Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14623 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 668 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
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

Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
'Subtle and endlessly fascinating... Holmes has a sharp eye for anecdote and detail.'

Sunday Telegraph
'Holmes (sic) has produced yet another fascinating, balanced and original book of a highly emotive subject.'

Customer Reviews

Fascinating, if a little military
A very long book looking at all aspects of the soldier's life, from training to hospitals, from trenches to home. One of Holmes' main aims is to put paid to some aspects of received wisdom - for example the "lions led by donkeys view of history". It remains a popular history from two points of view - firstly it is very readable. But secondly it lacks in places the rigour of a university work. For example, Holmes frequently complains loudly about the false views of "some historians"... but these historians are almost never named, which is a little disappointing.

Really Holmes book is extremely interesting, and is not afraid to deal with all sorts of controversial questions (homosexuality in the army, deserters, etc.) It is readable and exciting.

The negative point is that it is clearly written by a military man, and the lack of objectivity can be annoying in places. The vocabulary used (a battalion was "badly mauled" means that hundreds were killed), and the general attitude is partisan. Between the lines you see other possible perspectives. Groups of soldiers considered "unreliable" were four times as likely to survive the war than the more effectively patriotic. It can make one wonder which groups were the smartest...

Nevertheless on the whole indispensable writing, based on a huge mass of documentation.

Both Comprehensive and Fascinating
This book covers all you will every want or need to know about the British Soldier in the first World War. In the modern trend it is factual and balanced. It re-writes some of the preceived wisdom. For example following this book my opinions of the generals in the conflict were changed for the better (Holmes gives good reasons to think they were better than they are usually given credit for). In addition, my understanding of the motivation and commitment of the soldier was also improved. Holmes also makes the case (possibly well know now) that it was only in the late 20s and early 30s that disillusionment set in. At the time most soldiers were very commited and believed in the war as a just cause.

It contains lots of quotes from people writing at the time, which I enjoyed.

I thought it better than "Redcoat" -- it seemed to have a better structure and flow. So top marks becuase that was a good book too!

Interesting but ultimately disappointing
A very-detailed account, if a bit overlong history of the British Army during the First World War, from an individual and structural viewpoint.

There are some very interesting details in this book, but I think it compares poorly with other similar titles, such as the older, `Death's Men' by Denis Winter. It lacks the latter's clarity and power, and I found the writing wayward.

Holmes most interesting angle is probably the one that will divide those who think WWI was a bloody shambles - a war of incompetent generals and brave soldier-civilians led trustingly to their doom. Holmes tries to break down this `class' perspective. Holmes rightly tries to debunk this simplistic view , for example looking at the role of the much-maligned red-tabbed staff officers, traditionally seen as safe and sound in their chateaux far behind the lines.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the author's own background as an Army officer, it admirably looks again at the sacrifice and common suffering of the officer - over a third being from the ranks, after all, so not just a simple case of `us and them'. It works best in dealing with the structure of the Army, the vast organisation that made it tick, etc.

Where I felt it didn't work so well was giving a clear view of the common soldier, and in its desire to kick against the `Oh What a Lovely War!' depiction of WWI history, it just feels like it has tipped the other way in its bias. At times it reads curiously like a `Boys' Own' romp, not least the opening engagement. Refreshingly, it wasn't the usual example of sacrifice and unimaginable horror that is used as the archetype in most WWI histories. Instead Holmes has selected an account of a skirmish that is adrenalin-filled and rather excitingly told. A brave choice of opening ,but echoed throughout the book, when you needed a reminder that this probably wasn't a period where the British Army showed itself to be tactically adept or well-led.

With no slight on the author's own military background, it felt like a staff-officer's history - a neat-line drawn from the official regimental histories that used to sit on my grandfather's bookshelf from the Great War.

Overall, I felt the book was a bit too far in the revisionist camp for my liking. The British Army might have become more professional in the last 100 days of World War One, when it confidently displayed a command of all-arms tactics, with tank, Lewis gun, artillery and aircraft. I am not sure if this balances out the three years' of bloody profligacy that took place before.

After putting it down, I was impressed by Holmes's attempt to challenge the `lions led by donkeys' approach, but felt it had gone too far the other way. It seemed to fly in the face of the overwhelming personal testimonies of the men who actually witnessed the Great War, and it felt oddly off-key.

Interesting, but flawed.