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War Letters To A Wife: War Letters To A Wife
Modest and unassuming, Feilding was a front line soldier in World War One, and a leader of men, preferring to volunteer for a dangerous duty rather than an order a subordinate to do so in his place.
With a narrative broken only by the months he spent recuperating from wounds, Feilding was blessed with an extraordinary his survival was a mystery even to his comrades.
Vivid yet unexaggerated in its depiction of life at the front, Feilding’s letters are driven by his thoughts, emotions and experiences of the war, and of home.
Written with the events still fresh in his mind, and often while still on the battlefield or in the trenches, Feilding’s letters to his wife form one of the most compelling accounts of the Western Front during the First World War.
Rowland Feilding (1871-1945) continued his family’s close association with the Coldstream Guards, transferring to the regiment from the City of London Yeomanry in 1915. In 1916 he took command of the 6th Connaught Rangers, and following its disbandment in 1918 the 1/15th Londons (Civil Service Rifles). They were demobilised the following year.
With a narrative broken only by the months he spent recuperating from wounds, Feilding was blessed with an extraordinary his survival was a mystery even to his comrades.
Vivid yet unexaggerated in its depiction of life at the front, Feilding’s letters are driven by his thoughts, emotions and experiences of the war, and of home.
Written with the events still fresh in his mind, and often while still on the battlefield or in the trenches, Feilding’s letters to his wife form one of the most compelling accounts of the Western Front during the First World War.
Rowland Feilding (1871-1945) continued his family’s close association with the Coldstream Guards, transferring to the regiment from the City of London Yeomanry in 1915. In 1916 he took command of the 6th Connaught Rangers, and following its disbandment in 1918 the 1/15th Londons (Civil Service Rifles). They were demobilised the following year.
- GenresWorld War I
Paperback
First published January 1, 1919
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 7, 2016
'I had not seen this side of England before-at any rate from my present viewpoint, and for me, a tinge of sadness was mingled with the joy of home-coming as I looked on.'
This was quite a journey. All four and a half years of the war recorded in letters to Rowland Fielding's wife. I was astounded by how much he described and spoke of. I expected it to be dry and boring, but the stories he spoke of and the action on the front kept me fascinated all along.
These letters really opened my eyes to what men have gone through during wartime. The writer had an understanding for other men, and for the effort they put in their duty. His Christian nature came out in his letter. He spoke of Providence a lot more than he did luck or chance.
Also, you see how much he cares for his wife through his letters. The fact that he spoke of so many details and kept nothing from her showed his love. Through his words you see the kind of man he was.
Content:
-A couple uses of swear words (not including some that were not written out).
-A couple mentions of beer and wine.
-The writer is obviously Catholic and there is several mentions concerning Catholicism.
I really enjoyed this book and it gave me some new insight on the Great War and those involved.
*I received this to read in exchange for an honest review.
This was quite a journey. All four and a half years of the war recorded in letters to Rowland Fielding's wife. I was astounded by how much he described and spoke of. I expected it to be dry and boring, but the stories he spoke of and the action on the front kept me fascinated all along.
These letters really opened my eyes to what men have gone through during wartime. The writer had an understanding for other men, and for the effort they put in their duty. His Christian nature came out in his letter. He spoke of Providence a lot more than he did luck or chance.
Also, you see how much he cares for his wife through his letters. The fact that he spoke of so many details and kept nothing from her showed his love. Through his words you see the kind of man he was.
Content:
-A couple uses of swear words (not including some that were not written out).
-A couple mentions of beer and wine.
-The writer is obviously Catholic and there is several mentions concerning Catholicism.
I really enjoyed this book and it gave me some new insight on the Great War and those involved.
*I received this to read in exchange for an honest review.
April 7, 2016
This collection of letters from the WWI battlefields of France and Flanders offers so much for so many readers that it makes it hard to classify the book.
It is a love story between a very close, honest, respectful couple separated by war: Edith Mary Feilding (1879-1961) and Rowland Fielding (1871-1945).
It is the story of a career soldier and how he dealt with the horrors of war, the heavy responsibility he had for men's lives, the care of civilians caught up in the war; and the changing nature of warfare from the beginning of WWI to the Armistice, from cavalry to chemical weapons, from hand grenades to massive bombs, from trench and underground battles with raids into barbed and razor wire to aerial warfare.
It is the history on the battleground of so many who died in the war, mentioned by name by this man who was their commander, their friend, their colleague, and in some cases even their relative.
It is a treasure trove for historians of WWI who want to know what it was like on the ground during decisive battles, how units were run, how communications worked, what the slang of the day was like, how the various national armies worked together, and how the civilian population dealt with the military and the war around them. There are mentions too of historical persons of interest today, like Edith Cavell, royal family members from various countries, politicians, military leaders, and even the long discussed Channel Tunnel that only became a reality very recently.
