What do you think?
Rate this book
The Road Home: The Aftermath of the Great War Told by the Men and Women Who Survived It
Best-selling author Max Arthur has compiled the first-person accounts from veterans of the Great War into a fitting commemoration. Starting from the moment the guns all fell silent, the aftermath of World War I and its mark on history are reflected in the stories of the brave soldiers of the British, German, French, and Russian armies.
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
9 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Max Arthur
85 books41 followersMax Arthur is an author who specialises in first-hand recollections of historical events. He has worked closely with the Imperial War Museum to bring together two books in the Forgotten Voices series, Forgotten Voices of the Great War and Forgotten Voices of the Second World War. Prior to becoming a writer, he served with the Royal Air Force and for some years was an actor.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 16, 2011
Since the late 1990s, there have been a spate of books in the market on the First World War, re-examining its effects on the present day and hearing again the voices of its dwindling number of veterans.
Now, with the passing of the last veteran 5 months ago, they are all gone and with them, that living link to a world that now seems to many of us living today as remote as the days of antiquity. This book offers the reader the opportunity to hear, in the words of soldiers and civilians alike, their reactions to the news of the war's end on November 11th, 1918, their struggles in the early postwar era to find work and readjust to "life on civvy street", and in their twilight years, their reappraisal of the sacrifices they had made, as well as their hopes for future generations. When I read this book, I felt as if these people were not dead, but speaking directly to me with a freshness and clarity of thought that I could appreciate.
In summing up this review, I wish to cite the following remarks from Sergeant W.J. Collins, who had served in the Royal Army Medical Corps: "They were a wonderful generation ... let's face it, there were we, at the beginning of the war, the regular soldier, tough hardened from India and South Africa, and then the 1st Army, Kitchener's ... grand men they were. I watched a battalion of them march into battle on the Somme in 1916, and I thought to myself, 'My God! What a wonderful lot of chaps.' Fine physically, good, well set up, good marching ... it was a fine generation. It's a great pity it was decimated."
Now, with the passing of the last veteran 5 months ago, they are all gone and with them, that living link to a world that now seems to many of us living today as remote as the days of antiquity. This book offers the reader the opportunity to hear, in the words of soldiers and civilians alike, their reactions to the news of the war's end on November 11th, 1918, their struggles in the early postwar era to find work and readjust to "life on civvy street", and in their twilight years, their reappraisal of the sacrifices they had made, as well as their hopes for future generations. When I read this book, I felt as if these people were not dead, but speaking directly to me with a freshness and clarity of thought that I could appreciate.
In summing up this review, I wish to cite the following remarks from Sergeant W.J. Collins, who had served in the Royal Army Medical Corps: "They were a wonderful generation ... let's face it, there were we, at the beginning of the war, the regular soldier, tough hardened from India and South Africa, and then the 1st Army, Kitchener's ... grand men they were. I watched a battalion of them march into battle on the Somme in 1916, and I thought to myself, 'My God! What a wonderful lot of chaps.' Fine physically, good, well set up, good marching ... it was a fine generation. It's a great pity it was decimated."
January 28, 2015
I had a hard time reading this book for long periods of time. It's not hard to read or difficult to follow, but depressing. I hope a book like this is written for every war or conflict. This book is personal experiences of World I soldiers, women and conscientious objectors. I discovered this book while watching World War I 100 year commemorations. A woman read a passage from her great grandmother who lost four sons who watched the Cenotaph being dedicated in London. These men and woman are honest about what the war did to their lives and what they faced when they came home. As most if, not all, World War I survivors are gone, these are lasting written first person accounts. I hope we re-read their stories to avoid repeating mistakes of how we help and treat veterans. A line that really stuck with me was "suddenly I had a future," even if it was without limbs, sight or help.
December 28, 2020
Found it by chance at the thrift store. It is one of those books not many people read, because it is quite difficult to bear but poses a lot of new information for readers who want to find out more about the after WW1 period. Currently reading all about that Edwardian/WW1/ Roaring 20’s period, so this book was a fantastic addition to it.
It is structured in short chapters with small letters of many different people and their experiences in and after the war (similar to the one by Alexievich about women in WW2), especially the paragraphs about the “demob” period (short for demobilization) were very interesting, with all the men and women describing how the Armistice really went about, what people really felt like!
Some of it might seem fairly obvious, but the way they describe it in these letter-like texts is thrilling, heartfelt, deeply unsettling & unspeakably intricate. Gained a lot of new knowledge by these inspiring and deeply profound accounts, no matter if short or long or whatever the main topic was about!
Will have to go over many many notes I took soon. Really glad I had the luck to find & read this!
It is structured in short chapters with small letters of many different people and their experiences in and after the war (similar to the one by Alexievich about women in WW2), especially the paragraphs about the “demob” period (short for demobilization) were very interesting, with all the men and women describing how the Armistice really went about, what people really felt like!
Some of it might seem fairly obvious, but the way they describe it in these letter-like texts is thrilling, heartfelt, deeply unsettling & unspeakably intricate. Gained a lot of new knowledge by these inspiring and deeply profound accounts, no matter if short or long or whatever the main topic was about!
Will have to go over many many notes I took soon. Really glad I had the luck to find & read this!
August 16, 2013
If you're familiar with Max Arthur's other works, you know that he is a master at bringing together disparate voices that discuss a single, large event. In this instance, he has focused on the people who served in the trenches and at home during The Great War.
