Dangerous Work (Paperback)

Alan Weeks

ISBN 10: 0750956674 / ISBN 13: 9780750956673

Published by The History Press Ltd, Stroud, 2014

About this Item

Paperback. British military labour during the First World War developed from an ad hoc arrangement in 1914 into a corps some 400,000 strong, supported by as many as a million dominion and foreign workers by 1918. Records of this contribution to victory are extremely rare. George Weeks wrote down his experience on squares of wallpaper a always a practical man. And what a record it is. The Somme, Passchendaele and the Messines Ridge all feature in Georgeas calm description of his extraordinary experiences. He camped in athe vast graveyard of Cambraia, he cut down an entire forest for duckboards, and he mended the aircraft of Captain Ball VC with dope and linen!With the corps working on the front lines and often under fire, this truly was adangerous worka. British military labour during the First World War developed from an ad hoc arrangement in 1914 into a corps some 400,000 strong, supported by as many as a million dominion and foreign workers by 1918. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780750956673

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dangerous Work (Paperback)
• Publisher: The History Press Ltd, Stroud
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0750956674
• ISBN 13: 9780750956673
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

A new history by a soldier who took part, as a laborer, in all the great battles of 1917, 1918, and the Army of Occupation of 1919

Some days the amount of bodies to be reburied was so numerous that hardly any construction work was accomplished. It wasn’t long before the line Regiments in the trenches discovered our Unit was an unarmed, non-combative one, and formed the impression wrongly that we were conscientious objectors. One day this led to some trouble . . .

British military labor during World War I developed from an ad hoc arrangement in 1914 to a Corps in 1918 some 400,000 strong, supported by as many as a million dominion and foreign workers. Records of this contribution to victory are extremely rare. George Weeks wrote down his experience on squares of wallpaper—always a practical man—and what a record it is. The Somme, Paaschendaele, and Messines Ridge all feature in George’s calm description of his extraordinary experiences. He camped in "the vast graveyard of Cambrai," he cut down an entire forest for duckboards, and he mended the aircraft of Captain Ball VC with dope and canvas.

About the Author

George Weeks worked on the Millwall docks for 44 years after World War I. He died peacefully in 1982. His son Alan Weeks taught history at St. Mary's College, University of London and is the author of Tea, Rum and Fags and A Bloody Picnic. He has annotated the memoir throughout.