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Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived
With over a million casualties, the Somme was the most brutal battle of the First World War. It is a clash that even now, over 90 years later, remains seared into the national consciousness, conjuring up images of muddy trenches and young lives tragically wasted. Its first day, July 1st 1916 - on which the British suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 dead - is the bloodiest day in the history of the British armed forces to date. On the German side, an officer famously described it as 'the muddy grave of the German field army'. By the end of the battle, the British had learned many lessons in modern warfare while the Germans had suffered irreplaceable losses, ultimately laying the foundations for the Allies' final victory on the Western Front.Drawing on a wealth of material from the vast Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, "Forgotten Voices of the Somme" presents an intimate, poignant, sometimes even bleakly funny insight into life on the front from the day-to-day struggle of extraordinary circumstances to the white heat of battle and the constant threat of injury or death. Featuring contributions from soldiers of differing backgrounds, ranks and roles, many of them previously unpublished, this is the definitive oral history of this unique and terrible conflict.
285 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
19 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Levine
38 books66 followersJoshua Levine was born in the Bahamas. He has a law degree and practiced as a criminal barrister for several years in London. He gave up law and became an actor, appearing in amateur theatre productions. He also worked as an assistant producer, working on a documentary about Handel's Water Music. He wrote a stage play entitled, Crash, and went on to write programs for BBC Radio 4. He is the author of Forgotten Voices, Beauty and Atricity, On a Wing and a Prayer, Operation Fortitude, The Secret History of the Blitz, and Dunkirk.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 2, 2016
I read "Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived" by Joshua Levine a few weeks before the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. The Battle of the Somme took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of upper reaches of the River Somme in France. It was the largest battle of World War 1 on the Western Front; more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
Drawing on material from the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, "Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived" presents an intimate, harsh but often poignant insight into life on the front line: from the day-to-day struggle in the trenches, to the white heat of battle and the constant threat of injury or death.
I really like these “Forgotten Voices” books. Hearing the voices of those who were there is really instructive and gives a very different perspective to a regular history book. Reading "Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived” is a very humbling experience. The cumulative effect of the Somme stories become overwhelming, as many feature death, suffering and violence, however, as Joshua Levine says in the preface, it is the least that we can do to read their stories and understand their sacrifices.
As one survivor put it, "No one can describe what the Battle of the Somme was really like unless they were there. It was one continuous stream of wounded and dead and dying"
Overall, this is book is a powerful reminder of the slaughter and suffering that took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916, something everyone should try to understand.
Drawing on material from the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, "Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived" presents an intimate, harsh but often poignant insight into life on the front line: from the day-to-day struggle in the trenches, to the white heat of battle and the constant threat of injury or death.
I really like these “Forgotten Voices” books. Hearing the voices of those who were there is really instructive and gives a very different perspective to a regular history book. Reading "Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived” is a very humbling experience. The cumulative effect of the Somme stories become overwhelming, as many feature death, suffering and violence, however, as Joshua Levine says in the preface, it is the least that we can do to read their stories and understand their sacrifices.
As one survivor put it, "No one can describe what the Battle of the Somme was really like unless they were there. It was one continuous stream of wounded and dead and dying"
Overall, this is book is a powerful reminder of the slaughter and suffering that took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916, something everyone should try to understand.
July 31, 2016
Devastating is the right word. Drawn from recordings in the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, this is a mind-blowing account of the human cost of the Battle of the Somme. It's taken me most of July to read because it is hard to get through more than a few pages at a time, given the level of the relentless carnage and suffering.
I always tend to find traditional history books, and in particular tactical accounts of battles, difficult to take in, but these personal memories are far more accessible and help to give some feeling of what it was like for the individuals. Although it is all so heart-rending, there are some humorous anecdotes, lighter incidents which stuck in soldiers' minds amid all the bloodshed.
At times it does get rather bitty, especially when the book jumps from two or three lines spoken by one soldier to a similarly short soundbite from another. The story comes alive more when there are longer passages spoken by an individual, and personalities can come across. But overall this is a great document, and I will hope to read more books in the "Forgotten Voices" series in future.
I always tend to find traditional history books, and in particular tactical accounts of battles, difficult to take in, but these personal memories are far more accessible and help to give some feeling of what it was like for the individuals. Although it is all so heart-rending, there are some humorous anecdotes, lighter incidents which stuck in soldiers' minds amid all the bloodshed.
