Kinmel Revisited

By Robert James Bridge

May I take readers on a journey through time to the year 1919 immediately after the war to end all wars ended?. On a cold snowbound scenery which was soon to become blood begrime, Kinmel Army Camp on the North Wales Coast awaited the arrival of some 20,000 men of the Canadian Expeditionary Force,Men with wounds that might never heal,men who gave us the freedom we enjoy today?. The camp was said to be cold,damp and generally unfit for men who had been fighting in hand to hand combat with the enemy. We the Brits were unable to supply the ships to take our allies home so camps like Kinmel were set up to house them during the interim period.Remember folks all they wanted was to go home to their families?. It was as my wife and I stood over the five graves with the Maple Leaf Emblem on them I knew one day I would write this story.Although a flu epidemic did sweep the camp and many said those five men died as a result it seems they died during the riot by some four hundred men in the camp.None have been charged with the deaths today it has to be said.All received harsh sentences but all were on their way home within six months and the story of the Kinmel Camp Riot faded in the sands of time.I have written this story as fiction using fictional characters to avoid conflict with living relatives and I hope you remember the fallen the men left behind?.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert James Bridge
• Release date: Feb 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463503331

Robert James Bridge

The Black and White House has been reviewed by [e-mail] and a small section is attached to this intro!. Just been informed A Bolt From The Blue-The Halifax Explosion is to be published alongside Sealed With A Loving Kiss and The Black and White House at penitpublications.com or https://www.smashwords.com/ I am a prolific author of many books, books that may never see the light of day or indeed get published, but I love what I do and that gives me the hope that one day I see one of books in the stores. I do not write one specific area, infact my books are mostly diverse for instance. A Bolt From The Blue is historical fiction woven around a true story.A story that has mostly been erased through the sands of time . Un coup de bleu L'explosion de Halifax Available at penitpublications.com A Bolt From The Blue-The Halifax Explosion . The bells ring out in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada each and every year on December 6th at 9am to remind folks of the tragedy that happened in 1917 when two ammunition ships collided in the Harbour of Halifax and Dartmouth. A tragedy that took almost 2,000 lives. Kinmel Revisited is another of historical fiction woven once again around the fascinating story of the Kinmel Camp Riot in 1919 in North Wales. This book is also available at penitpublications or blazingheartpublishing.com The Black and White House is a on the edge nail biting thriller that will leave readers maybe thirsting for more of the same as Joshua Jenks a poor coloured boy from Memphis goes on to defy the odds by becoming a Senator and this is where his troubles begin!. At this stage I would like to introduce adult readers to my series of adult fictional crime. I say adult simply because each book contains explicit references suitable for adults. I have four books in the series and the first is now on Smashwords entitled Hell Bent on Murder,followed by Hell Bent on Revenge and if this has wetted your appetite then to come shortly is Hell Bent on Corruption followed by Hell Bent on Blackmail, all featuring ex met cop turned private eye Jim Bent. It is my hope one day to continue with Hell Bent on Collaboration, but at this juncture please by all means read of Jim Bent and his adventures when he leaves the met after fifteen years and takes on the role of a private eye.If you have enjoyed the first two in my series then Hell Bent on Corruption and Hell Bent on Blackmail will leave you thirsting for mor...

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KINMEL REVISITED

BY

ROBERT JAMES BRIDGE

The cover is of St Margaret’s Church Bodelwyddan, North Wales. This is the home of five Canadian Soldiers graves, plus many more who fought bravely in each and every war!.

SYNOPSIS

Today one could perhaps be forgiven for not noticing the small village of Bodelwyddan situated on the North Wales coast, but back in the year 1919 just after the war to end all wars another was about to begin in the shape of a riot by some four hundred men of the Canadian expeditionary force stationed in the camp adjacent to the village, in 1919 the camp and indeed Bodelwyddan were on the front page of almost every tabloid in the country.

The year is 1990 and I, Robert Bridge known fondly as Bob, and my wife Lilian had decided after fifteen years working for a credit card company it was time to maybe live near our aged parents in Abergele, another village not far from Bodelwyddan. It has to be said because of family ties we returned South at a later date.

Meanwhile we purchased an old Victorian house for the challenge of bringing it up to modern day standards. The house had been built around 1890 and stood in its own grounds away from the hubbub of everyday life. Our first chore was to have central heating installed, even though each and every room had an old Victorian fireplace. We then set about the many other chores that needed doing, and it came about whilst Lilian .was preparing lunch I decided it was time to clear the attic: now the attic like the rest of the house had not seen the light of day for many years. As I made my way through the tangled web I came across loads of old junk which included an old box in the corner; as I brushed away the dust I was confronted by the insignia of a Regiment that escaped me, a regiment from many years ago. Curiosity got the better of me so I shone my torch on the badge and proceeded to open the box.

Lo and behold to my surprise inside were a set of old manuscripts that were damp and almost unreadable. I found a crate to sit on and with the aide of my torch began to read of a story that had me mesmerized by the heading which read "Kinmel Revisited". Now I had heard of Kinmel and the many stories that were told in the public houses, and of how an army officer and his wife had lodged in Abergele in 1919 during the riot at the camp. Suddenly it became clear as this fascinating story unfolded before me that we had in fact purchased the house, and the manuscripts had been written by him, manuscripts that had remained untouched in the box all those years.

I must say even with my torch much of the writing had been erased but the entire story was legible. Mesmerized by the story l felt myself being taken aback to an era long forgotten, to trenches and men screaming out in pain, and to Kinmel camp and the riot that Captain George Sawley witnessed. Bob, your lunch is ready, Lilian’s voice brought me back to reality, OK love, be down in a second, l shouted as I placed my find back in the box. Leaving it in the attic I went downstairs only to be confronted by Lilian. What the hell have you been doing all this time? she said as I stood open mouthed. ‘’Lillian, you are not going to believe this but we have purchased a house in which an army officer and his wife lodged during the riot at Kinmel in 1919, and guess what, the officer wrote down the story and its in the attic. Jesus it isn’t a treasure but it sure makes fascinating reading!"

That evening I brought the box down and we tried to compile the story of the Kinmel camp riot, and of how George came to be sent to Kinmel after the war. The next day we took a trip over to Bodelwyddan to the churchyard of St Margaret’s to see first hand the graves of five young men, who it seems died during the fracas of bullet and bayonet wounds. I then took my find to the local historical society and they said although faded it was a genuine manuscript and maybe one day a book will tell the story of the riot at Kinmel? We continued our chores and cleared out the attic but never came across any more papers. It seems the badge was of the Artillery and we had the job of keeping our find in good condition until, at a later date, I decided I wanted to write a book on the Riot at Kinmel, perhaps in