The Lost Tommies Book Reviews

The Lost Tommies by Ross Coulthart Book Summary

‘Lost Tommies’ brings together never-before-seen images of Western Front tommies and their amazing stories in a beautiful collection that is part thriller, part family history and part national archive.

For much of the First World War, the small French village of Vignacourt was always behind the front lines – as a staging point, casualty clearing station and recreation area for troops of all nationalities moving up to and then back from the battlefields on the Somme. Here, one enterprising photographer took the opportunity of offering portrait photographs. A century later, his stunning images were discovered, abandoned, in a farm house.

Captured on glass, printed into postcards and posted home, the photographs enabled soldiers to maintain a fragile link with loved ones at home. In ‘Lost Tommies’, this collection covers many of the significant aspects of British involvement on the Western Front, from military life to the friendships and bonds formed between the soldiers and civilians. Beautifully reproduced, it is a unique collection and a magnificent memorial.

Reviews

‘A revelatory cache of photographs of amazing quality. Their common, vulnerable humanity has never been more visible or more haunting’ William Boyd, Books of the Year, Guardian

‘One of the most haunting laments for the slaughter of the First World War that I have ever seen. In their sheer variety and humanity the doomed men’s faces are more powerful than hundreds of pages of overwrought prose’ Dominic Sandbrook, Books of the Year, Sunday Times

‘Extraordinary … whatever ideas you have about the Great War, ‘The Lost Tommies’ will change them’ John Carey, Sunday Times

‘A luxuriously produced hardback book containing 500 black-and-white photographs taken by the Thulliers, accompanied by Coulthart’s fascinating insights into the men pictured’ Daily Express

‘These photographs rank up there with one of the most important discoveries from the First World War’ Ashley Ekins, head of Military History, Australian War Memorial

About the author

Ross Coulthart, is an investigative journalist for Australian news and current affairs program 60 Minutes on Channel Nine. He is also a best-selling author of three books, including ‘Lost Diggers’. He lives in Australia.

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