A Voice From The Trenches 1914-1918: From the Diaries and Sketchbooks of Bernard Eyre Walker, Royal Army Medical Corps

by Sara Woodall (Editor)

After the bombing of a British hospital on the Somme, a sensitive German picks up a muddy diary written by the Cumbrian artist, Bernard Eyre Walker and returns it to him after the war. When Sara Woodall discovered her great-uncle's notebooks she realized that illustrated diaries by stretcher-bearers are rare. Drawings of numbed soldiers and devastated landscapes give immediacy to the horrors of the First World War. The diaries tell of the mental torments of seasoned soldiers, new recruits shaking like leaves, bungled orders of officers and several truces. Amongst the industrial slaughter, the artist's breath is taken away when he hears a nightingale singing alongside the booming of the guns. He witnessed on both sides, the darkest war.

192 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2020

Reviews

[Robin Braysher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bernard Eyre Walker served in the Royal Army Medical Corps as an orderly/bearer. He was with 81st Field Ambulance (27th Division) in 1915, until wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres in May. he returned to the Western Front in 1917 with 133rd Field Ambulance (39th Division). It's an intimate and personal account of his experiences and those of his immediate comrades in dealing with the wounded, dying and dead. What lifts it out of just being a routine diary is that Bernard has the eye of an artist and, indeed, his words are accompanied by beautiful sketches of men and scenes. As an added bonus the book also contains reproductions of some of the artist's watercolours, notably those of Cumbria, plus some biographical details. It's a pity that the text hasn't been cross-referenced with the official war diaries but, even so, it's a fascinating and moving read and a beautifully produced book.

[Taff Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandad too, was a stretcher bearer for the duration of the Great War. He kept a few notes but spoke very little about his experiences after the war ended, however he was mentally undone by his time in France - it clouded the rest of his life and he never overcame or reconciled himself with the trauma of his time as stretcher bearer. Hence Bernard’s ‘real-time’ notes and sketches of his own experiences in France were fascinating, illuminating and quite affecting. One of Bernard’s fellow bearers was himself a Jones…..just like my grandad.