Somme Mud
Somme Mud book cover

Somme Mud

Paperback – Illustrated, April 1, 2008

by
Price
$18.55
Format
Paperback
Pages
368
Publisher
Random House Australia
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1741668940
Dimensions
5 x 1 x 8 inches
Weight
9.6 ounces

Description

"It is not written by a polished or professional writer but is a participants true story told in an authentic Australian voice - dispassionate, laconic and free of histronics, false heroics and phony literary flourishes."xa0 — The Mercury Magazine "If you have any interest in the history of war or if you simply like books filled with emotion then you must read this."xa0 — Swan Hill Guardian "Lynch shows remarkable maturity in his abitlty to capture the banality of terror."xa0 — The Age

Features & Highlights

  • 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.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(240)
★★★★
25%
(100)
★★★
15%
(60)
★★
7%
(28)
★
-7%
(-28)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Mud, filth and carnage

This is a great book to rebalance the ledger on the Australian obsession with Gallipoli. Ted Lynch provides a brilliant expose of life in the trenches on the western front. The terrible winters with desperate cold and all encompassing mud and filth. This beautifully written history is all the more surprising when you consider the unfathomable horrors the author witnessed and experienced. Gas attacks, relentless bombardment, bayonet and bomb assaults in the trenches and that incredible tank battle masterminded by Monash – it is amazing anyone came out of this with their sanity. The author is respectful towards friend and foe alike, even the much abused British leadership doesn’t cop too much of a blast. The only negative is the racist commentary early in the book, with the troops en route to Europe. I think the author learnt many lessons in his life on the front and there was no further racist commentary.

The author and his mates were much wounded, but pleasingly most of the author’s close mates manage to survive the carnage. All up, an excellent firsthand account of the terrible times in the Somme and Flanders, through to eventual victory and a joyous return home.

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