Fromelles 1916: No Finer Courage – The Loss of an English Village

Author: Michael (Mike) Senior

Highlights
The village of The Lee, in Buckinghamshire, was owned in 1914 by Sir Arthur Liberty, the founder of the store in Regent Street, London. This is the story of those who joined the 2/1st Bucks, a Territorial battalion, and after the casualties they suffered at the Battle of Fromelles in 1916, the effect it had on the local community. The men of The Lee, so typical of communities up and down the country, went willingly to war and were unlucky enough to be involved in the ill-fated attack at Fromelles. The book also tells of those left behind to cope with entirely new domestic and village circumstances. Fromelles has been much in the news recently in that many bodies have been recovered, mostly Australian, and the first new Commonwealth War Cemetery has been constructed.

“This is a remarkable account of a village’s contribution to probably the most appalling war that there has ever been, and to those who were in the Second World War, it brings home to how much more terrible was the 1914-18 War. It must have been a Herculean task to assemble all the data, photographs and memorabilia and I only write to congratulate you on what is remarkable achievement.” – Lord Carrington

In addition to a full run of The Lee Magazine, the author has drawn on a wide range of archive sources that include unpublished letters, diaries, memoirs and newspapers. Fromelles 1916 gives an unrivalled insight into the life and times of an English village in the First World War a way of life swept away for ever by the changes ushered in by the conflict.

** The book includes a guide to the Fromelles battlefield and new Pheasant Wood cemetery **

About the Author
Michael Senior spent his working life in industry. A history graduate, when he retired he took up writing, specialising in the First World War. He lives in a wing of the manor house at The Lee, Great Missenden, Bucks, a factor which inspired him to embark on this work.

NEW BOOK RELEASE

RRP: £15.99
ISBN: 9781399074568

256 PAGES   ·   PAPERBACK

PUBLISHED: JUNE 2022 PEN & SWORD MILITARY