Our Boys 1914–1918: who were the fallen of one Oxfordshire valley? traces the often-surprising lives of 48 of the men and boys from Oxfordshire who fell in the First World War. From the workhouse boy who became an early submariner to the officer who proved to be not quite a gentleman, all of life is here.
Acts of remembrance relating to the First World War often conjure up images of stone monuments, solemn churchyards, and ranks of gravestones marching across foreign fields. This book attempts to provide a glimpse of the men's lives in the villages, farms, and lanes they knew – with their families, plying their trade as craftsmen, or labouring in the fields. On their days off they would play with their chidren, promenade with their sweethearts, or just wink at the girls, like young men throughout the ages have always done.
Our Boys: 1914–1918: who were the fallen of one Oxfordshire valley? by Julie Ann Godson (ISBN 9781722055479, £10.99) is available on Amazon.