Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front [Hardcover]

Tommy is Richard Holmes's tribute to the ghosts of the millions of ordinary soldiers who fought in the First World War. The book also reflects the dissatisfaction he feels at the way we still remember it. Too often we approach World War I through the literature it inspired. The poems of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and others have their own truths to offer, but Holmes would dispute the assumption that they represent the experiences of the majority of those who endured the trench warfare of the Western Front.

To discover new voices and new perspectives on the war he has trawled through the rich archives of letters, diaries and memoirs that still exist, most of them written while the fighting still continued. From these he has constructed an extraordinarily vivid and moving picture of what it felt like to be one of the millions of men who served in the British army during the four years between August 1914 and the armistice on November 11, 1918. From Private Albert Bullock rejoicing in the discovery of 200 Woodbines in the pack of a fellow soldier who had fled the front line, to Private Eric Hiscock describing the horrors of finding himself entangled in barbed wire. The Tommies, whom Richard Holmes rescues from obscurity, prove powerful witnesses to the diverse realities of the war. Beneath the stereotyped images of the First World War that we all carry in our heads, the real lives of the men who fought it are still there to be discovered and Holmes’s book brings them forcefully to our attention. ––Nick Rennison

Praise for Redcoat:

“Redcoat is not just a work of history but of enthusiasm and unparalleled knowledge. This is a wonderful book, doing justice to men who have long deserved a chronicler of Richard Holmes’ skill.” Bernard Cornwell

‘It would be hard to exaggerate the excellence of this book. Vivid, comprehensive, well-written, pacy, colourful.’ Simon Heffer

‘A wonderful book, full of anecdote and good sense. Anyone who has enjoyed a Sharpe story will love it.’ Bernard Cornwell, Daily Mail

‘Beautifully written, Redcoat is a vivid account of squalor and suffering almost beyond belief, for the men, their wives and followers, and their horses. One of the best chapters is a description of barrack-room life that will turn a few stomachs in this more fastitidious age.’ John Canon, TLS

‘Redcoat is the story of the British soldier from the Seven Year War through to the Mutiny and Crimea. It is consistently entertaining, full of brilliantly chosen anecdotes and rattles along at a good light infantry pace.’ David Crane, Spectator

‘All the best-known soldier writers are discussed here, and their anecdotes are told with enthusiasm and aplomb… This is an army from another world, and Redcoat is a splendidly entertaining, moving and informative description of its strengths and foibles.’ Hew Strachan, Daily Telegraph

'Holmes (sic) has produced yet another fascinating, balanced and original book of a highly emotive subject.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Straight in at No 2 on our Bestseller lists... --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

"As good a description as will be found anywhere of how the army was recruited, administered and motivated" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

"worth hearing again from this author, like all the best historians, never removes our fascination, dispels myths...new material is first-rate..." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

"...above all TOMMY is the story of the courage of ordinary men thrust into an extraordinary situation" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'packed with amazing facts and arresting anecdotes...the depth of his research and the breadth of his interests commands respect.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

‘This superb and important book...' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

The first history of the First World War to put the British soldier who fought in the trenches centre-stage. This superb and important book tells the story of this epic and terrible war through the letters, diaries and memories of those who fought it. Unmissable.

The First World War is deeply dug into the consciousness of the British. The images it conjures are of blood, barbed wire, shell-holes filled with dead bodies; of subalterns with wispy moustaches who never had the chance to grow old; of soldiers with faces vacant with shell-shock; of great aunts who never married.

Holmes, one of Britain's foremost military historians and TV presenters, broke new ground when he published Redcoat: his history of the British soldier 1750-1860. Now in the same inimitable style, Tommy tells the story of the First World War through the experiences of those who fought it. Over 6 million men served in the British army (22% of the adult male population). Nearly one million lost their lives and over 2 million were wounded. This is the story of all these men, and the women they left behind.

By using completely unseen letters, diaries, memoirs and poetry of 1914-1918 to complete his picture of the generation that fought and died in the mud of Flanders during the First World War, the life and character of Sgt Tommy Atkins is cast. Richard Holmes quotes many who wrote at lunchtime and died before tea; of women who lost husbands and brothers in the same afternoon and those who's mental health was destroyed for ever by shell shock. He examines their motivation, the impact of their service, their attitudes to war and to the enemy, and ultimately the legacy of their experience.

This book covers completely new ground and the result is a moving testament to the courage and sacrifice of a generation. It tells – for the first time – the real story of trench warfare, the strength and fallability of the human spirit, and the individuals behind an epic event. It is an emotional and unforgettable masterpiece from one of our most important historians.

Celebrated military historian and television presenter Richard Holmes is famous for his BBC series ‘Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolutionary War’; ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’; ‘Battlefields’; ‘War Walks’ and ‘The Western Front’. He is the author of many bestselling and widely acclaimed books including ‘Firing Line’, ‘The Western Front’, ‘Sahib’, ‘Redcoat’ and ‘Dusty Warriors’. He is general editor of the definitive ‘Oxford Companion to Military History’. He taught military history at Sandhurst for many years and is now Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. His biography of the Duke of Marlborough is published by HarperCollins in 2008. He lives near Winchester in Hampshire.