5 out of 5

This is an excellent book, especially for those Medics amongst us, or those who love a bit of Great War history. Heartily recommended.

Read the Full Review Here

Army Rumour Service (ARRSE)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This was a really interesting book! I am a military history buff, though World War I is not an area in which I know very much about. This book opened my eyes to the struggles and daily life of medical officers during the war and the horrors they witnessed. I liked the memoir very much and I will be recommending it to others as well.
Thanks!

NetGalley, Joseph Bruce

This book was VERY informative. History isn't normally my go-to genre of book, but I do love the topic of medical careers / medical stories. So I figured why not!
And I'm so glad I did!

Keep in mind that this is a memoir, so it is a tad difficult for me to review this in some ways. I often feel like leaving a less than amazing review for memoirs is in a way discrediting the person's life experience / story.

This book was indeed well-written and kept my interest quite easily. I left this book feeling like I learned quite a bit about this era / time period / war in general. I felt for Parker's experiences and hardships.

NetGalley, Kade Gulluscio

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The author has done a terrific job of translating an account from the time into an ordered and engaging representation of a conflict which we must never forget. Some of the information seems unfathomable now, with modern medicine advancing so much since then, and this makes the book more than a memoir of war but also an important social and medical history. Really well written and with plenty of useful reference material to delve into.

NetGalley, Louise Gray

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking, inspirational, it tells of a doctor at war and is all the more shocking for the quiet way he tells of young men who were injured and died. No dramatisation or exaggeration, just the facts as he saw them. We also see the role of medical personnel, some good, some not so, and their endless struggle with the nonsensical red tape in the army.

If I may quote from his conclusion 'Tending the wounded, in the abstract, is a valiant occupation, but the reality is far from idea, as shown on the battlefields of the Western Front. It is a trade with no romantic side, a business of dirt and sorrow, of danger from fire with no chance of retribution, such as the ordinary soldier has against his enemy. It is work not suddenly of heroic deeds, but of stolid endurance in the face of great and unrelenting adversity'.

Mr Parker was an exemplary, kindly and modest doctor, who did his utmost for the men in his care. I felt privileged to read his service record which has been produced in a sympathetic style, with a minimum of abbreviations so that it is very readable, but also using the language of the day which makes it very authentic..

NetGalley, Sue Andrews

As featured in

Cher Ami, GWSIG Newsletter – International Plastic Modellers Society (UK) – April 2023

The Life Of A Medical Officer in WW1 focuses on the memoirs of Captain Harry Gordon Parker.

‘There was every class of wound from a slight scratch to fractured thighs and men shot through the chest or abdomen.’

An inspiring read and perfect for any history and World War fan.

‘A shell explosion blew him on to a heap of ammunition, and the ammunition then exploded. All four limbs were broken, he was hit all over the body, and wherever he was not wounded he was burnt. He was perfectly conscious, and his cries were unnerving.’

What these soldier’s went through was unimaginable. They were very courageous men.

The list of illustrations were great to see.

Georgi Lvs Books !!