At times it does get rather bitty, especially when the book jumps from two or three lines spoken by one soldier to a similarly short soundbite from another. The story comes alive more when there are longer passages spoken by an individual, and personalities can come across. But overall this is a great document, and I will hope to read more books in the "Forgotten Voices" series in future.
August 6, 2016
Excellent. I don't know that the U.S. has anything like this. So I found it very interesting to hear/read it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. The surviving combatants spoke to the Imperial War Museum.
Recollections many years later about what they went through at Britain's most devastating battle. It was very good.
However, the parts that stood out for me the most had to do with burials. At one point, they discuss how they would dig one big grave and a number of bodies in side by side. I have been assured that after the war they dug them up and re-buried them in individual graves. The other one was a discussion by a lieutenant who was made burial officer. Fifty years later and he could still remember the "sweet smell of death" that was everywhere as they were burying people who may have been dead for several months. Essentially skeletons in uniforms.
This was very effective.
Unlike the British in WWI, America offered a choice of bringing the bodies home or not. My great-uncle was brought home in the '20s. Coincidentally my sister gave me a packet of newspaper clippings from when he was brought home. It "said" that thousands lined the street for his funeral and thousands more tried to go to the burial. Personally I have to question"thousands" but I guess it must have meant something to them.
Recollections many years later about what they went through at Britain's most devastating battle. It was very good.
However, the parts that stood out for me the most had to do with burials. At one point, they discuss how they would dig one big grave and a number of bodies in side by side. I have been assured that after the war they dug them up and re-buried them in individual graves. The other one was a discussion by a lieutenant who was made burial officer. Fifty years later and he could still remember the "sweet smell of death" that was everywhere as they were burying people who may have been dead for several months. Essentially skeletons in uniforms.
This was very effective.
Unlike the British in WWI, America offered a choice of bringing the bodies home or not. My great-uncle was brought home in the '20s. Coincidentally my sister gave me a packet of newspaper clippings from when he was brought home. It "said" that thousands lined the street for his funeral and thousands more tried to go to the burial. Personally I have to question"thousands" but I guess it must have meant something to them.
February 9, 2016
"No one can describe what the Battle of the Somme was really like unless they were there. It was one continuous stream of wounded and dead and dying. You had to forget all sentiment. It was a case of getting on with the job." - Private H.D. Jackson, 75th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (p. 124)
"While I was on the Somme, life was absolutely miserable. After that, I was never the same man again. I was always looking to see how I could get away from the dangers. I wanted to live. I was never the same man again." - Private Fred. Dixon, 10th Battalion, Royal West Surrey Regiments (p. 260)
"I once sat listening to an actor as he described the courage necessary when stepping out on stage in front of a packed audience. 'It must be rather like,' he said, 'going over the top at the Somme.' Or perhaps not. Perhaps going over the top was nothing at all like appearing in weekly rep, but was, rather, an experience that can only be described by the men who did it: the men whose voices appear in this book." - Author's Preface (p. ix)
"While I was on the Somme, life was absolutely miserable. After that, I was never the same man again. I was always looking to see how I could get away from the dangers. I wanted to live. I was never the same man again." - Private Fred. Dixon, 10th Battalion, Royal West Surrey Regiments (p. 260)
"I once sat listening to an actor as he described the courage necessary when stepping out on stage in front of a packed audience. 'It must be rather like,' he said, 'going over the top at the Somme.' Or perhaps not. Perhaps going over the top was nothing at all like appearing in weekly rep, but was, rather, an experience that can only be described by the men who did it: the men whose voices appear in this book." - Author's Preface (p. ix)
October 28, 2015
This book is hard-going, not because the writing is bad but because the truth of the war is so hard hitting. I found myself becoming overcome with anger most of the time and questioning why, so many lives were taken, but I was also in awe of the sheer bravery and nonchalant attitude of many of the soldiers. It took me a while to complete this simply because of the immense feelings I had for it, it is an incredible book and an important one for everyone to read to show that there was barely any bitterness or animosity between the British and German troops. As Private Leonard Gordon Davies stated "this stupidity, the absurdity of war really struck me [...] you're trying to kill the man you've just been talking to. War is ridiculous." And, after this book, I am inclined to wholeheartedly agree.
July 5, 2016
The Imperial War Museum has a sound archive of ex-servicemen talking about their experiences during the First World War. This book is made up of extracts from those accounts and cover the Battle of the Somme, a combined British and French assault on strongly held German positions which started on the 1st July 1916 and continued until November.
