To Fight Alongside Friends: The First World War Diaries of Charlie May

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David Crane. To Fight Alongside Friends: The First World War Diaries of Charlie May

Copyright

Praise for To Fight Alongside Friends:

List of Illustrations

Foreword

Prologue ‘A pippy, miserable blighter’ 7–10 November 1915. Lark Hill,i 7th November ’15

8th November ’15

9th November ’15

10th November ’15

Chapter 1 ‘And all because it is war!’ 11–27 November 1915. 11th November ’15

12th November ’15, 8.10 a.m

[Later]

13th November ’15

14th November ’15

15th November ’15

16th November ’15

17th November ’15

18th November ’15

19th November ’15

20th November ’15

21st November ’15

22nd November ’15

23rd November ’15

24th November ’15

25th November ’15

26th November ’15

27th November ’15

Chapter 2 ‘Mud caked to his eyebrows’ 28 November–19 December 1915. 28th November ’15

29th November ’15

30th November ’15

1st December ’15

2nd December ’15

3rd December ’15

4th December ’15

5th December ’15

6th December ’15

7th December ’15

8th December ’15

9th December ’15

10th December ’15

11th December ’15

12th December ’15

13th December ’15

14th December ’15

15th December ’15

16th December ’15

17th December ’15

18th December ’15

19th December ’15

Chapter 3 ‘Our past glorious Xmastides together’ 20 December 1915–13 January 1916. 20th December ’15i

21st December ’15

22nd December ’15

23rd–25th December ’15

26th December ’15, Boxing Day

27th December ’15

28th December ’15

29th December ’15

30th December ’15

31st December ’15

1st January ’16

2nd January ’16

3rd January ’16

4th January ’16

5th January ’16

6th January ’16

7th January ’16

8th January ’16

9th January ’16

10th January ’16

11th January ’16

12th January ’16

13th January ’16

Chapter 4 ‘It is the wire that is the trouble’ 14–23 January 1916. 14th January ’16

15th January ’16

16th January ’16

17th January ’16

18th January ’16

19th January ’16

20th January ’16

21st January ’16

22nd January ’16

23rd January ’16

Chapter 5 ‘Full of brimming excitement about my leave’ 24 January–4 February 1916. 24th January ’16

25th January ’16

26th January ’16

27th January ’16

28th January ’16

29th January ’16

30th January ’16

31st January ’16

1st February ’16

2nd February ’16

3rd February ’16

4th February ’16

Chapter 6 ‘What a game it is!’ 15 February–6 March 1916. 15th February ’16

16th February ’16

17th February ’16

18th February ’16

19th February ’16

20th February ’16

21st February ’16

22nd February ’16

23rd February ’16

24th February ’16

25th February ’16

26th February ’16

27th February ’16

28th February ’16

29th February ’16

1st March ’16

2nd March ’16

3rd March ’16

4th March ’16

5th March ’16

6th March ’16

Chapter 7 ‘Dry trenches mean happy men’ 7–26 March 1916. 7th March ’16

8th March ’16

9th March ’16

10th March ’16

11th March ’16

12th March ’16

13th March ’16

14th March ’16

15th March ’16

16th March ’16

17th March ’16

18th March ’16

19th March ’16

20th March ’16

21st March ’16

22nd March ’16

23rd March ’16

24th March ’16

25th March ’16

26th March ’16

Chapter 8 ‘Pushes and rumours of pushes fill the air’ 27 March–13 April 1916. 27th March ’16

28th March ’16

29th March ’16

30th March ’16

31st March ’16

1st April ’16

2nd April ’16

3rd April ’16

4th April ’16

5th April ’16

6th April ’16

7th April ’16

8th April ’16

9th April ’16

10th April ’16

11th April ’16

12th April ’16

13th April ’16

Chapter 9 ‘God bless the fool who made that shell’ 14 April–9 May 1916. 14th April ’16

15th April ’16

16th April ’16

17th April ’16

18th April ’16

19th April ’16

20th April ’16

21st April ’16

22nd April ’16

23rd April ’16

24th April ’16

25th April ’16

26th April ’16

27th April ’16

28th April ’16

29th April ’16

30th April ’16

1st May ’16

2nd May ’16

3rd May ’16

4th May ’16

5th May ’16xv

6th May ’16

7th May ’16

8th May ’16

9th May ’16

Chapter 10 ‘The flickering, angry light of a burning village’ 10 May–3 June 1916. 10th May ’16

11th May ’16

12th May ’16

13th May ’16

14th May ’16

15th May ’16

16th May ’16

17th May ’16

18th May ’16

19th May ’16

20th May ’16

21st May ’16

22nd May ’16

23rd May ’16

24th May ’16

25th May ’16

26th May ’16

27th May ’16

28th May ’16

29th May ’16

30th May ’16

31st May ’16

1st June ’16

2nd June ’16

3rd June ’16

3rd June ’16

Chapter 11 ‘The greatest battle in the world is on the eve of breaking’ 4–26 June 1916. 4th June ’16

5th June ’16

6th June ’16

7th June ’16

8th June ’16

9th June ’16

10th June ’16

11th June ’16

12th June ’16

13th June ’16

14th June ’16

15th June ’16

16th June ’16

17th June ’16

18th June ’16

19th June ’16

20th June ’16

21st June ’16

22nd June ’16

23rd June ’16

24th June ’16

25th June ’16

26th June ’16

Chapter 12 ‘We are all agog with expectancy’ 27th June ’16

28th June ’16

29th June ’16

1st July ’16, 5.45 a.m

Epilogue ‘My dear one could not have died more honourably or gloriously …’

Charlie May: Other Writings

Short Stories

Poems:

‘To the Unenlisted’

Picture Section

Footnotes

Notes

Index of Names. Abbreviations used

Index

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About the Publisher

Отрывок из книги

‘What shines through like sunshine is Charlie May’s default belief in service to country, his quiet commitment to others over self, and his sheer decency. You could bet your life on Charlie. And, in a way, we did’

The Times

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As I say, we move. But whither I know not. It is a strange feeling this of being moved about an unknown country like pieces on a chess-board as helpless as they to control our movements and as ignorant of why and wherefore. Yet it has its advantages. It saves worry. One gets into a regular happy-go-lucky way of looking at things, conscious only that one will fetch up somewhere all right and that we will get to the trenches just so soon as the master player decides that we are wanted.

As anticipated we moved today and, in passing, struck some of the most vile roads one could imagine. The snow had deteriorated on the fairway to a thick slush which made the going heavy and penetrated the stoutest boots. It also has, up to now, defeated the efforts of the heavier transport vehicles to get here but we have rounded up the lighter ones and the men have been fed and are too tired to worry about the lesser trouble of an absence of blankets.

.....