"Drawing Fire" by Private Len Smith
 

I thought I would continue the recent London theme and recommend the above book.

Len joined the 7th London Battalion early in the Great War, arriving in France in early 1915. The book is copied directly from the diary that he wrote on scraps of note paper that he kept hidden and put together after the war. He was also a talented artist and the book is illustrated throughout with his work. Without giving to much away, Len ended up in the Royal Engineers working on various camouflage projects.

The work is copied word for word, so has none of the niceties of editing. As it was written as Len saw it, you can get a feel for what he was going through. The emotions of fear, boredom and sometimes pleasure.

Andy

Nice one, Nozz. My copy arrived a few days ago, so looking forward to this one.

Cheers,

JT

Just ordered a copy, I like war diaries so am looking forward to it arriving.

Another London one! That’s great. Many thanks for the recommendation, I will get on an order one now.

Cheers,
Chris

Hello everyone,

This is just to say that I have now finished this book and that I thoroughly enjoyed it. A big thanks to Nozzer for recommending it.

I loved the little sketches and caricatures that adorn each page. They are often of little, everyday trench items that I have heard described before but not necessarily seen. These, together with Smith's absorbing account, make it quite an original book. It is well worth a read.

Thanks again,

Chris

Hi Chris,

Glad you enjoyed it :)

All The best,

Andy