Somme Mud - Softcover

Lynch, Private E. P. F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1741668948 ISBN 13: 9781741668940

Publisher: Random House Australia, 2008

Synopsis

It's the end of the 1916 winter and the conditions are almost unbelievable. We live in a world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work in it, fight in it, wade in it and many of us die in it. We see it, feel it, eat it and curse it, but we can't escape it, not even by dying. Somme Mud tells of the devastating experiences of Edward Lynch, a young Australian private (18 when he enlisted) during World War I when he served with the 45th battalion of the Australian Infantry Forces on the Western Front at the Somme, which saw the most bloody and costly fighting of the war. In just eight weeks, there were 23,000 Australian casualties. The original edition was written in pencil in 20 school exercise books in 1921, probably to help exorcise the horrendous experiences Private Lynch had witnessed during his three years at war from mid-1916 until his repatriation home in mid-1919. Lynch had been wounded three times, once seriously, and spent more than six months in the hospital in England. Published here for the first time, and to the great excitement of historians at the War Memorial, Somme Mud is a precious find, a discovered treasure that vividly captures the magnitude of war through the day-to-day experiences of an ordinary infantryman. From his first day setting sail for France as the band played "Boys of the Dardanelles" and the crowd proudly waved their fresh-faced boys off, to the harsh reality of the trenches of France and its pale-faced weary men, Lynch captures the essence and contradictions of war. Somme Mud is Australia's version of All Quiet on the Western Front. Told with dignity, candor and surprising wit, it is a testament to the power of the human spirit, a moving true story of humanity and friendship.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

‘It’s the end of the 1916 winter and the conditions are almost unbelievable. We live in a world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work in it, fight in it, wade in it and many of us die in it. We see it, we feel it, eat and curse it, but we can’t escape it, not even by dying . . .’

Private Edward Lynch enlisted in the army aged just eighteen. As his ship set sail for France, the band played ‘Boys of the Dardanelles’ and the crowd proudly waved off their young men – men who had no notion of the reality of the trenches of the Somme; of the pale-faced, traumatized soldiers they would encounter there; of the mud and blood and the innumerable contradictions of war.

Upon his return from France in 1919, Private Lynch recorded his experiences on the Western Front in twenty school exercise books, perhaps in the hope of making sense of and coming to terms with all that he had witnessed. Edited and published here for the first time, Lynch’s story is a rare and precious find: a personal account that vividly captures the horror and magnitude of the First World War, written from the perspective of an ordinary infantryman.

Told with dignity, candour and surprising wit, Somme Mud stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit – for out of the mud that threatens to suck out a man’s very soul rises a compelling true story of humanity and friendship.

About the Author

Edward Lynch was born in 1898 and after serving in France with the 45th Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force from 1916-19, he returned to Australia and became a teacher. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the militia before transferring to the regular army where he was Officer Commanding the NSW jungle training school. After the war, he returned to teaching until his retirement. He died in 1980. Editor Will Davies is a film-maker and military historian. He lives in Sydney.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Australia
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1741668948
• ISBN 13: 9781741668940
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368