VCs OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR - THE SOMME by Gliddon, Gerald

Alan Sutton,( Budding Books), Stroud UK., 1995. Hard Cover with dj, 7 x 10, FINE/FINE CONDITION, viii, 212 pages, prof. illustrated.-------------------------------The Battle of the Somme, which lasted from 1 July to 18 November 1916, is remembered as one of the most horrific and tragic battles of the First World War. On the first dayalone nearly nineteen thousand British troops were killed – the greatest one-day loss in the history of the British Army. By November the death toll from the armies of Britain, France and Germany had risen to over a million.This book tells the stories of the fifty-one soldiers from the Commonwealth and Empire armies whose bravery on the battlefield was rewarded by the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour – men like Private Billy McFadzean, who was blown up by two grenades which he smothered in order to save the lives of his comrades, and Private `Todger' Jones, who single-handedly rounded up 102 German soldiers. Not only do we learn of the heroic endeavours of these men at the height of battle, but we also read of their lives before 1914, ranging from the back streets of Glasgow to a country house in Cheshire, and of what life was like after the war for the thirty-three survivors.-----------------------------------------------The accounts of those awarded the VC, men not only from Britain but also from Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand, are arranged chronologically, so offering a new perspective on the course of the battle. Maps based on Sir Douglas Haig's despatches of 1919 help to put the action in context and the book is illustrated with over 250 photographs and drawings, many of which are here published for the firs