'. . . tales of love and heroism from conflicts such as the Napoleonic
Wars and Afghanistan today' The Mirror
'The poignant farewells encapsulate the final words of servicemen to
their loved ones before they were killed in action.' The Telegraph
In this profoundly moving collection of 'farewell letters', written by
servicemen and women to their loved ones, Siân Price offers a remarkable
insight into the hearts and minds of some of the soldiers, sailors and
airmen of the past 300 years.
Each letter provides an enduring snapshot of an impossible moment - when
an individual stares death squarely in the face. Many were written on
the eve of a great charge or battle; others were written by soldiers who
experienced premonitions of their death, or by kamikaze pilots and
condemned prisoners. They write of the grim realities of battle, of
daily hardships, of unquestioning patriotism or bitter regrets, of
religious fervor or political disillusionment, of unrelenting optimism
or sinking morale - but above all, they write of their love for their
family and the desire to return to them one day.
Be it an epitaph dictated on a Napoleonic battlefield, a staunch,
unsentimental letter written by a Victorian officer, or an email from a
soldier in modern day Afghanistan, these voices speak eloquently and
forcefully of the tragedy of war and answer that fundamental human need
to say goodbye.