The book begins with how different people experienced the Armistice itself, and ends with thoughts on the legacy of the War. Very fittingly, the final two entries are from Henry Allingham and Harry Patch, who were the last two British veterans to leave us, within a few weeks of each other in July 2009.
There were surprises here, and things that haven't changed in almost 100 years. What surprised me most is how quietly the news of the Armistice was received on the front lines, in many cases. Where there was wild jubilation and dancing in the streets here at home, there seemed to be a lot of resignation and/or confusion in the trenches. POWs weren't even aware of who had won, in some cases.
What hasn't changed is the shameful way veterans were treated upon their return. Home Fit for Heroes, indeed. Medical care was often shoddy, heroes' health sold to the lowest bidder (sound familiar?) and shell shock, as it was known then, was often just treated as laziness. Jobs were meant to be held for the veterans, but many came home to businesses that had folded and of course the depression was revving up already and they were the first to suffer.
There are happy stories here, too, however. Marriages that lasted, men who got home and found a new way to be, women who discovered there was more in the world than kitchen sinks and babies' nappies. Max Arthur always finds a way to bring these many voices together, and that is to our benefit.
The book begins with how different people experienced the Armistice itself, and ends with thoughts on the legacy of the War. Very fittingly, the final two entries are from Henry Allingham and Harry Patch, who were the last two British veterans to leave us, within a few weeks of each other in July 2009.
There were surprises here, and things that haven't changed in almost 100 years. What surprised me most is how quietly the news of the Armistice was received on the front lines, in many cases. Where there was wild jubilation and dancing in the streets here at home, there seemed to be a lot of resignation and/or confusion in the trenches. POWs weren't even aware of who had won, in some cases.
What hasn't changed is the shameful way veterans were treated upon their return. Home Fit for Heroes, indeed. Medical care was often shoddy, heroes' health sold to the lowest bidder (sound familiar?) and shell shock, as it was known then, was often just treated as laziness. Jobs were meant to be held for the veterans, but many came home to businesses that had folded and of course the depression was revving up already and they were the first to suffer.
There are happy stories here, too, however. Marriages that lasted, men who got home and found a new way to be, women who discovered there was more in the world than kitchen sinks and babies' nappies. Max Arthur always finds a way to bring these many voices together, and that is to our benefit.
July 30, 2024
I have always been interested in the First World War as my grandfather served in the Machine Gun Corps. However, there has always a dearth of information about the social history of the time after the Armistice. I have done a great amount of research on the war dead of our town but this book has filled in details and through other people’s testimonies I have understood my grandparents better and what they faced post war.
In 1916, my grandmother escaped from the cotton mill to become the first woman to work at the Co-op in our town. In 1918 she had to give the job up because “the men will need their jobs back.” She went back to cotton weaving until her marriage in 1925 when they took a newsagent’s shop.
My grandfather was injured during an air raid in 1917 and the other two in his team were blown to pieces. His physical recovery was fair but his nerve had gone. So he never went back. An Army dentist took all his teeth out. His hand/eye coordination had also been affected so he couldn’t go back to be a reedmaker in the cotton mill. He was still unemployed at the 1921 Census. He suffered blackouts all his life.
This book helped me to understand the world they lived in. Should be recommended reading for all.
In 1916, my grandmother escaped from the cotton mill to become the first woman to work at the Co-op in our town. In 1918 she had to give the job up because “the men will need their jobs back.” She went back to cotton weaving until her marriage in 1925 when they took a newsagent’s shop.
My grandfather was injured during an air raid in 1917 and the other two in his team were blown to pieces. His physical recovery was fair but his nerve had gone. So he never went back. An Army dentist took all his teeth out. His hand/eye coordination had also been affected so he couldn’t go back to be a reedmaker in the cotton mill. He was still unemployed at the 1921 Census. He suffered blackouts all his life.
This book helped me to understand the world they lived in. Should be recommended reading for all.
June 26, 2021
This is a great and varied collection of reminiscences, diary entries etc about the end of the First World War. Some of it is repeated from other Max Arthur books like Last Post, but enough is new. Oral histories like this are an easy read and give a good feel for the period. It was good to see a variety of classes, nationalities, genders and experiences represented.
January 11, 2013
If you have a relative who was injured or died in the First World War, then I highly recommend you read this book.
It has possibly answered some questions about my grandfather & his injuries.
What I found really sad was that the treatment of the returning troops hasn't changed.....they came home to poor treatment and in some cases no job, no home, no money etc. and we are still treating our troops in the same way now in a lot of instances.
It has possibly answered some questions about my grandfather & his injuries.
What I found really sad was that the treatment of the returning troops hasn't changed.....they came home to poor treatment and in some cases no job, no home, no money etc. and we are still treating our troops in the same way now in a lot of instances.
October 4, 2014
this was a great read as there is nothing quite like reading about a historical event writen by the very people who lived through it as this is the only way you can get a true insight into what it was really like i would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the first world war
January 18, 2017
Max Arthur. Always produces a good read his other books are also excellent.
Easy to read, informative and comprehensive. I have read a number of his books and always found them amongst the best of this type. Also recommend Martin Middlebrook's books.
Easy to read, informative and comprehensive. I have read a number of his books and always found them amongst the best of this type. Also recommend Martin Middlebrook's books.
March 29, 2014
It has become my obsession to understand what happened in the day, weeks, and months after the war ended. This book tells that story in the first person accounts.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews