1914 to 1918: A Time to Remember
This historical novel brings World War I to life and features the quiet courage of a Yorkshire horse driver serving on the Western Front. It is a fictionalised biography of the author’s grandfather, who served as a horse transport driver during World War 1. The book provides a human-centered view of World War 1 through the eyes of a humble British soldier, setting itself apart from the typical diary or academic study of World War 1.
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The story begins with Osmond, a horse transport driver in the British Army, who is evacuated from France to a London hospital in January 1917 because of leg injuries caused by enemy shelling. He is 21 and has been overseas for 16 months delivering supplies to the battlefront. He leaves his two horses behind under the care of his best friend, Percy.
Osmond is a farmer’s son raised on an isolated farm along the western edge of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. His two brothers and father run the business, and Osmond works with horses and horselads. In this part of England, horselads are hired on annual contracts from about 14 years of age and paid a fixed yearly stipend. Girls of a similar age are recruited as domestic help. His father employs Walter, a wagoner from a nearby farm, to teach Osmond everything he needs to know about horse management.
Walter belongs to an organisation known as the Wolds Wagoners’ Special Reserve, and Osmond asks if he should join. These are horsemen employed by local farmers who have volunteered to serve in the Army if Britain ever goes to War. His family persuades him not to, and the Army calls up Walter as soon as World War 1 begins in early August 1914. Osmond takes on Walter’s farm duties.
However, when German ships shell the nearby resort of Scarborough and anti-German sentiment is worsened by the sinking of the Lusitania, he decides to enlist in the Army. He joins as a horse transport driver because of his specialist skills, which keep him behind trench lines but close enough to know what is happening.
After his hospital recovery, he is assigned to the Royal Field Artillery and returns to France as a member of an artillery company. He experiences his worst fighting and is diagnosed with influenza (Spanish flu) and treated while his artillery brigade is destroyed in battle during the Spring of 1918.
Thereafter, we follow Osmond through the eventual Allies’ victory and demobilisation. The story concludes with Osmond returning home, finding a farm, and meeting Florie, the farmer’s daughter, who is caring for his grandmother.
