Permission has been given by the British War Office for the publication of this series of Letters written by a Temporary Officer of the New Army. No alteration has been made in the Letters to prepare them for the Press beyond the deleting or changing, for obvious reasons, of certain names used.
About This Book
A series of wartime letters by a temporary officer chronicles his arrival in France and his day-to-day experience in training, the trenches, and on the front. The correspondence mixes candid, understated humor with sober reflections on comradeship, leadership among newly commissioned officers, and the practical and moral strains of service. Introductory chapters frame the writer as representative of a wider body of New Army officers, discussing recruitment, social character, and effectiveness, while occasional critiques of enemy attitudes and descriptions of combat conditions provide firsthand perspectives on the realities and aims of frontline service.