Why were there so many missing in the First World War? What do we know
about the battlefield casualties, the dead and the wounded, the
prisoners of war, the deserters? The Great War produced casualties on an
unprecedented scale. Published to commemorate the centenary of the
Cenotaph, English historian Simon Fowler describes the exhaustive hunt
for servicemen, many who remain missing to this day. He describes how
Britain reacted to the shocking news from the front and how grieving
could be worse for relatives of the missing. This book examines how
vital information gathered from the POW information bureaux, the
International Red Cross, embassies and other sources in Germany were
carefully pieced together in the search for bodies. It also documents
the power of rumour and the shadowy world of spiritualists and conmen
who exploited a nation's grief. The poignant story of those missing in
action includes conflicts that followed the Great War, including the
Second World War and the Vietnam. This book reveals how bodies have been
recovered and how we memorialise the missing through the Cenotaph, the
Tomb of Unknown Warrior and many other monuments.
