Where Is The Number?

by Nicholas Temple-Smith

Bank clerks, farm workers, labourers, a thief, a former NCO, an office manager, a chauffeur, a serving officer, an artist, a poet, two young men about to go up to university, and an aristocrat… Just some of the many who answered Kitchener’s call to serve their country in the autumn of 1914, fully expecting it to all be over by Christmas. What awaited them was months of training, learning to dig trenches, drill, march… and kill. And when the time came, more than two Christmases later, they went to war on the opening day of the bloodiest battle in the history of the British the Somme. What they discovered on that sunny July morning, as they took part in the lottery of combat, was that they weren’t only fighting for King and Country and for their nation’s honour, but also for their regiment and for each other, and that while friends may be lost, friendship is eternal. In this poignant and moving novel, Nicholas Temple-Smith tells the story of this handful of men, whose fictitious journey mirrors that of so many of the lost generation.

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 5, 2019

Reviews

[Rasmenia Massoud · Rating 5 out of 5]

"So it was that as never before, the men helped each other."
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Nicholas Temple-Smith had his very own time machine and that this novel had come from first-person observations and interactions. The characters the reader journeys along with become your mates by the final pages, making the book's conclusion even more bittersweet. I'd recommend it not only to history/WWI buffs, but anyone interested in well-drawn characters. WWI comes to life here in a way that isn't always easy to read, but is important to read, and impossible to put down.

[Joe Graf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book

A somber but riveting book about WW 1. A very interesting way to present ones views about a group of soldiers

[Arletta Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Templesmith has a very special way of writing. He takes your hand and guides you gently in. Until you are standing on a field of battle, watching your comrades die. Or, to be fair, it's like listening to a man who has been there, sitting across from him, sharing beers and traumas together.

I am impressed with his style. Can you tell?

I won't tell you about the story, because, you should discover it for yourself. I can tell you that I am not a big fan of war, and, I just went ahead and found it charming, as well as other feelings, anyway. I hope for you to likewise have the enjoyment of this read in your life.