The crop of books commemorating events 100 years ago during WWI has produced many fine and thought provoking accounts. The author has taken an interesting approach to produce a poignant collection of brief biographies of 40 Boat Race competitors who answered the call to arms and gave their lives, very highly recommended.
NAME: Hear the Boat Sing, Oxford and Cambridge Rowers Killed in World War I FILE: R2466 AUTHOR: Nigel McCrery PUBLISHER: The History Press BINDING: hard back PAGES: 255 PRICE: £20.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWI, World War One, World War 1, First World War, The Great War, Oxford University, Cambridge University, rowers, The Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, KIA, Killed In Action, soldiers, sailors, airmen
ISBN: 987-0-7509-6771-6
IMAGE: B2466.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/kh55xt3 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The crop of books commemorating events 100 years ago during WWI has produced many fine and thought provoking accounts. The author has taken an interesting approach to produce a poignant collection of brief biographies of 40 Boat Race competitors who answered the call to arms and gave their lives, very highly recommended. The carnage of WWI was the result of a new generations of weapons that burst onto the scene ahead of any effective counters. It has often been said that the best of a generation on both sides died between 1914 and 1918. It is hard to argue against that conclusion. Equally, it has been said that WWII was the inevitable result from a botched peace and a lack of fine brains extinguished in the Great War. Across Europe there are memorials and grave yards that record the enormous cost in young lives. The author has taken an original approach which encapsulates the agony of a terrible war through viewing the short lives of forty rowers who could be said demonstrated the best brains of their generation. These were the privileged few who studied at the great universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Alongside their studies, they were keen rowers who came through a highly competitive process to represent their Universities in a unique and challenging boat race. To a man, the magnificent forty stepped forward to join the Armed Services in defence of society and country. The majority served in the Land Forces but not just in the trenches of the Western Front. There were those who joined the Indian Army, the Camel Corps, the Australian Light Horse, the Royal Army Medical Corps. Then there were pilots and sailors who faced equally dangerous environments. Within the pages there are examples of courage and comradeship. It is a cross section of WWI experience.