The author, Lt.-Col. Rowland Fielding, D.S.O., was a soldier born and bred. He was also a wonderful letter-writer. Through his mentions of his wife's letters, we know that she was an amazing letter-writer too, and we get a glimpse of what she was dealing with on the home front, including German Zeppelins bombing England.
Attitudes of soldiers to those back home are made clear concerning those who were "thin skinned home-service" young men, and the pacifists who worked to end the war without a solid victory. The feelings of soldiers that those back home, or those running the war, didn't value them come through too, and will be familiar to soldiers today.
Actually, I think the greatest appeal of this book will be for Veterans. They will recognize themselves in the letters': feelings of camaraderie with fellow soldiers, grief at the loss of life of comrades in arms, love of the exciting life full of adrenaline highs and grabbing the rare moments of relief and rest with gusto, appeal of the escape from a daily grind of work-commutes-bills-etc. in the military that provided all daily needs including the most valued item-quality boots, "no humbug in the trenches" attitude, and mentions of characters who populate every regiment such as the "wit" and the "wild man". The author even refers to the feelings of survivor's guilt he knows he will suffer when the war ends, along with sadness at demobilization from his mates.
Death and life go hand in hand in the letters, with frequent references to nature.
"The grass is growing long and is beginning to hide the older graves. It is thick with all the wild flowers of an English spring- dandelions, thistles, daisies and buttercups."
"Noman's Land is ablaze with scarlet poppies."
The author reminds the reader how people thought of WWI, how it was "the children-for who, most of all, the war has been fought."
All in all, this book is an amazing historical document. For those interested, I found a bit about the family here: http://www.rainhillremembers.uk/the-s... I received a review-copy of the book. This is my honest review.
It is a love story between a very close, honest, respectful couple separated by war: Edith Mary Feilding (1879-1961) and Rowland Fielding (1871-1945).
It is the story of a career soldier and how he dealt with the horrors of war, the heavy responsibility he had for men's lives, the care of civilians caught up in the war; and the changing nature of warfare from the beginning of WWI to the Armistice, from cavalry to chemical weapons, from hand grenades to massive bombs, from trench and underground battles with raids into barbed and razor wire to aerial warfare.
It is the history on the battleground of so many who died in the war, mentioned by name by this man who was their commander, their friend, their colleague, and in some cases even their relative.
It is a treasure trove for historians of WWI who want to know what it was like on the ground during decisive battles, how units were run, how communications worked, what the slang of the day was like, how the various national armies worked together, and how the civilian population dealt with the military and the war around them. There are mentions too of historical persons of interest today, like Edith Cavell, royal family members from various countries, politicians, military leaders, and even the long discussed Channel Tunnel that only became a reality very recently.
The author, Lt.-Col. Rowland Fielding, D.S.O., was a soldier born and bred. He was also a wonderful letter-writer. Through his mentions of his wife's letters, we know that she was an amazing letter-writer too, and we get a glimpse of what she was dealing with on the home front, including German Zeppelins bombing England.
Attitudes of soldiers to those back home are made clear concerning those who were "thin skinned home-service" young men, and the pacifists who worked to end the war without a solid victory. The feelings of soldiers that those back home, or those running the war, didn't value them come through too, and will be familiar to soldiers today.
Actually, I think the greatest appeal of this book will be for Veterans. They will recognize themselves in the letters': feelings of camaraderie with fellow soldiers, grief at the loss of life of comrades in arms, love of the exciting life full of adrenaline highs and grabbing the rare moments of relief and rest with gusto, appeal of the escape from a daily grind of work-commutes-bills-etc. in the military that provided all daily needs including the most valued item-quality boots, "no humbug in the trenches" attitude, and mentions of characters who populate every regiment such as the "wit" and the "wild man". The author even refers to the feelings of survivor's guilt he knows he will suffer when the war ends, along with sadness at demobilization from his mates.
Death and life go hand in hand in the letters, with frequent references to nature.
"The grass is growing long and is beginning to hide the older graves. It is thick with all the wild flowers of an English spring- dandelions, thistles, daisies and buttercups."
"Noman's Land is ablaze with scarlet poppies."
The author reminds the reader how people thought of WWI, how it was "the children-for who, most of all, the war has been fought."
All in all, this book is an amazing historical document. For those interested, I found a bit about the family here: http://www.rainhillremembers.uk/the-s... I received a review-copy of the book. This is my honest review.
May 1, 2016
A heart rending and very descriptive account, by the author, of life in the trenches during the first world war.
Whilst serving with the Coldstream Guards and earlier the City of London Yeomanry, Rowland wrote letters home to his wife describing all the hardships and bravery that he saw.
An important document of life on the Western Front.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
Whilst serving with the Coldstream Guards and earlier the City of London Yeomanry, Rowland wrote letters home to his wife describing all the hardships and bravery that he saw.
An important document of life on the Western Front.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews