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May 30, 2021
I had been searching for this book for a few years and was finally able to obtain a copy in good condition. I wasn’t sure what it was about exactly except the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Was it fiction, an historical account or a personal story about Corporal Pittman?
It is an extremely well done historical account of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. It does not focus solely on the RNR but provides a more sweeping view of what was going on around them as well to put it all in context, especially the devastating loss of life.
It is more than that, though. The author has interspersed the historical narrative with a conversation with her daughter as they explore the graves and commemorative sites related to the RNR. It highlights her 17 year old daughter’s questioning and trying to understand the why of the war and the sacrifice. It was not about Corporal Pitman although he is featured at the end. He was the soldier who died on July 1, 1916 whose name they could not find.
I did not know before I picked up this book that I was related to Corporal Pittman; he was my paternal grandfather’s cousin. I had wondered for a long time whether I was related to anyone who had fought or died during the war but was never sure. My immediate relatives were all of ages that effectively prevented them from enlisting; either way too young or way too old.
This is not a book about Corporal Pittman however. He just happened to be the last grave and name that the author and her daughter were searching for in trying to locate all the RNR Soldiers who died on July 1, 1916. They did find his name eventually and the book ends with a little information on him.
At one point, she describes the Great War as “hideous, bloody, filthy, clangorous, bestial, degrading, pointless. It was indescribable...”. This she does towards the end and the material laid out before that point certainly leads up to that.
If you are in any way interested in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment or even the first day of the Battle of the Somme, I highly recommend trying to find a copy of this book.
It is an extremely well done historical account of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. It does not focus solely on the RNR but provides a more sweeping view of what was going on around them as well to put it all in context, especially the devastating loss of life.
It is more than that, though. The author has interspersed the historical narrative with a conversation with her daughter as they explore the graves and commemorative sites related to the RNR. It highlights her 17 year old daughter’s questioning and trying to understand the why of the war and the sacrifice. It was not about Corporal Pitman although he is featured at the end. He was the soldier who died on July 1, 1916 whose name they could not find.
I did not know before I picked up this book that I was related to Corporal Pittman; he was my paternal grandfather’s cousin. I had wondered for a long time whether I was related to anyone who had fought or died during the war but was never sure. My immediate relatives were all of ages that effectively prevented them from enlisting; either way too young or way too old.
This is not a book about Corporal Pittman however. He just happened to be the last grave and name that the author and her daughter were searching for in trying to locate all the RNR Soldiers who died on July 1, 1916. They did find his name eventually and the book ends with a little information on him.
At one point, she describes the Great War as “hideous, bloody, filthy, clangorous, bestial, degrading, pointless. It was indescribable...”. This she does towards the end and the material laid out before that point certainly leads up to that.
If you are in any way interested in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment or even the first day of the Battle of the Somme, I highly recommend trying to find a copy of this book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review