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Some Desperate Glory: The Diary of a Young Officer, 1917
“An officer’s diary hidden away for 40 years reveals the horrors of World War One in harrowing detail.” —The Sun
Some Desperate Glory charts the progress of an enthusiastic and patriotic young officer who marched into battle with Palgrave’s Golden Treasury —a collection of English poems—in his pack. Intensely honest and revealing, his diary evokes the day-to-day minutiae of trench warfare: its constant dangers and mind-numbing routine interspersed with lyrical and sometimes comic interludes. Vividly capturing the spirit of the officers and men at the front, the diary grows in horror and disillusionment as Vaughan’s company is drawn into the carnage of Passchendaele from which, of his original happy little band of 90 men, only 15 survived.
“This diary of a few months in the life of a young officer on the Western Front in 1917 deserves to rank close behind Graves, Owen, Sassoon, among the most brilliant and harrowing documents of that devastating period.” —Max Hastings, author of Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975
“This stark WW I diary by a 19-year-old subaltern in the British army begins with an account of his eager departure for the western front, and ends eight months later with an awesome description of the battle of Ypres in which most of his company died.” — Publishers Weekly
Some Desperate Glory charts the progress of an enthusiastic and patriotic young officer who marched into battle with Palgrave’s Golden Treasury —a collection of English poems—in his pack. Intensely honest and revealing, his diary evokes the day-to-day minutiae of trench warfare: its constant dangers and mind-numbing routine interspersed with lyrical and sometimes comic interludes. Vividly capturing the spirit of the officers and men at the front, the diary grows in horror and disillusionment as Vaughan’s company is drawn into the carnage of Passchendaele from which, of his original happy little band of 90 men, only 15 survived.
“This diary of a few months in the life of a young officer on the Western Front in 1917 deserves to rank close behind Graves, Owen, Sassoon, among the most brilliant and harrowing documents of that devastating period.” —Max Hastings, author of Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975
“This stark WW I diary by a 19-year-old subaltern in the British army begins with an account of his eager departure for the western front, and ends eight months later with an awesome description of the battle of Ypres in which most of his company died.” — Publishers Weekly
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 1, 2022
I am not usually a fan of diary-form books, but this one is great. It tells the story of a young second lieutenant, Edwin Campion Vaughan, of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment through 236 days' of service in France from the beginning of 1917 to it's end in late August and the aftermath of the Battle of Passchendaele where his unit was decimated. During this time he takes you on a journey through the Western Front, from the hell of the trenches to the haven of carefree life off the line and all the ways these young officers and troops entertained themselves. It sees a young boy grow into a hardened man through all the horrific things that faced these men on a daily basis in the trenches, and sees the friendships forged by common suffering of the men, and of these friendships lost in battle. In these writings it is heartbreaking to see that these officers and troops were mostly just still boys in their teens or early twenties and their tomfoolery on and off the line to help them cope with everything. Also interesting is how much they drank both on and off duty and there was always time for a quick nip of whiskey of rum. There are no grand strategies discussed in the diary and it is all just day-to-day entries of things seen and thoughts thought. Very good book and highly recommended to all military readers.
November 20, 2016
So this was the end of 'D' Company. Feeling sick and lonely I returned to my tent to write out my casualty report. But instead I sat on the floor and drank whiskey after whiskey as I gazed into a black and empty future.
The above being the concluding sentences of this diary. Eerily reminiscent of sentiments expressed by the fictional Paul Baumer in Erich Maria Remarque's masterpiece written about ten years after Vaughan's diary (All Quiet on the Western Front).
Edward Campion Vaughn
from The Independent
This book will not appeal to some, since there are stretches in which not much happens - it is a diary, after all. What does happen is a combination of the small events of army life in and around the trenches, punctuated with combat action (night patrols, advances, meeting the enemy's advance). The diary begins on January 4, 1917. From then until the 1st of August occupies about 80% of the book.
After a week's leave in London, Vaughan returns to Le Havre on August 9. After kicking around for a couple days, the entries for the next few days begin:
August 12. Sunday. We had sudden orders in the forenoon to move up nearer the line ...
August 13. We heard this morning that we are moving up again tomorrow ...
August 14. The others were all astir and excitedly examining the walls and roof ... Over each bed was a hole through which had passed shrapnel ...
August 15. I could not sleep, but lay awake thinking and wondering about the attack ...
