WE WILL REMEMBER THEM - Voices from the Aftermath

by Max Arthur

Published to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I, We Will Remember Them commemorates the veterans who are no longer among us. Featuring an introduction by the 110-year-old Henry Allingham—the only living survivor of the Battle of the Somme—this new anthology will contain interviews with the families of World War I veterans as well those still alive from the British, German, French, Russian, and other armies. These men have left their mark on history, and their personal stories are deeply moving. A concluding chapter places the “Great War” in context.

 

Genres: History, World War I, Nonfiction, Military History, War

Hardcover

First published October 22, 2009

About the author

Max 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.

Reviews

[Ron Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read extensively about World War 1. In my youth there was an elderly gentleman who lived across the road from my childhood home. He had been a soldier in the British army during World War 1. He had no children and after his wife died he would raise the blind on his front bedroom window to let my mother know that he was still in the land of the living. Occasionally when the blind was not lifted my mother would send me across to knock on the back door to see if Mr Knight was OK. This was my connection with that historical generation that gave so much and lost so much.
Listening to the words of men and women of Mr Knight’s time one hears the common person’s voice, a most valid and value contribution to the history of this important time. Too often we only hear the words of the professional historian. This is a collection of men and women give their views and experiences. Some I found personally very moving. As with Mr Knight many wanted, not to forget the war, but to put it behind themselves and getting on with the lives with their family and loved ones.
The theme that runs through much of what the participants say is the futility of war and how politicians’ words are so meaningless once the war is over.
When George W. Bush began threatening war in Iraq I remember saying to myself no there will not be a war, we have learnt from the past. Oh, how wrong I was!
Please make the effort to listen to these peoples’ stories.

[Book Club of One · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling read that offers various first person accounts of the last day of World War I and the resumption of peace. Max Arthur used transcriptions of oral interviews and letters organized around seven themes (i.the Armistice at the front ii. the Armistice at home iii. After the Battle iv. Demobilization v. Lives Change Forever vi. Returning to work vii. Commemoration and reflection) to show the various reflections on the war from November 11, 1918 and into the 20s and 30s.
While the accounts include those of nurses, civilians on the home front, soldiers on both sides of the conflict, and school children; the material is overall skewed towards the British military viewpoint. Materials are also, not necessarily in chronological order, but one can see the euphoria of peace fade into the disillusionment of depression, both mental and economic.
Lloyd George's "Homes Fit for Heroes" is an often recalled failed promise, among others for the veterans of the Great War.
This would have been a wonderful source for a paper I wrote as an undergraduate on the reentry into civilian life of the physically disabled soldiers.

[Venky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant account of the perils and horrors of World War-I as recounted by the participants themselves in th theatre of death, despondency and despair. Amidst the carnage are unearthed stories of brotherhood and bonding, failure and fortitude, and more than anything else the sheer will power to keep the cause running.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful oral history of the aftermath of the First World War.