Only Remembered

by Michael Morpurgo

2014 will mark one hundred years since the outbreak of the First World War. To mark the date, this beautiful anthology will collect favourite extracts, images and poems from some of the UK's leading cultural, political and literary figures.





Poems, short stories, personal letters, newspaper articles, scripts, photographs and paintings are just some of the elements of this astonishing collection, with cover and artwork by renowned illustrator, Ian Beck.





Among the many contributors are: Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, Sir Andrew Motion, Miranda Hart, Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Horowitz, Eoin Colfer, Antony Beevor, Emma Thompson, David Almond, Dr Rowan Williams, Richard Curtis, Joanna Lumley, Raymond Briggs, Shami Chakrabarti and Sir Tony Robinson.





Royalties from the publication will be spilt between the Royal British Legion and projects for soldiers' children and families at SSAFA.

Genres: World War I, History, Nonfiction, War, Short Stories, Historical

326 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2014

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent selection of poems, prose, stories and recollections of The Great War selected by notable people of England.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology that shares how people feel about and they way they view the events of World War 1. As the cover of the copy I read says " Powerful words and pictures about the war that changed our world".

[Charlotte (Escapades of a Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review can also be found on blog Escapades of a Bookworm


This is beautifully filled with a large collection of thoughts from a diverse range of public figures. Each person explains the reason behind their chosen extract or image, what it means to them and what it tells us about the war.

These extracts manage to be funny, endearing and moving while also piercing the reader. They are a wonderful mixture of poems, comic strips, letters, scripts and photographs that allow the reader an insight into the very nature of the war.

Only remembered has a scrapbook feel which pays tribute to everyone who was part of World War I. A moving and endearing read.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection by a vast array of cultural figures. The choices are all personal to them in some way; some funny, some heartbreaking and all poignant.

An advance reader copy was kindly given by the publisher through Netgalley

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful little read which I enjoyed.

[Ilze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of what people can remember about WWI brings the reader right into the rough-and-tumble of those years. Some state that a "whole generation" was wiped out, though some write about what their "grandfathers" experienced then ... think about it. If these young men managed to become "grandfathers", they not only survived, but they managed to have a fulfilled life in spite of the trauma, the nightmares and other scars that they had to live with. Anyone who thinks war will solve problems needs to read this first.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really curious about the First World War because I feel like it's not as talked about, cleanly cut, whatever, as the Second World War (a point that is mentioned in this book), so all these stories and poems and photos and personal connections were amazing to see.

[Emily Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this collection of diaries, poems and experiences from the wars.

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of books out at the moment to do with the first world war. I've been privileged to review several of them, and when I saw this on NetGalley I was very keen to take a look.

It's a powerful, precise collection this, drawing together viewpoints from a diverse range of public figures including Raymond Briggs, Miranda Hart, Jacqueline Wilson and Shami Chakrabarti. These and many more figures pick out elements ranging from poetry to comics through to newspaper extracts that mean something to them and tell something unique about the war. And they do, these extracts, they are moving and funny and piercingly exact at points (this war, any war, it happens to people, people like you and I, and it is sometimes so easy to forget that).

What's also very lovely about this is the mixture of sources and how there's some outstanding poetry (Dulce et Decorum Est, anyone?)coupled with sources such as a comic strip. I like the mixture of primary and secondary sources from a variety of media, and thought it could quite easily inspire exercises in creating similar scrapbooks. There's a lot here in these pages, and there's a lot here which pays tribute, loud and long, to the people who were there. A beautiful, eloquent book.

[Hollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an anthology of works by various people relating to WWI. I’m kind of a history buff so I found this really interesting and I loved reading the different stories written by various people, including celebrities. I also enjoyed the variety of content in the anthology as it included things such as songs and comic strips from the war, I liked how accessible to a variety of people that made it. This book was a really thought provoking, lovely anthology and I’m glad I gave it a go.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely collection of extracts, poems and memories of the Great war . Aimed primarily at the young adult market, this is a book which can be enjoyed by grown ups too.

[Naomi Mercieca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a powerful collection of fact and fiction about World War I using a variety of media, which flow into one another seamlessly. I cannot recommend this book enough.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Neville]

it was great

[Steve Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am fascinated by WW1 so I just sat and read it from cover to cover in 1 day. I must admit I skipped some extracts from books that I had read before but overall, it I a great way to introduce people to 'The Great War' and it's horrors.

[Rachel White · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 4.5*

I've been in a bit of a World War One kick at the moment which doesn't happen too often as it can be extremely depressing but this book was so good and showed a different side of the war.

I loved the fact that it had different sections all made up of different celebrities from actors to authors. It was such a unique way to tell the story of all those men who never came back and the sacrifice the my made. It really also helped to show the impact that the war had at home and on the front line.

Overall, I loved this and would definitely read it again!