Walter’s War: A rediscovered memoir of the Great War 1914-18

A superbly written personal account of fighting years on the Western Front. Thousands of books have been and probably will be written on the Great War, but the voices of those who actually lived through the hell of blood and pain have fallen silent. But every now and then a treasure is unearthed - a secret memoir. Walter’s War is one such book. Written without the knowledge of his family and not discovered till after his death, this is the gripping account of an ordinary soldier, who was awarded the Military Medal. Although he never talked about the war once it was over, his writings vividly capture the mixture of boredom and terror that were so familiar to the soldiers on both sides. No-one knew that he had recreated his experiences so accurately - it was not till his son cleared the house after his father’s death that three books in his father’s meticulous handwriting were discovered.