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Armageddon road: A VC's diary, 1914-16
. William Kimber, with dustjacket, clean copy, Professional booksellers since 1981
1000 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 1982
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September 19, 2023
Poignant but privileged…
A compelling read, though Billy Congreve was undoubtedly a very brave man he was from a privileged class. His future was assured and I can’t help thinking that his VC was politically motivated and promulgated by his influential father and others; like the workings of the old boy network were at play here somehow. There is no mention also that it was a court martial offence to keep a diary on the front line in case he was ever captured by the enemy where such a diary in German hands would’ve been invaluable; of course were they prepared to overlook that in his case…? Probably. He did sometimes question tactics and strategies in his diary but there is no evidence that he voiced such misgivings at the time to his superiors or contemporaries. Also there is scant information from the editor as to how Billy Congreve earned his MC or DSO which I find strange. What the book does do in a very moving and poignant way is to illustrate the scale of the loss of life during the Great War, when a man’s life was measured in feet and yards wrestled from the enemy.
A compelling read, though Billy Congreve was undoubtedly a very brave man he was from a privileged class. His future was assured and I can’t help thinking that his VC was politically motivated and promulgated by his influential father and others; like the workings of the old boy network were at play here somehow. There is no mention also that it was a court martial offence to keep a diary on the front line in case he was ever captured by the enemy where such a diary in German hands would’ve been invaluable; of course were they prepared to overlook that in his case…? Probably. He did sometimes question tactics and strategies in his diary but there is no evidence that he voiced such misgivings at the time to his superiors or contemporaries. Also there is scant information from the editor as to how Billy Congreve earned his MC or DSO which I find strange. What the book does do in a very moving and poignant way is to illustrate the scale of the loss of life during the Great War, when a man’s life was measured in feet and yards wrestled from the enemy.
Displaying 1 of 1 review