book report: With a machine gun to Cambrai by George Coppard

I have to say, I found this is a ripping wee book. It's the first-hand account of a British soldier in World War One, from his enlistment until his demobilization. He was an Other Rank--mostly a private, eventually rising to the dizzying rank of corporal :-) --and he brings a different perspective to that of some of the more famous officers' memoirs. He was also a specialist, trained as a machinegunner in an infantry unit then transferred to the new Machine Gun Corps (MGC), which collected MG teams into a single body, then detached them as small elements to support infantry units (as well as providing support to the cavalry, motorcycle and armoured car units, and eventually provided MG crews to the newfangled "tanks"). Coppard is a very observant raconteur, and he speaks feelingly of the emotions he and other soldiers encountered, but he also displays the stoicism and good humour with which the British soldier generally meets his fate whether good or ill. He's a very lucid writer, and for all he doesn't engage in purple prose or amateur dramatics, he's readable and thoughtful, providing more than just a bare recounting of places and dates. If you come across the book and have never read anything about the Great War, I would recommend it as a well-written introduction. If you've read a lot about the World War, but would like to get a glimpse of the trench-eye view, I would recommend it again.

One thing that struck me, having watched not too long ago the very popular Downtown Abbey television series, was what Coppard remarked as the most horrible experience he endured. He suffered through uncountable bombardments, endured cold days and nights, wet or even flooded trenches, foul rations, incessant lice, and other privations that would make most of us curl up and cry for mummy. But what he remarks on being the most unpleasant and hateful period of his service was a time he spent in a clean, dry, warm rear-area hospital. One of his mates accidentally shot him in the foot with a revolver as they were assembling for duty one morning. He was sent to a field dressing station and then to hospital. En route, he was marked down as being suspected of suffering a SIW or self-inflicted wound. The hostility, the ostracism, the cold and brutal treatment he received as a suspected SIW hurt him more then the wound and caused him more distress than any physical suffering. Once the full account of the event was passed back through the reporting chain, the difference was night and day; he was warmly and kindly treated by everyone who had shunned him or supplied the barest of attention before. Anyone who saw DA can rest assured that the incident in which a relative of one of the characters is reported shot as a deserter was not far off in its depiction of how such news would be received. On the other hand, I always found the ease with which one of the other characters got himself wounded and sent home with no suspicion on the part of his comrades as to the nature of his injury... I still find that far too convenient a plot device.

I'll add a bit more about what I found interesting later, perhaps over the weekend. And stick in a few photos. :-)