Gents,
I have just read a sensational book: Somme Mud by Private Edward Francis Lynch of the 45th Infantry Battalion, AIF. After the Great War, Private Lynch wrote down his experiences in school exercise books. He wrote as if the story was a novel with a number of main characters, but the book is actually an autobiographical account of his own experiences. You can access AIF service records online and every event in Somme Mud is reflected in Private Lynch's record of service, including dates, places, woundings, misconduct. Private Lynch served at the Somme, Bullecourt, Messines, Passchendaele, Dernancourt, Villers Brettoneaux, Hamel, Amiens, Hindenburg Line etc so you get a first hand description of the battle conditions in a similar style to Storm of Steel or All Quiet on the Western Front om the perspective of an Australian Infantryman on the Western Front. Highly recommended. Details below.
Mike
SOMME MUD
ISBN: 1741665477
9781741665475
Format: Trade Paperback
Imprint: Random House Austral
RRP: $34.95
Release: 01/08/06
Subject: Autobiography/Biography
View 300dpi image
SOMME MUD
by Private E.P.F Lynch
Written with dignity, candour and surprising wit, this soldier's story of horror of the Western Front trenches is a testament to the power of the human spirit.
Description of book
'It's the end of the 1916 winter and the conditions are almost unbelievable. We live in a world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work in it, fight in it, wade in it and many of us die in it. We see it, feel it, eat it and curse it, but we can't escape it, not even by dying.'
SOMME MUD tells of the devastating experiences of Edward Lynch, a young Australian private soldier (18 when he enlisted) during the First World War when he served with the 45th battalion of the Australian Infantry Forces on the Western Front at the Somme, which saw the most bloody and costly fighting of the war. In just eight weeks, there were 23,000 Australian casualties.
The original book of twenty chapters, was written in pencil in twenty school exercise books in 1921, probably to help exorcise the horrendous experiences he had witnessed during his three years at war from mid-1916 until his repatriation home in mid-1919. Lynch had been wounded three times, once seriously and spent over six months in hospital in England.
Published here for the first time, and to the great excitement of historians at the War Memorial SOMME MUD is a precious find, a discovered treasure that vividly captures the magnitude of war through the day-to-day experiences of an ordinary infantryman - and this is a rare book for that reason, as most of the war memoirs have been written by officers. From his first day setting sail for France as the band played 'Boys of the Dardanelles' and the crowd proudly waved their fresh-faced boys off, to the harsh reality of the trenches of France and its pale-faced weary men, Lynch captures the essence and contradictions of war.
SOMME MUD is Australia's version of All Quiet on the Western Front. Told with dignity, candour and surprising wit, it is a testament to the power of the human spirit, a moving true story of humanity and friendship. It will cause a sensation when it is published.
Reviews
"Lynch shows remarkable maturity in his ability to capture the banality of terror" - Sunday Age 12/08/06
Private E.P.F Lynch
SOMME MUD
Trade Paperback
View all books by Private E.P.F Lynch
I have just read a sensational book: Somme Mud by Private Edward Francis Lynch of the 45th Infantry Battalion, AIF. After the Great War, Private Lynch wrote down his experiences in school exercise books. He wrote as if the story was a novel with a number of main characters, but the book is actually an autobiographical account of his own experiences. You can access AIF service records online and every event in Somme Mud is reflected in Private Lynch's record of service, including dates, places, woundings, misconduct. Private Lynch served at the Somme, Bullecourt, Messines, Passchendaele, Dernancourt, Villers Brettoneaux, Hamel, Amiens, Hindenburg Line etc so you get a first hand description of the battle conditions in a similar style to Storm of Steel or All Quiet on the Western Front om the perspective of an Australian Infantryman on the Western Front. Highly recommended. Details below.
Mike
SOMME MUD
ISBN: 1741665477
9781741665475
Format: Trade Paperback
Imprint: Random House Austral
RRP: $34.95
Release: 01/08/06
Subject: Autobiography/Biography
View 300dpi image
SOMME MUD
by Private E.P.F Lynch
Written with dignity, candour and surprising wit, this soldier's story of horror of the Western Front trenches is a testament to the power of the human spirit.
Description of book
'It's the end of the 1916 winter and the conditions are almost unbelievable. We live in a world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work in it, fight in it, wade in it and many of us die in it. We see it, feel it, eat it and curse it, but we can't escape it, not even by dying.'
SOMME MUD tells of the devastating experiences of Edward Lynch, a young Australian private soldier (18 when he enlisted) during the First World War when he served with the 45th battalion of the Australian Infantry Forces on the Western Front at the Somme, which saw the most bloody and costly fighting of the war. In just eight weeks, there were 23,000 Australian casualties.
The original book of twenty chapters, was written in pencil in twenty school exercise books in 1921, probably to help exorcise the horrendous experiences he had witnessed during his three years at war from mid-1916 until his repatriation home in mid-1919. Lynch had been wounded three times, once seriously and spent over six months in hospital in England.
Published here for the first time, and to the great excitement of historians at the War Memorial SOMME MUD is a precious find, a discovered treasure that vividly captures the magnitude of war through the day-to-day experiences of an ordinary infantryman - and this is a rare book for that reason, as most of the war memoirs have been written by officers. From his first day setting sail for France as the band played 'Boys of the Dardanelles' and the crowd proudly waved their fresh-faced boys off, to the harsh reality of the trenches of France and its pale-faced weary men, Lynch captures the essence and contradictions of war.
SOMME MUD is Australia's version of All Quiet on the Western Front. Told with dignity, candour and surprising wit, it is a testament to the power of the human spirit, a moving true story of humanity and friendship. It will cause a sensation when it is published.
Reviews
"Lynch shows remarkable maturity in his ability to capture the banality of terror" - Sunday Age 12/08/06
Private E.P.F Lynch
SOMME MUD
Trade Paperback
View all books by Private E.P.F Lynch
