What do you think?
Rate this book
Four Years on the Western Front, November 1914 - November 1918
“…the firm lost no time in assuring us that we were not indispensable and we therefore went round to the Headquarters of the L.R.B. and craved permission to enlist…”
In November 1914 the London Rifle Brigade was among the first of the Territorial battalions to set foot in France; after completing his training, Aubrey Smith and the detachment from Q Company made their way to reinforce the battalion in the January of 1915.
Over the following years they were present at the Second Battle of Ypres, Gommecourt, the Somme, Arras, the Third Ypres and Cambrai, as well as facing the German offensive of 1918 and taking part in the final Allied advance.
Serving first in the trenches and then in the transport section, Smith’s wartime experiences offers readers a vivid insight into an oft overlooked yet crucial branch of the British Army and the daily perils they faced.
Originally published under the pseudonym of “a Rifleman” in 1922, “Four Years on the Western Front” is a classic private’s memoir from the First World War; conspicuously absent from Smith’s account however is his own awarding of the Military Medal in 1917, and subsequent Bar in 1918.
Aubrey Smith (1893-1935) served four years with the London Rifle Brigade. After the war he left Europe and moved to China where he became a prominent businessman as well as playing the piano in the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra. He died in Hong Kong at the age of 42.
In November 1914 the London Rifle Brigade was among the first of the Territorial battalions to set foot in France; after completing his training, Aubrey Smith and the detachment from Q Company made their way to reinforce the battalion in the January of 1915.
Over the following years they were present at the Second Battle of Ypres, Gommecourt, the Somme, Arras, the Third Ypres and Cambrai, as well as facing the German offensive of 1918 and taking part in the final Allied advance.
Serving first in the trenches and then in the transport section, Smith’s wartime experiences offers readers a vivid insight into an oft overlooked yet crucial branch of the British Army and the daily perils they faced.
Originally published under the pseudonym of “a Rifleman” in 1922, “Four Years on the Western Front” is a classic private’s memoir from the First World War; conspicuously absent from Smith’s account however is his own awarding of the Military Medal in 1917, and subsequent Bar in 1918.
Aubrey Smith (1893-1935) served four years with the London Rifle Brigade. After the war he left Europe and moved to China where he became a prominent businessman as well as playing the piano in the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra. He died in Hong Kong at the age of 42.
712 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 27, 2018
27 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 26, 2021
An outstanding account by a man who served in France in the ranks of the London Rifle Brigade for almost the entire First World War. Having read most of the First World War 'classic' accounts written by those who served in France, I believe Aubrey Smith's book ranks alongside those more well-known books.
Well- written, the book achieves just the right balance between factual accounts of his experiences, the day to day lives of the men in and out of the trenches and the wider hopes and aspirations of his fellow L.R.B. soldiers as the war progressed. It is rare that a military history can keep me 'glued' to the book - but I honestly found this book hard to put down.
My one sadness is that the Kindle edition I purchased had not been properly read, checked and edited after being transferred from the printed book by (terribly inefficient) OCR software. The account is littered with far too many transcription errors (e.g the men often fought in the 'trendies' - instead of 'trenches') and one can accept a handful of such errors but it is an insult to the paying customer AND to the late author, that this excellent work is presented in such a debased format. Come on Amazon Kindle, don't you have readers and editors to check transcribed books before they go on sale???
I shall add a printed copy of this fine work to my bookshelves and recommend that would-be readers enjoy a hard-copy version of this excellent account until Kindle properly edits their version!
Well- written, the book achieves just the right balance between factual accounts of his experiences, the day to day lives of the men in and out of the trenches and the wider hopes and aspirations of his fellow L.R.B. soldiers as the war progressed. It is rare that a military history can keep me 'glued' to the book - but I honestly found this book hard to put down.
My one sadness is that the Kindle edition I purchased had not been properly read, checked and edited after being transferred from the printed book by (terribly inefficient) OCR software. The account is littered with far too many transcription errors (e.g the men often fought in the 'trendies' - instead of 'trenches') and one can accept a handful of such errors but it is an insult to the paying customer AND to the late author, that this excellent work is presented in such a debased format. Come on Amazon Kindle, don't you have readers and editors to check transcribed books before they go on sale???
I shall add a printed copy of this fine work to my bookshelves and recommend that would-be readers enjoy a hard-copy version of this excellent account until Kindle properly edits their version!
March 22, 2021
Brilliant
This is one of the first books on the Great War I have read for some time.it's a really good read despite the grammatical errors. A real eye opener for anyone new to the subject. The phrase Lions led by donkeys certainly applies here and I have to give great credit to anyone going through that conflict and coming out sane. As an ex infantryman I am only glad it was before my time as these soldiers were a breed apart.
No wonder we remember them each November the eleventh.!
This is one of the first books on the Great War I have read for some time.it's a really good read despite the grammatical errors. A real eye opener for anyone new to the subject. The phrase Lions led by donkeys certainly applies here and I have to give great credit to anyone going through that conflict and coming out sane. As an ex infantryman I am only glad it was before my time as these soldiers were a breed apart.
No wonder we remember them each November the eleventh.!
February 8, 2022
An interesting perspective of the war
Well worth the read . Does need some serious amount of spell checking as has errors seemingly on every page and become a bit tedious. Otherwise it is an engaging perspective of the war from a common soldier who served and survived the Western front and many of its infamous battles etc
Well worth the read . Does need some serious amount of spell checking as has errors seemingly on every page and become a bit tedious. Otherwise it is an engaging perspective of the war from a common soldier who served and survived the Western front and many of its infamous battles etc
November 22, 2024
Great book poorly proofed
The story is fascinating but somewhat marred by what appears to be some form of auto correct used to spell check the manuscript! Leading to random but relatives errors. Making the reader work and doubt that the book was ever proof read? Still ... Worth the effort
The story is fascinating but somewhat marred by what appears to be some form of auto correct used to spell check the manuscript! Leading to random but relatives errors. Making the reader work and doubt that the book was ever proof read? Still ... Worth the effort
June 11, 2025
War To End All Wars
A very real and horrifying account of how the Monarchy’s of the old World Order got the Normal People to fight and die in squalor and now it’s the Political Elite and Billionaires nothing has changed the Powerful Rich rattle their sabres and We the Poor go out and die For their hubris, or die in the ruins of our homes.
A very real and horrifying account of how the Monarchy’s of the old World Order got the Normal People to fight and die in squalor and now it’s the Political Elite and Billionaires nothing has changed the Powerful Rich rattle their sabres and We the Poor go out and die For their hubris, or die in the ruins of our homes.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews