The Worst Ordeal: Britons at Home Abroad, 1914-1918

Using much previously-unpublished photographic, art and manuscript material from the Liddle Collection in the Library of the University of Leeds, this book aims to bring readers closer to the British soldiers, sailors and airmen of World War I. Contemporary evidence has captured much individual experience of the battlefield, and changes in attitude and culture as the war moved people from their familiar daily round to hugely-changed surroundings, through prolonged months, then years, of challenge. Civilian life is reflected too, from the industrial scene and rationing to conscientious objectors. The topics covered include pre-war society, the call the arms, war in the air, the Dardenelles, the maritime challenge, soldiering in distant parts, the Home Front, soldier and civilian captivity, soldiering on the Western Front, and the Armistice and beyond. Peter Liddle has written 12 previous World War I books, and the Channel 4 television series, "The 1916 Battle of the Somme", was based on his work.