively of the experience of the serving man, as detailed in their writings.

[Bogdan · Rating 3 out of 5]

În timpul celor patru ani lungi de război (1914-1918) s-a scris un număr copleșitor de scrisori. Majoritatea soldaților au trimis/primit scrisori și cărți poștale, acestea menținându-le sănătatea mentală și aducându-i pe cei dragi mai aproape de ei, chiar dacă doar prin intermediul unei bucăți de hârtie. Autoarea se concentrează exclusiv asupra corespondenței din Regatul Unit și numeroasele sale dominioane; astfel, vom putea citi fragmente din mesajele unor soldați din Anglia, Noua Zeelandă. Canada, Australia, Africa de Sud etc. Iar pe măsură ce avansează istoria războiului, scrisorile prezentate vor proveni din diferite perioade, accentul fiind pus pe efectele pe care războiul le are asupra oamenilor, fie ei soldați sau civili.
Interesant de observat că Primul Război Mondial a fost probabil primul război în care majoritatea soldaților (din UK, cel puțin) aveau un grad suficient de școlarizare cât să comunice acasă prin scrisori. În concluzie, avem de-a face cu o carte scurtă, cu un scop nobil (să ne prezinte că și în noroiul din tranșee oamenii își păstraseră umanitatea, speranța prentu vremuri mai bune și erau motivați de dorul de cei dragi și poate și de patrie) care se citește totuși greu din cauza subiectului prezentat franc.

[Monica Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a collection of thoughts and feelings, as expressed by those on the front line during WWI. It also covers a partial diary of a woman living in those times as well. I could have kept on reading this book, it was really fascinating! Poignant as all out, of course, since life expectancy at the front was short.

I enjoyed the fact that the author obviously did a lot of research around the letters that she read e.g. we read what happened to a particular soldier, if they survived the war and if they did, what they ended up doing. I enjoyed reading the letter by 8 year old Olivia too :)

WWI seems such a long time ago now, and it was, but wars continue to be waged around the world and this book is yet another cautionary tale about sending millions of young men as "cannon fodder" and the futility of it all. There were some very brave and stoic soldiers in this book and it was lovely to hear their voices in this way. They had the same hopes and dreams of any of us and I am saddened that so many of them didn't get the opportunity to have the lives they deserved.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword.

[Bob Horvat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story

I had not read anything about "The Great War" and this book brought it to life. Quite a revelation that brought to kind sing lyrics: "...war, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"

[Victor Whitman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book but somewhat unfocused. I got a better sense of the war by reading the accounts of the soldiers in other WWI books, particularly Peter Hart's 'The Somme.'

[Homerun2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant letters to and from the battlegrounds of WWI. Great glimpses of the soldiers and their families and circumstances.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book featuring letters and diary entries by British soldiers of the Great War. From the beginning of the war to the end, letters were an important part in keeping up the morale of the the soldiers and their families at home. Written on nearly anything that would suffice, the letters are frequently cheerful in order not to worry their families, but with every battle the fear would rise a notch. One particular letter late in the book came from a German soldier to a British woman, telling of her badly injured husband, who he had tried to help. Despite the German's kindness, the British soldier did not survive his wound.

The book ends with this optimistic quote by a woman journalist in 1918: "Let us hope that a generation hence, our war-madness may seem as strange and obsolete as duelling does to us now."

Unhappily, war never seems to be obsolete.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because I don’t know much about WWI, and I didn’t want to read a standard history about war. I thought this would be the more human side of things with less dates and maps with arrows. That was definitely the case, but perversely, I found myself wishing the book gave more of the historical context for the letters and diary entries that made up the book. The people featured in the book were from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Canada, so it did show the different experiences and reactions from a wide variety of people. There seemed to be a fairly even mix between men who survived the war and men who didn’t (one woman died). The stories behind the letters were interesting and emotional, but the book became kind of repetitive. It wasn’t a slog to read through this book, but I don’t think I got a lot out of it.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great read and really brought forth both information about WWI but also brought a human element to it too.