Men of Letters
 | |
| Author | Duncan Barrett |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | First World War, Post Office Rifles |
| Publisher | AA Publishing |
Publication date | 1 August 2014 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 336pp (paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0749575205 |
| Preceded by | GI Brides |
Men of Letters: The Post Office Heroes who Fought the Great War is a book by Duncan Barrett, co-author of The Sugar Girls and GI Brides.[1] It was published by AA Publishing on 1 August 2014.[2] The book tells the story of the Post Office Rifles during the First World War.[3] 12,000 men served with the unit during the course of the war,[4] across three battalions,[5] and around 1,500 of them were killed.[3] The book describes in detail the horror and suffering of the First World War[4] and Barrett writes about a man who was shot in the head by a former Post Office colleague before he was suffocated by mud at Passchendaele,[6] but he also describes the humour of life in the trenches,[5] including an incident in which some former postmen delivered mail to the Germans on the other side of no man’s land by wedging them into carrots and throwing them across.[3] Barrett’s research for the book involved reading memoirs written by men who served with the Post Office Rifles, as well as their letters and diary entries from the time, held at the Imperial War Museum and the British Postal Museum and Archive.[1] He was inspired in part after learning that his own great-great-uncle had fought alongside the Post Office Rifles at High Wood, although in another London regiment.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Silverman, Anna (30 July 2014). "The postmen sent to fight in Europe: new book explores life in Post Office Rifles". Newham Recorder. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
- ^ "Men of Letters". AA Publishing. 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ^ a b c Hirst, Christopher (1 August 2014). "Men of Letters (review)". i.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b Pettengale, Paul (August 2014). "Men of Letters (review)". History of War.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b "Men of Letters (review)". Britain at War. August 2014.
- ^ Barrett, Duncan (September 2014). "Men of Letters (serialisation)". History of War.
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