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The Trench

By: Richard Van Emden
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Corgi Books
ISBN: 0552149683
ISBN-13: 9780552149686
Released: 03 Mar 2003
RRP: £8.99
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Customer Reviews

A Televisual Memorial in Action - By: Dr. Emma Hanna, 26 Aug 2003
Too many people know too little about how 5 million British men lived & fought in & around the Western Front 1914-1918. Few Great War infantryman would recognise their war if they read some of the nonsense people believe about trench life. This book will set the record straight, & is best read as an accompaniament to the BBC's three-part series of the same name.'The Trench' is a thoroughly researched & thoughful book that has been written with great care & attention to detail. A source of controversy before it had even reached our screens in the spring of 2002, the series sought to take a carefully selected group of volunteers from Hull to experience life in the front line of the Western Front, just as their forebears in the Hull Pals regiment had done in 1916. This book shows that the criticisms levelled against the programme as a 'Big Brother in the Trenches' fallls very wide of the mark. With the help of a handful of remaining veterans, the producers wanted to see how men survived the day to day tasks of survival in a front-line trench system: it contains great detail not only about the daily routines, but of the Hull Pals battalion & the men remembered in the programme. It is a work steeped in a strong desire to respect & honour the sacrifices made by those who fought in the war. Indeed, anyone who is interested in the daily life of an average infantryman will be fascinated by 'The Trench.' This book goes a long way to dispel the myths about the infantry constantly being in the line without rest, permanently under fire from the enemy. This is simply not the case as 'The Trench' showed that infantry battalions would be rotated regularly between the front line, communication lines, & rest, recreation & fatigues behind the lines. 'The Trench' shows that for the majority of the time life in the infantry was actuallly quite dull, but the book remains an interesting & (sometimes humourous) read throughout. Punctuated with testimonies from remarkably sharp-witted veterans (average age 105) this is a must-read for anyone who wants to read about the admiration & commemoration of the spirit of comradeship & humour that helped Britain towards victory in 1918.