The book is arranged chronologically, so we get several accounts of joining up, travelling to the front and experiencing trenches for the first time, several about the first day and then later battle experiences, some about life behind the lines or of being treated for wounds and some thoughts about what it all meant. This helps to give a picture of the progress of the battle, although a series of short excerpts does not give a good picture of each individual.
It is a fascinating and poignant book, but not a history of a battle.
The book is arranged chronologically, so we get several accounts of joining up, travelling to the front and experiencing trenches for the first time, several about the first day and then later battle experiences, some about life behind the lines or of being treated for wounds and some thoughts about what it all meant. This helps to give a picture of the progress of the battle, although a series of short excerpts does not give a good picture of each individual.
It is a fascinating and poignant book, but not a history of a battle.
February 22, 2022
As with all the Forgotten Voices books this was shocking and informative in equal measure. If you want to know what war was really like these are the sort of books to read. Stories and accounts told by the people who were actually there.
April 22, 2017
This book is comprised of the writing of common soldiers and what they experienced at the Somme. It adds an extra, necessary dimension to one's knowledge when there is access to the accounts of people who took part in the event. Sometimes funny, sometimes difficult to read, this book covers the whole range of experiences at the battle which for Britain, holds special significance because of its deadly impact. I recommend this book. It is easy and interesting reading.
January 10, 2009
I learned quite a bit about The Battle of The Somme; from the mouths of those who fought it so I felt far more fulfilling and touching than reading the facts and figures as if from a school textbook.
I found it satisfying, in some parts disturbing, and in some parts I actually found myself laughing for the wit of some men. Petrified some of them may have been but they never lost their spirit.
Hands down to them all, and I feel somewhat lucky to have read about it from their points of view.
I found it satisfying, in some parts disturbing, and in some parts I actually found myself laughing for the wit of some men. Petrified some of them may have been but they never lost their spirit.
Hands down to them all, and I feel somewhat lucky to have read about it from their points of view.
April 24, 2024
This is a carefully and sensitively curated collection of accounts of life in the trenches of the First World War. Rather than being drawn from letters or diaries, these are transcripts of accounts given by men who survived, and who were interviewed and recorded; the recordings come from the Imperial War Museum. It's an important distinction, since many men writing home naturally downplayed the horrors of their situation. Here, we get a less varnished take on the emotional impact of war; the camaraderie; the daily routine; the fear.
Levine sensibly divides the book into themed chapters representing different stages of deployment – from first arriving in the trenches, through to the Somme offensive itself, and then its aftermath. Voices recur and become familiar; we're introduced more and more deeply to the world of the conflict. Levine contextualises each chapter with a short introduction but generally allows the men's words to speak for themselves: which is entirely effective.
This is a valuable repository of primary evidence for anyone interested in the First World War, of course; but it's also a though-provoking and humbling experience for the general reader as well. Hearing people of differing backgrounds, education, temperament and articulacy all recalling a shared, overwhelming experience is of itself compelling. Highly recommended.
Levine sensibly divides the book into themed chapters representing different stages of deployment – from first arriving in the trenches, through to the Somme offensive itself, and then its aftermath. Voices recur and become familiar; we're introduced more and more deeply to the world of the conflict. Levine contextualises each chapter with a short introduction but generally allows the men's words to speak for themselves: which is entirely effective.
This is a valuable repository of primary evidence for anyone interested in the First World War, of course; but it's also a though-provoking and humbling experience for the general reader as well. Hearing people of differing backgrounds, education, temperament and articulacy all recalling a shared, overwhelming experience is of itself compelling. Highly recommended.
October 16, 2023
L'attacco stava per iniziare. Ero assieme a un ragazzo che aveva finito la scuola da appena sei settimane. Gli chiesi: "Che fai qui?". Rispose: "Mi hanno mandato dall'Inghilterra. Sono arrivato oggi". Gli dissi: "Stammi accanto". Tutto ciò era stupido. Quel ragazzo non sapeva maneggiare un coltello da pane, figuriamoci una baionetta. Fu ucciso. Gli spararono mentre era vicino a me.
[...]
Non c'era nessuno intorno a noi. Solo i morti. Vedemmo un uomo. Un obice lo aveva colpito strappandogli il braccio e la gamba sinistri. L'occhio sinistro gli pendeva sulla guancia, e lui invocava un nome: "Annie!". Gli sparai. Dovevo farlo. Farlo smettere di soffrire. Mi fece male. Mi fece male.
