Objects allow us to reach out and touch the past and they play a living role in history today. Through them we can understand the experience of men and women during the First World War. They bear witness to the stories of men whose only morning comfort in the trenches was the rum ration; children who grew up with only one photograph of the father who they would never get to know; women who would sacrifice their girlhood in hospitals yards from the frontline, pinning a brooch on to remind themselves of a past life. Weapons like the machine gun and vehicles like the tank that transformed the battlefield; planes that had barely learnt to be flown entangled in dogfights; German submarines that stalked shipping across the seas. Through these incredible artefacts, Peter Doyle tells the story of the First World War in a whole new light. AUTHOR: Peter Doyle is a military historian and geologist, specialising in battlefield terrain. He is a familiar face as television expert on documentaries, including ‘WW1 Tunnels of Death: The Big Dig’, ‘Battlefield Detectives’. He has co-written ‘Beneath Flanders Fields’ and ‘Grasping Gallipoli’, and among his own numerous works, has also written ‘Remembering Tommy’ and ‘Kitchener’s Mob’. Twitter: (at)ProfPeterDoyle; Website: www.peterdoylemilitaryhistory.com SELLING POINTS: . The First World War witnessed the birth of total warfare on land, sea and air
these objects tell this incredible story . Each object is illustrated and accompanied by the story of its role within the war and its significance today . Many of these objects have never seen the light of day and their stories shed new light on the tragedy and triumph of the Great War across the world . From the iconic to the intimate, objects include: MK I tank, German Pickelhaube; Canadian cap badges; ‘Butcher’ bayonet; trench coat; soldier’s Christmas gift; death card; and many more 80 b/w, 100 colour illustrations