On the centenary of the Great War, there are now no longer any veterans
alive of the six million men who served on the Western Front. Although
this means that the Great War as a living history is to all intents and
purposes over, the twenty years Richard van Emden spent interviewing and
carefully recording the memories of over 270 veterans, makes this
extraordinary collection of stories even more poignant.
As well as stories told by the veterans themselves, Richard has also
included his own memories of these remarkable men: the remarkable, the
sad, the funny, the moving. The book also features an outstanding
collection of photographs taken of the veterans as soldiers during the
war, together with recent images of almost all of them, taken at home,
back on the Western Front or at the final veterans' reunion.
Britain's Last Tommies is the author's personal tribute to a unique list
of veterans, all of whom individually held the poignant title of being
the last Gallipoli veteran, the last Royal Flying Corps veteran, the
last Distinguished Conduct Medal holder, the last cavalryman and the
last Prisoner of War.