Johnny Get Your Gun (Hardback)
A Personal Narrative of the Somme, Ypres and Arras
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 207
ISBN: 9781473827509
Published: 2nd March 2015
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At the age of seventeen-and-a-half, full of idealism and patriotism, John Tucker enlisted as an Infantryman in the London Kensington Regiment and reached France, after training, in August 1915. Against all odds he survived three years of bitter trench warfare, was seriously wounded, and returned to Blighty a few months before Armistice Day. During those years he took part in the Battle of the Somme, the battles of Arras and Cambrai, and the Third Battle of Ypres. Yet though his patriotism remained unflinching, his idealism gave way to the grim realities of day to day survival in the trenches and, as he began to understand what constitutes courage, he grew from boyhood to manhood.
The author contrasts the beauties of the French countryside with the ugliness of widespread death and destruction, and paints a picture of French country life hardly less squalid than the soldiers' own lot. But above all, he makes the reader realise what it was like to fight in the war to end all wars.
These are the memoirs of one Infantryman, but through his eyes a vivid canvas of the whole war gradually unfolds.
These are the memoirs of one infantryman, but he provides a vivid account that paints a broad picture of the war on the Western Front. This is also the story of an idealistic and patriotic 17 year old who, against all the odds, survives the trench warfare, maintains his patriotism but develops realism. Well written and entertaining as well as moving and terrifying. A very worthwhile account from someone who was there. This is primary source material and valuable for that. It is also a very personal account that takes the reader through the experiences that developed the character of a young man at war. This is not just a war story, but a unique comparison between the beauty of the French countryside with the lunar landscape of the mud and blood of trench war. The embracing text is supported by illustration in the form of maps and photographs.
FIRE Project