The Path of Peace

[gurkharifles]

Just finished reading one of this years Christmas presents - "The Path of Peace - Walking the Western Front Way" by Anthony Seldon. A young WW1 British soldier, Alexander Gillespie, dreamed of creating a "Via Sacra" that men and women of Europe could walk to honour the fallen. It would follow the 1000 Kilometres of the Western Front. Tragically Gillespie was killed in action, his vision forgotten for a 100 years until a chance discovery of Gillespie's letters galvanized the author into seeing the Via Sacra being permanently established.

The book is the authors journey from "Kilometre Zero" on the Swiss/German/French border all the way to the Belgium coast. In parts it reads like a Bill Bryson travel book, in others it illuminates some of the lesser known ( to British readers anyway) battles of the WW1. Full of interesting anecdotes and insights into some of the leading figures of WW1 - I found the book fascinating and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in WW1 - I guarantee you'll learn something ! Tim