The Fog of War

By j j jerome

Never before or since, in the field of human endeavor, has such a huge sacrifice been made for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many.
In many bookshops there are collections of letters allegedly sent home by soldiers. This is not another one of them
The first soldiers at the front wrote home;
Ive never been so well or so happy. I am keeping really fit in fact I have never felt better in my life: simply rollicking about and enjoying myself immensely. Theres nothing I enjoy more than a merry chase after the Bosch Really?
The sound of the rolling thunder of heavy gunfire, like the sound of real thunder or of ocean that is so comforting. Weve been given oranges and fresh bread so dont worry and weve just had a good old sing-song cant be going into fight without singing can we? Its been like a big picnic without the wasps Has it?
We could have a game of cricket away from these guns. Im sure there must be a level playing field in sight. Right
At least we know that every possible instance of bravery and cheerfulness is being recorded at home.
Written by young people today they explore whether more deliberate lies were told to the Country than in any other period of history? And was the whole apparatus of the state trying to suppress the truth about events during WW1 to become acceptable from then on?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Sep 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546282167

j j jerome

Were more deliberate lies told to the Country than in any other period of history'? Was the whole apparatus of the state trying to suppress the truth about events during WW1? 'Written by young people for young people' In many bookshops there are collections of letters allegedly sent home by soldiers. This is not another one of them. It provides semi-fictional creative interpretations of the events from the final days of War mongering, through the patriotic departure of the BEF to a time when open warfare was replaced by stationary

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© 2017 j j jerome. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  09/25/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8215-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8216-7 (e)

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1   Rules of Engagement with this book

Chapter 2   ‘Keep it off the front pages’

Chapter 3   ‘First in line’

Chapter 4   ‘Vin ordinary’ a reservist’s story

Chapter 5   ‘One bandage isn’t enough’ the story one a VAD

Chapter 6   FIX BAYONETS A REGULAR’S STORY

Chapter 7   Do you like to be beside the seaside?

Chapter 8   the Last Post

Chapter 9   At the going down of the Sun

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FOREWORD

This is not about the writers or the book but more importantly about the motivation for becoming involved. We had watched with bewilderment the commemoration services for the 100th Anniversary of The Great War Something occurred to us; is this what the fallen would really have wanted? During our research we were spurred on by one quote we came across from Sergeant Charles H. Moss, 18th (Pals) Battalion, c 1924. His feelings ran that in War memorial services, the soldier is mentioned as though Patriotism had been the main thing that made him join the army and die in action. But to the ex-servicemen and who has had his eyes open to the lies and deceptions of the Great War, how sad and ignorant it all is, he knows that the pious outpourings over their dead comrades are based on mistaken and misunderstood foundations. The truth about the non-commissioned soldier who fought in the Great War, is a thing to be ashamed of, instead of being blessed and glorified as a virtue by those who are far removed from the foul realities of it.

DEDICATION

We humbly dedicate this book to Tommy Atkins. Not just one soldier but to the many hundreds of thousands of Tommy Atkins from around the world who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we currently enjoy. On a more personal note this book is also dedicated to SF, T, H and R who kept the ‘home fires burning’ during the darkest hours

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost we must thank the young peoples of South Leicestershire for their generous donation of time and commitment to make this project happen. Then we must acknowledge the support of the ‘Now and Then’WW1 commemoration project funding we received from the National Lottery Heritage (East Midlands) organisation. www.hlf.org.uk/first-world-war-then-and-now as with all our work we found the East Midlands Oral History Project (EMOH) and invaluable resource highlighting once more the importance of the maintenance of Oral History Archives. www.le.ac.uk/emoha/ Thanks to The Imperial War Museum who proved to be pivotal in this work www.iwm.org.uk And last but not least the ‘Gerrrrs!’ The infamous Leicestershire Regiment who we affection ally call the ‘Tigers’. Their archives are essential in continuing the individual remembrance of the 1st and 2nd Divisions rather than just being part of the B.E.F [e-mail] more information about the project process is available from www.hlf.org.uk

INTRODUCTION

In this book, ‘written by young people for young people’ we tried to develop our archive research skills so that we could understand and appreciate the emotional letters sent between family and First World War troops. We were supported by the National Lottery ‘Now and Then’ WW1 commemoration programme and we tried to engage and empathise with the collections of moving letters and diaries which release a powerful cry of anguish over the wretchedness of life at the front in WW1. Conventional Education has given us only the basics; impossible statistics, incomprehensible war poetry and if we were lucky the odd visit to an appropriate visitors centre. We wanted more; to fully understand both the 4 years of commemorations and what were described as