Sergente James Payne, 16° battaglione, Manchester Regiment
June 3, 2019
I found this read so engrossing I rarely put it down, despite the tiny print I struggle over. Voices of the men we need to hear from, those that lived with the horrors, sorrows & some joys. I was struck by comments so often my book is dogeared to death. Libraries in my area do not have this, so it was a used book search, as will the others I want. Had I not listened to JLs back story of Dunkirk I would not have this treasure. This prompted me to buy the Lest We Forget poppy flag so few in the US have ever seen, certainly I've never seen displayed. These voice are no longer forgotten, I honor them all. Thank you Mr. Levine!!
November 13, 2024
This book shares haunting firsthand accounts of World War I’s most devastating battle. Compiled by Joshua Levine, it even reveals some of the stories that soldiers kept to themselves for years—the fear, the brutal realities of trench life, and the unexpected moments of friendship that helped them endure. These memories bring history to life in an unforgettable way, perfect for readers interested in the human side of war.
December 8, 2024
Pointless mass slaughter that could have been avoided but the this author thought it was worth it. Perhaps that is why I felt he heavily edited the dissenting 'Forgotten Voices' of the lowly ones that hated every moment of being there in favour of the higher ranked officers who, literally, in the author's own words, 'led from the rear.'
August 7, 2018
Fascinating and powerful view of WWI from a perspective of ordinary soldiers. I think there's no better way to describe the battle which 1 million casualties, than through the words of this who fought in it.
March 15, 2019
Molto interessante leggere di esperienze reali. Vengono trattati vari temi inerenti alla guerra e alla vita nelle trincee.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2020
Why did the French mortar the German Red Cross flag.
February 7, 2021
This book is laid out really well by Joshua levine with the words coming from the veterans themselves. Highly recommended read .
October 22, 2024
Words aren't needed to review this, the title says it all.
May 17, 2025
There’s nothing quite like getting accounts from the people that wee actually there. Officers, NCO’s and Privates. All their stories are compelling. This is a great book.
February 22, 2016
Forgotten Voices of The Somme - Very Good
Had to take my time with this book so as to take it all in. Also as I found various sections quite harrowing and needed the odd break.
I'm not a particularly emotional person, rarely cry, but this brought tears to my eyes at times. Equally, I've never experienced that phrase 'makes the blood run cold' before, but I have now. Some of the accounts are horrific. As to the bravery of these men, you can hardly imagine how they faced up to the conditions and what they had to do.
The Somme was one of the bloodiest battles in British History, 415,000 British casualties plus 200,000 French and over 600,000 German. I find it hard to comprehend numbers like that, but two memories from the day after 'the first day' of the battle struck me and brought it home to me a little more:
Private Tom Easton, 21st Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers
"Roll-call was taken next morning, outside Brigade Headquarters, and out of 890 men, we could only muster a company - less than two hundred. We only had one officer left standing."
Private WJ Senescall 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
"We had no roll-call, after we got back, because there was only about twenty five left out of eight hundred. There was nothing to count"
The sheer horror of what these men went through, struck me time and time again. The one section that really brought home the horror for me (and actually made me shiver as my blood ran cold) was later in the battle:
Sergeant Charles Quinnell, 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
"On the morning of August 5, we had our first experience of liquid fire. Over the barricade on our right flank came a German with a canister of liquid fire on his back, squirting it out of the hose. He burnt twenty-three of our chaps to death. I plonked one into his chest, but he must have had and armour-plated waistcoat on. It didn't stop him, but somebody threw a Mills bomb, which burst behind him, and he wasn't armour-plated behind so he went down. By then he'd done a lot of damage. Plenty of our chaps were wounded, as well as those that were killed, and it practically wiped out Tubby Turnbull's platoon.
Then we got an order from the captain. I hope I never hear it repeated. He gave us and order to make a barricade of the dead - the German dead and our dead. We made a barricade of them and retreated about forty yards back...."
The sheer horror of that picture will stay with me for a long time. The bravery of these men and the what they went through is beyond me. Makes me realise we use the term hero too lightly now.
An emotional read, harrowing in places, but well worth reading
Had to take my time with this book so as to take it all in. Also as I found various sections quite harrowing and needed the odd break.
I'm not a particularly emotional person, rarely cry, but this brought tears to my eyes at times. Equally, I've never experienced that phrase 'makes the blood run cold' before, but I have now. Some of the accounts are horrific. As to the bravery of these men, you can hardly imagine how they faced up to the conditions and what they had to do.
The Somme was one of the bloodiest battles in British History, 415,000 British casualties plus 200,000 French and over 600,000 German. I find it hard to comprehend numbers like that, but two memories from the day after 'the first day' of the battle struck me and brought it home to me a little more:
Private Tom Easton, 21st Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers
"Roll-call was taken next morning, outside Brigade Headquarters, and out of 890 men, we could only muster a company - less than two hundred. We only had one officer left standing."
