The Great Push

by Patrick MacGill

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Genres: Nonfiction

254 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1916

About the author

Patrick MacGill was an Irish journalist, poet and novelist, known as "The Navvy Poet" because he had worked as a navvy before he began writing.

MacGill was born in Glenties, County Donegal. A statue in his honour is on the bridge where the main street crosses the river in Glenties.

During the First World War, MacGill served with the London Irish Rifles (1/18th Battalion, The London Regiment) and was wounded at the Battle of Loos on 28 October 1915.

MacGill wrote a memoir-type novel called Children of the Dead End.

In early 2008, a docu-drama starring Stephen Rea was made about the life of Patrick MacGill. One of the film's locations was the boathouse of Edinburgh Canal Society at Edinburgh on the Union Canal, and one of its rowing boats.

An annual literary summer school is held in Glenties in mid July each year in his honour.

Reviews

[Charlie Newfell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

Written by Patrick McGill, later know as an Irish journalist and poet, it centers on one major event in his life – The Battle of Loos in 1915 during WWI. The battle took place over a couple of weeks, starting with the “Great Push” attack by the British (and commonwealth) forces. The end result was pretty much the stalemate that the armies were in prior to the attack – except for about 59,000 British casualties and ~26,000 German (per Wikipedia).

But this short book doesn’t take a look at the larger picture -nothing of the commanders and the armies that move back and forth in the attacks and counter-attacks. It focuses on the London Irish Rifles battalion – and in reality just a small segment of soldiers that Patrick interacted with.
What comes across very well is the horror, the senselessness, the depravity and randomness of the death that is all around. The individual soldier only hopes for a “good” wound to be sent back home, or to at least die quickly. Death is all around them – the bodies, the constant artillery, and the snipers.

Patrick is a stretcher bearer and risks his life to try and save others. He does not tout his contribution, but mentions it as part of the story. The people left behind on the battlefield in places too dangerous to attend to weigh on his mind too.
Written shortly after the battle it puts you directly into the war, where honor, duty and country are really a distant thought.

Recommended.