Product Description

Accompanying the BBC documentary series, this volume recreates in extraordinary detail the experience of day-to-day life for soldiers in World War I. Volunteers have been recruited from the streets of Hull, exactly as the "Hull Pals" (the nickname of the 10th battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment) were recruited in 1914. After being trained just as the original recruits were trained and taken to a carefully reconstructed trench in northern France, they are subjected to as many of the privations suffered by their great-grandfathers as can realistically be recreated. It is an extraordinary challenge, physically, mentally and historically. Based on hours of original research and interviews with surviving veterans of the Great War, as well as the regimental diary which describes every hour of every day in painstaking detail, "The Trench" aims to give an honest and accurate picture of what it actually felt like to be a soldier on the front line in 1916. What was it like to see the trenches for the first time? What did you do to pass the time once you got there? How did you deal with trench routine? And the deaths of your friends? How did you treat injuries? And trench foot? And lice? What did you eat? How did you sleep? How did you stay alive?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #313911 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Good Book Guide
'A serious investigation into what life was really like in this subterranean world ... a fascinating book'

From the Back Cover
A vivid and harrowing recreation of life in the trenches of the Great War.

What did it feel like to be a soldier on the Front Line in 1916? What was it like to see the trenches for the first time? What did you do to pass the time once you got there? How did you deal with trench routine? And the deaths of your friends? How did you treat injuries? Or trench foot? Or lice? What did you eat? How did you sleep?

How did you stay alive?

The Trench recreates the experience of day-to-day life for soldiers during the First World War. Based on many hours of original research and interviews with veterans, as well as extant records which describe daily events in extraordinary detail, its aim is to present an accurate picture of how it actually felt to be in the Front Line in 1916.

Awe-inspiring and deeply moving first-hand testimony from veterans of the Great War combines with the experiences of the modern day volunteers who occupied a specially reconstructed trench in northern France to bring us face-to-face with the unimaginable daily tragedies of the conflict and offer a profound new insight into the realities of war.

About the Author
Richard Van Emden is the principal researcher on the television series and a respected authority on the First World War. He is the author of a number of books about it, including Veterans and Prisoners of the Kaiser.

Customer Reviews

A Televisual Memorial in Action
Too many people know too little about how 5 million British men lived and fought in and 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, and is best read as an accompaniament to the BBC's three-part series of the same name.'The Trench' is a thoroughly researched and thoughful book that has been written with great care and 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' falls 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 and the men remembered in the programme. It is a work steeped in a strong desire to respect and 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, and rest, recreation and fatigues behind the lines. 'The Trench' shows that for the majority of the time life in the infantry was actually quite dull, but the book remains an interesting and (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 and commemoration of the spirit of comradeship and humour that helped Britain towards victory in 1918.