Bookshelf

Below are books that I have read during my research, listed in no particular order, I add new books as I read them.

CHRISTMAS TRUCE - THE WESTERN FRONT, DECEMBER 1914, by Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton - a well-researched look at what really happened on No Man's Land all those years ago.

BIRDSONG (fiction), by Sebastian Faulks - set mainly during WW1, it's a classic that's now taught in schools and there's not much I can say which hasn't been said before, except that at times I found that the subject matter made it a gruelling read.

TOBY'S ROOM (fiction), by Pat Barker - Toby Brooke is reported 'Missing, believed killed', but what really happened on No Man's Land? His sister wants the truth. Storytelling at its best.

BRISTOL: THE GROWING CITY, by various authors - colourful descriptions of life in the suburbs of Bristol during the last 300 years.

BRISTOL AND THE GREAT WAR, edited by C.Wells and G.F.Stone - published in 1920, this account of how Bristol rallied to the cause was written by those who lived through it.

WAR STORY, by Ethel Thomas - fascinating local history from Shirehampton and Avonmouth on the edge of Bristol

TO WIN A WAR, 1918 The Year of Victory, by John Terraine - meticulously researched, very readable account of how victory was won on the battlefield.

THE GREAT SILENCE, by Juliet Nicolson - how Britain came to terms with life after the war, a story of celebration and anger, denial and hope.

SINGLED OUT, by Virginia Nicholson - how two million 'surplas women' coped without men after the First World War.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE AND NORTH BRISTOL SOLDIERS ON THE SOMME, by Nick Thornicroft - minutely researched story of what happened to local battalions and soldiers in the field of battle.

TRENCH TALK, Words of the First World War, by Peter Doyle and Julian Walker - how WW1 changed the English language forever, very readable and also useful for anyone trying to make sense of letters and diaries.

FISHER'S FACE, by Jan Morris - a portrait of Lord 'Jacky' Fisher, Admiral of the Fleet and a huge figure at the turn of the century, by an author who has always been transfixed by his face.

NOW ALL ROADS LEAD TO FRANCE, The Last Years of Edward Thomas, by Matthew Hollis - a beautifully crafted biography about a poet often overshadowed by Sassoon and Owen.

THE FIRST DAY OF THE SOMME, by Martin Middlebrook - military history at its best, the story of July 1 1916, when Britain suffered 60,000 casualties on the Western Front.

TRENCHES TO TRAMS, The Life of a Bristol Tommy, by Clive Burlton - local history is brought to life in this informative and well-illustrated book based on the memories of soldier George Pine.

UP THE LINE TO DEATH, The War Poets 1914-1918, selected by Brian Gardener - an anthology of haunting and memorable poems arranged in sections which follow the progress of the conflict.


THE FOLLOWING three books are very useful for the social history of the war years, all written by Peter Doyle and published by Shire Books,

• The British Soldier of the First World War
• First World War Britain
• British Postcards of the First World War

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH, by Vera Brittain - a young woman's autobiography which explains how the war changed not only her life, but that of a generation.


Also:
THE GREAT WAR - the BBC's classic 1964 television series is well worth watching, 26 episodes narrated by Sir Michael Redgrave. Available in a DVD box set.