August 16. At 2 a.m. a guide led us out of the camp in an easterly direction ...
This is the day that the 19-year old Vaughan and his company are thrown into the battle of Passchendaele (Third Ypres). The assault of the British Second and Fifth Armies, with a portion of the French First Army, had begun on July 31, following a bombardment which had lasted fifteen days and expended four million shells. The battle was to last almost 100 days, by which time the British (and later ANZAC and Canadian forces) managed to advance about 4 miles, at a cost of perhaps a quarter of a million casualties - with likely higher numbers on the German side.
The last 20% of the book is the chilling account of Vaughan's experiences in this battle, lasting less than two weeks. The last entry in his diary (which ends as quoted above) is for August 28. His company has been reduced from 90 men to 15, and is withdrawn from action. Vaughan saw more action in the last year of the war, spent the rest of his short life in and out of the armed forces, and died in 1931, at the age of 34, when he was administered cocaine instead of Novocaine while in hospital. His diary spent four decades in a cupboard, was then uncovered, and published in 1981 as Some Desperate Glory, fifty years after he had died.
For me the experience of reading the book was one of being immersed in the sights and sounds, the adrenalin rushes and the horror of the First World War, from the infantry soldier's point of view. There is no overview given of the bigger picture, of the "history" of the war. Rather this is just the history of eight months in the life of a young man.
This is a fine book relating to World War I, a good read for someone wanting to steep themselves in that time a hundred years ago when the future of Europe, indeed the future of the entire world, was shaped by four years like nothing previous in mankind’s history. Perhaps wait until 2017, and read in conjunction with All Quiet on the Western Front?
The above being the concluding sentences of this diary. Eerily reminiscent of sentiments expressed by the fictional Paul Baumer in Erich Maria Remarque's masterpiece written about ten years after Vaughan's diary (All Quiet on the Western Front).
Edward Campion Vaughn
from The Independent
This book will not appeal to some, since there are stretches in which not much happens - it is a diary, after all. What does happen is a combination of the small events of army life in and around the trenches, punctuated with combat action (night patrols, advances, meeting the enemy's advance). The diary begins on January 4, 1917. From then until the 1st of August occupies about 80% of the book.
After a week's leave in London, Vaughan returns to Le Havre on August 9. After kicking around for a couple days, the entries for the next few days begin:
August 12. Sunday. We had sudden orders in the forenoon to move up nearer the line ...
August 13. We heard this morning that we are moving up again tomorrow ...
August 14. The others were all astir and excitedly examining the walls and roof ... Over each bed was a hole through which had passed shrapnel ...
August 15. I could not sleep, but lay awake thinking and wondering about the attack ...
August 16. At 2 a.m. a guide led us out of the camp in an easterly direction ...
This is the day that the 19-year old Vaughan and his company are thrown into the battle of Passchendaele (Third Ypres). The assault of the British Second and Fifth Armies, with a portion of the French First Army, had begun on July 31, following a bombardment which had lasted fifteen days and expended four million shells. The battle was to last almost 100 days, by which time the British (and later ANZAC and Canadian forces) managed to advance about 4 miles, at a cost of perhaps a quarter of a million casualties - with likely higher numbers on the German side.
The last 20% of the book is the chilling account of Vaughan's experiences in this battle, lasting less than two weeks. The last entry in his diary (which ends as quoted above) is for August 28. His company has been reduced from 90 men to 15, and is withdrawn from action. Vaughan saw more action in the last year of the war, spent the rest of his short life in and out of the armed forces, and died in 1931, at the age of 34, when he was administered cocaine instead of Novocaine while in hospital. His diary spent four decades in a cupboard, was then uncovered, and published in 1981 as Some Desperate Glory, fifty years after he had died.
For me the experience of reading the book was one of being immersed in the sights and sounds, the adrenalin rushes and the horror of the First World War, from the infantry soldier's point of view. There is no overview given of the bigger picture, of the "history" of the war. Rather this is just the history of eight months in the life of a young man.
This is a fine book relating to World War I, a good read for someone wanting to steep themselves in that time a hundred years ago when the future of Europe, indeed the future of the entire world, was shaped by four years like nothing previous in mankind’s history. Perhaps wait until 2017, and read in conjunction with All Quiet on the Western Front?
January 7, 2009
I have to admit to being slightly biased as the author is my great uncle. I remember my mother talking about him and other family members who were involved in both WW1 and WW2, so it was a lovely surprise to find this book (it was a very large Catholic family, so we no longer had contact with that part of the family. We discovered the book when it was reviewed in a national newspaper!).
When the author starts his diary he is very much a boy (by today's standards), when the diary ends he is a man.
Edwin is sent to France and doesn't really have a clue what he should be doing. Everything appears to be dis-organised and haphazard, but gradually he manages to make sense of his duties and responsibilities.
This book really is a diary - some entries don't seem to make much sense, some are pretty dull. This is redeemed by some amazing descriptions of everyday life in the trenches and narrow escapes. I think my great uncle comes over as a pretty ordinary chap in an extraordinary situation. He, and so many others, were so young in this war. This is brought home in a lovely passage where he is supervising a road being repaired, when he and another NCO make little boats and sail them in a puddle until a disgruntled soldier fills the hole. (I'm a little hazy on the small details of this scene as it's been a few years since I've read the book. Basically, it's the fact that they are playing like young boys.)
It is worth reading this book to the end as this is where it becomes really memorable. I don't want to give anything away, but his descriptions of a battlefield after the guns have stopped firing are truly astounding. I've never heard a description like it. It must be a good one as I have heard parts of it quoted on the radio in England on Remembrance Day. And that was a funny feeling.
When the author starts his diary he is very much a boy (by today's standards), when the diary ends he is a man.
Edwin is sent to France and doesn't really have a clue what he should be doing. Everything appears to be dis-organised and haphazard, but gradually he manages to make sense of his duties and responsibilities.
This book really is a diary - some entries don't seem to make much sense, some are pretty dull. This is redeemed by some amazing descriptions of everyday life in the trenches and narrow escapes. I think my great uncle comes over as a pretty ordinary chap in an extraordinary situation. He, and so many others, were so young in this war. This is brought home in a lovely passage where he is supervising a road being repaired, when he and another NCO make little boats and sail them in a puddle until a disgruntled soldier fills the hole. (I'm a little hazy on the small details of this scene as it's been a few years since I've read the book. Basically, it's the fact that they are playing like young boys.)
It is worth reading this book to the end as this is where it becomes really memorable. I don't want to give anything away, but his descriptions of a battlefield after the guns have stopped firing are truly astounding. I've never heard a description like it. It must be a good one as I have heard parts of it quoted on the radio in England on Remembrance Day. And that was a funny feeling.
January 10, 2013
Only published in the 80s, these diaries record in a matter-of-fact manner the lfe of a young officer on the Western Front. The episode describing the capture of a pillbox in the later stages of 3rd Ypres is, in my view, one of the most vivid accounts of WW1 action ever written. Deserves to be placed in the first rank of WW1 literature.
May 22, 2021
Read during a period of immersion in World War I memoirs, diaries, and histories. Read in conjunction with a similar book from the German side: see my review of Storm of Steel, by Ernst Junger.
Vaughan's book is REALLY graphic and horrible yet humorous at times. One wonders how they stood it and how ANYONE survived. Covers an eight-month period in detail.
Would reread.
Vaughan's book is REALLY graphic and horrible yet humorous at times. One wonders how they stood it and how ANYONE survived. Covers an eight-month period in detail.
Would reread.
October 20, 2011
A truly harrowing first hand account of trenches action in the First World War. I recommend it to anyone who might have a romantic and heroic idea of what warfare is all about.
March 28, 2013
Pretty good book. Really gives you an idea of the conditions that the British fighting the Germans in France w/trench warfare. I do not envy Vaughn..
July 24, 2021
I plodded through this book of a young officers diary-like record of his time on the western front in - mostly - 1917. It read similarly month-to-month (go up to the line, four or five days of boredom and enduring shelling, maybe some patrolling and then gratefully back for four or five days in reserve) but then the latter part of the book his battalion (1/8th Royal Warwickshire Regiment) moved north from the Somme area to Belgium and he took part in the 3rd Ypres, now known as the battle of Passchendaele. His descriptions of the battle were astounding and are, in my mind, the most telling of any I've read of the horrors of the First World War on the western front. When in rest and reserve at the beginning he and his fellow subalterns (I believe the author was about 20) would go to local villages, carouse, do silly things young naive men would do, and then back to the typically strict officer-other ranks structure that was his battalion. But Passchendaele just about obliterated the battalion, leaving five or six officers in the entire unit and only about a dozen men in Vaughan's company (out of 90 when they began). You can find a bit about Vaughan on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_C.... His diary was published 50 years after his premature death in 1931 and has been described as one of the top five books on the War.
January 18, 2024
Excellent memoir in diary format. For the first 3/4 what comes over is what fun it all was, apart from falling out with his fellow officers, which he seemed rather prone to. Mild danger, few casualties and the whole things comes across as a great game. However the mood turns as they reach Ypres and take part in one of the famously costly attacks across a sea of mud. Unstinting in describing the horror the book ends abruptly as he confronts his likely fate and the loss of his friends and men from his unit. Recommended.
November 9, 2018
This is one of the great books to come out of World War I. It is a diary, from the author’s arrival in France in January 1917 through fighting at Passchendaele in August of that year. Vaughn would later become a decorated company commander and survived the war, but was fated to die at 33 of an overdose when his doctor gave him cocaine instead of novocaine. The manuscript remained in his family’s possession for decades until it was submitted to a publisher in the 1980s.
Had Vaughn worked on the manuscript after the war to bring it into publishable form, it almost certainly would have been worse for the effort, with its embarrassing and unedifying incidents homogenized or removed. Instead, it has the sense of immediacy that comes from events written about as soon as they happen. Vaughn was not a natural military commander and leader of men; he made mistakes, got yelled at, got angry and sulked, and got better at his job. It’s all there in the text, the raw story of a young man growing up under fire.
The last thirty pages of the book are horrifying, and they are written in a flat, dispassionate style that only seems to emphasize the hellishness of the events. Madness seems to claw at the mind (Vaughn’s, and perhaps the reader’s too) when he writes
His company attacked a fortified bunker through driving rain and mud and murderous enemy fire. When they captured it he talked to a dying German officer inside whose leg had been shot away. The German told him that his men saw the British coming and were about to mow them down with a machine gun when a tank, which had crawled up past the side of the bunker, sent a shot through the rear entrance, killing or wounding everyone inside. Minutes later the tank took a direct hit from an artillery shell and was destroyed with all hands.
By the time the position was captured the company had been reduced from ninety men to fifteen. Vaughn struggled to find words that would convey the ghastliness of the chaos and terror they had experienced. If ever an author has summoned the horrors of a season in hell, it is in these pages.
The book ends abruptly the day after the remnants of the company were pulled out of the line. Vaughn felt no reason to continue with the diary, no hope remaining for anyone or anything. The diary ends with, "So this was the end of 'D' Company. Feeling sick and lonely, I returned to my tent to write out my casualty report; but instead I sat on the floor and drank whisky after whisky as I gazed into a black and empty future."
Had Vaughn worked on the manuscript after the war to bring it into publishable form, it almost certainly would have been worse for the effort, with its embarrassing and unedifying incidents homogenized or removed. Instead, it has the sense of immediacy that comes from events written about as soon as they happen. Vaughn was not a natural military commander and leader of men; he made mistakes, got yelled at, got angry and sulked, and got better at his job. It’s all there in the text, the raw story of a young man growing up under fire.
The last thirty pages of the book are horrifying, and they are written in a flat, dispassionate style that only seems to emphasize the hellishness of the events. Madness seems to claw at the mind (Vaughn’s, and perhaps the reader’s too) when he writes
From the darkness of all sides came the groans and wails of wounded men; faint, long, sobbing moans of agony, and despairing shrieks. It was too horribly obvious that dozens of men with serious wounds must have crawled for safety into new shell-holes, and now the water was rising about them and, powerless to move, they were slowly drowning….And we could do nothing to help them.
His company attacked a fortified bunker through driving rain and mud and murderous enemy fire. When they captured it he talked to a dying German officer inside whose leg had been shot away. The German told him that his men saw the British coming and were about to mow them down with a machine gun when a tank, which had crawled up past the side of the bunker, sent a shot through the rear entrance, killing or wounding everyone inside. Minutes later the tank took a direct hit from an artillery shell and was destroyed with all hands.
By the time the position was captured the company had been reduced from ninety men to fifteen. Vaughn struggled to find words that would convey the ghastliness of the chaos and terror they had experienced. If ever an author has summoned the horrors of a season in hell, it is in these pages.
The book ends abruptly the day after the remnants of the company were pulled out of the line. Vaughn felt no reason to continue with the diary, no hope remaining for anyone or anything. The diary ends with, "So this was the end of 'D' Company. Feeling sick and lonely, I returned to my tent to write out my casualty report; but instead I sat on the floor and drank whisky after whisky as I gazed into a black and empty future."
February 7, 2011
Edwin Campion Vaughn was a junior officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment during the Great War. This book is his diary from January to August 1917, taking him from joining his regiment in France through to the slaughter and horror of Passchendale. This is very much a " warts and all" account told purely from Edwin Vaughan's point of view. We aren't told how he fits into the British stratergy, his view is focused purely on it's impact on him. Nor are we told much about the experience of the NCOs and other ranks, other than when he is in direct contact with them. We are though given a wonderful insight into the life of a junior officer on the Western Front, we are told of the privations he suffers, terrible living conditions, periods of fear and extreme danger. However we also see the privleges enjoyed by officers, personal servants to, who cook their meals and look after their kit, they also have the money to buy little extras and alcohol, whisky being apparently in abundant supply.
This is a very honest account and Edwin Vaughan admits that he was not keen on a number of his fellow officers and initially not impressed with the men with under his command, an opinion revised when they come under fire. Nor are his superiors that impressed with him and at one point he is threatened with being sent home.
The account comes to an end with the battle of Passchendale where only fifteen of his ninety men survive the attack, we leave him feely "sick and lonely" drinking whisky and gazing into "a black and empty future"
I found this a moving but fascinating read.
This is a very honest account and Edwin Vaughan admits that he was not keen on a number of his fellow officers and initially not impressed with the men with under his command, an opinion revised when they come under fire. Nor are his superiors that impressed with him and at one point he is threatened with being sent home.
The account comes to an end with the battle of Passchendale where only fifteen of his ninety men survive the attack, we leave him feely "sick and lonely" drinking whisky and gazing into "a black and empty future"
I found this a moving but fascinating read.
August 26, 2015
Compelling reading. But I felt an adversarial response to the writer that made me work harder at reading the book--he wasn't likeable, he pranked others, and he was sometimes sarcastic and secretive.
I do not believe that this is a diary. There are clues in the text (matters of wording and construction) that this is a memoir that was written some time after the fact. And it certainly seems like something that was written for psychological catharsis, rather than a day-by-day accounting of daily life.
I also felt compelled to extra-illustrate and annotate the book because there was much detail that needed explaining. Despite a good deal of research, I was still left with some questions regarding contemporary slang--I could make some fairly good educated guesses (especially when it seemed he was referring to a certain species of personal naughtiness) but I couldn't be sure.
I question the fact that there were no pictures of the original text and that nothing was said about who decided to have this volume published. I do not doubt the author wrote about his experiences but I would like to know more.
I do not believe that this is a diary. There are clues in the text (matters of wording and construction) that this is a memoir that was written some time after the fact. And it certainly seems like something that was written for psychological catharsis, rather than a day-by-day accounting of daily life.
I also felt compelled to extra-illustrate and annotate the book because there was much detail that needed explaining. Despite a good deal of research, I was still left with some questions regarding contemporary slang--I could make some fairly good educated guesses (especially when it seemed he was referring to a certain species of personal naughtiness) but I couldn't be sure.
I question the fact that there were no pictures of the original text and that nothing was said about who decided to have this volume published. I do not doubt the author wrote about his experiences but I would like to know more.
April 2, 2014
One of the best diaries of World War I ever published. Vaughn was not a writer, but his diary reads as though he spent years studying the art. Some of the scenes are so heartbreaking that you can't believe any human could survive them. If you want to write fiction the diaristic form, this is an essential book to have. It reads like a novel. Be warned: It'll make you very sad.
February 20, 2018
Vaughan’s diary rivals All Quiet on the Western Front as a battlefront narrative and an insight into the thought life of a soldier in the trenches. The author’s detailed descriptions of his experiences at Ypres allow the reader to observe history from a truly firsthand perspective.
November 15, 2022
Ok. This is a diary that hasn't been edited. It hasn't even been given footnotes, so if there is a term or place you aren't familiar with, you have to just try to get it on context. There is a word he uses for afraid (that I can't remember now, maybe 'wavy') that you will soon come to recognize.
There is a lot of waiting around. There is a lot of playing games. And there is a lot of mismanagement and poor organization and wasted time and effort. Read the entries around April 1 for an absurd personalized story about being sent on errands then senior officers yelling and making unreasonable demands and changing other senior officers orders, which get our author in trouble.
And, finally, he fights. Or at least, he sits in the trenches during a fight. Pointlessness and futility from a real person's point of view.
There is a lot of waiting around. There is a lot of playing games. And there is a lot of mismanagement and poor organization and wasted time and effort. Read the entries around April 1 for an absurd personalized story about being sent on errands then senior officers yelling and making unreasonable demands and changing other senior officers orders, which get our author in trouble.
And, finally, he fights. Or at least, he sits in the trenches during a fight. Pointlessness and futility from a real person's point of view.
May 31, 2025
What a brilliant read! Lieut Vaughan has written a warts and all account of 8 months in the trenches up until August 1917 with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Though he was awarded the Military Cross no mention is made of this.
He clearly has some difficult moments and is not afraid to expose these, also where he is "choked off" by senior officers unfairly for some misdermener . He is just honest about what he thinks of fellow officers and how he came to respect and cherish the platoon he commanded.
There is no happy ending to this account. He is utterly spent by the last action, he laments the lose of so many he knew and takes Solis in whiskey after whiskey.
I can't understand how this volume is not more well known. For me it ranks easily with the ilk of 'Storm of Steel'.
A must read for anyone with an interest in the Great War.
He clearly has some difficult moments and is not afraid to expose these, also where he is "choked off" by senior officers unfairly for some misdermener . He is just honest about what he thinks of fellow officers and how he came to respect and cherish the platoon he commanded.
There is no happy ending to this account. He is utterly spent by the last action, he laments the lose of so many he knew and takes Solis in whiskey after whiskey.
I can't understand how this volume is not more well known. For me it ranks easily with the ilk of 'Storm of Steel'.
A must read for anyone with an interest in the Great War.
January 4, 2026
In great detail, Vaughan recounts his experiences as a young officer serving during on the Ypres/Ieper salient during WWI.
Having visited the very places he served in at the time it was hard to try to picture what it must have been like while I was looking at what is now a peaceful and beautiful countryside in Belgium, but this was not the case over 100 years ago in which his unit would be utterly decimated through bitter and attritional warfare.
This serves as a timely reminder that we should never forget the human cost of war.
Having visited the very places he served in at the time it was hard to try to picture what it must have been like while I was looking at what is now a peaceful and beautiful countryside in Belgium, but this was not the case over 100 years ago in which his unit would be utterly decimated through bitter and attritional warfare.
This serves as a timely reminder that we should never forget the human cost of war.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2022
Anyone familiar with the tragic carnage of the Great War would expect an officer's diary from the Somme and Ypres to be brutal, grim and haunting, and this account is all that.
As pointed out in the forward, the young officer changes significantly during the months of the book from a somewhat callow, happy-go-lucky man, still a teenager, to a haunted battle-weary veteran.
A grim but factual portrayal of some of the worst engagements of World War I.
As pointed out in the forward, the young officer changes significantly during the months of the book from a somewhat callow, happy-go-lucky man, still a teenager, to a haunted battle-weary veteran.
A grim but factual portrayal of some of the worst engagements of World War I.
July 6, 2025
If you want to know what it was really like to be a young officer in the later stages of ww1 then this is a book to read. It is as one would expect in terms of what they went through, quiet shocking but he is also a very good writer which really helps when reading the book. Hyatt last part of the dairy is his participation in the 3rd battle of Ypres which is absolutely horrifying.
August 27, 2020
Good book worth the read a personal account of the trenches of W.W. I
July 22, 2024
Absolutely harrowing. Should be read by all.
March 8, 2025
Absolute page-turner, even during the parts where he recounts his time on leave/away from the front. The build up to the ending had me floored. This book needs more recognition.
February 11, 2017
Amazing what soldiers went through.
October 24, 2013
The most vivid and visceral description of life in the trenches during WW1 that I have ever read. This diary, long suppressed by the writer's survivors, narrates the journey of his teenage self through the loss of almost all his company. You will never forget his description of injured men drowning in the rain, or his recounting of walking patrol across what can only be described as a bone field.
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