Private WJ Senescall 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
"We had no roll-call, after we got back, because there was only about twenty five left out of eight hundred. There was nothing to count"
The sheer horror of what these men went through, struck me time and time again. The one section that really brought home the horror for me (and actually made me shiver as my blood ran cold) was later in the battle:
Sergeant Charles Quinnell, 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
"On the morning of August 5, we had our first experience of liquid fire. Over the barricade on our right flank came a German with a canister of liquid fire on his back, squirting it out of the hose. He burnt twenty-three of our chaps to death. I plonked one into his chest, but he must have had and armour-plated waistcoat on. It didn't stop him, but somebody threw a Mills bomb, which burst behind him, and he wasn't armour-plated behind so he went down. By then he'd done a lot of damage. Plenty of our chaps were wounded, as well as those that were killed, and it practically wiped out Tubby Turnbull's platoon.
Then we got an order from the captain. I hope I never hear it repeated. He gave us and order to make a barricade of the dead - the German dead and our dead. We made a barricade of them and retreated about forty yards back...."
The sheer horror of that picture will stay with me for a long time. The bravery of these men and the what they went through is beyond me. Makes me realise we use the term hero too lightly now.
An emotional read, harrowing in places, but well worth reading
April 11, 2016
The ordinary voices of ordinary men gives an intimacy to this horrific moment in time, an intimacy that many a learned historian would be unable to articulate no matter how much understanding and knowledge that they possessed.
Some of these recollections are full of pathos, others make you despair about the state of humanity, others will make you weep for the fates of individual men, and others are tales of terror and carnage told in the most matter-of-fact and mundane way possible.
I've read a few books on the First World War and seen many documentaries, so I know plenty of facts, and have cogitated over many opinions of what happened; however the best way to get a feeling of what it was like is through the voices of the men who were actually there, this is why books like this are so valuable to anyone interested in history.
Some of these recollections are full of pathos, others make you despair about the state of humanity, others will make you weep for the fates of individual men, and others are tales of terror and carnage told in the most matter-of-fact and mundane way possible.
I've read a few books on the First World War and seen many documentaries, so I know plenty of facts, and have cogitated over many opinions of what happened; however the best way to get a feeling of what it was like is through the voices of the men who were actually there, this is why books like this are so valuable to anyone interested in history.
June 19, 2015
A great series drawing on the oral archives of the Somme survivors. Grim, poignant but at times funny and irreverent too.
Very British-orientated, with the odd German or French voice dotted in. No mention of the thousands of Kiwis (including my Great Uncle, killed in action, no known grave) who were casualties there.
Real people, vignettes of a horrific battle beyond the reach of living memory now.
Very British-orientated, with the odd German or French voice dotted in. No mention of the thousands of Kiwis (including my Great Uncle, killed in action, no known grave) who were casualties there.
Real people, vignettes of a horrific battle beyond the reach of living memory now.
April 8, 2015
Love these forgotten voices series they really bring to life the conflicts and times they cover, not just with fact and figure but with all aspects of life and humour often dark that's needed to get through those situations! Well worth a read to get a true all round account of life in the trenches.
It shows every thing from incompetence of officers to pure heroics of the men and women.
It shows every thing from incompetence of officers to pure heroics of the men and women.
Read
September 27, 2015A relatively easy read but with plenty of information and first hand accounts from the soldiers who fought during the Battle of the Somme, including in-depth and bloody accounts of the first day. This is a book I would highly recommend for anybody who is researching the war from the perspective of the soldiers.
July 5, 2015
Very sad and powerful read one cannot begin to imagine the horrors of trench warfare. The different points of view the stories of luck and survival and the constant back in the mind why did this happen.
August 31, 2024
There was a saneness to the recountings, as though all from the same person. It would have been nice to feel more the personalities of the people. So, in a way, the title of the book describes what the book irself did, forgetting the actual voices behind the memories.
January 27, 2015
This book is an interesting read- to experience the battle of war in the words written by the very men who fought for our world. It is a depressing read- as it is very real- but so worth the effort!
May 10, 2015
Well there's not really much to be said after reading this, just that I cried quite a bit. Such a sad and inexcusable part of history.
January 16, 2016
It lacks the immediacy of the recent podcast series from IWM, however this is is still a remarkable collection of thoughts and observations from men who were young and went to the Great War
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews