This Bloody Place (Hardback)
The Incomparables at Gallipoli
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9781473857926
Published: 7th December 2015
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Captain Albert Mure, a company commander in the 5th Battalion The Royal Scots, spent forty-three days in Gallipoli - far longer than many men who fought there would survive. In those few weeks, this brave, stoical officer was reduced from a fit, determined leader of men to a physical and mental wreck.
In simple and honest language, Mure conveys the drama of the first landings, knowing that very shortly afterwards he and his men would be ashore and experiencing the same fate; his sympathy for those under his command is clear. Although suffering from shell shock, when the time came for him to leave the peninsular, he nevertheless felt like a deserter, remarking that, 'you can carry a no-longer-fit soldier's body out of the firing-line, but not his soul.'
Originally published in 1919, Mure's story of his experiences at Gallipoli is full of a rawness and immediacy that I believe makes it worthy of a place amongst the many Great War memoirs.
As featured in
Stand To! Western Front Assc No.109
As reviewed on ARRSE
ARRSE - Auld-Yin
A republishing of the diary of Major A. H. Mure (first produced in 1919) who as a Captain in the 5th Royal Scots spent forty-three days in Gallipoli, where he was reduced from a brave, fit, stoical and determined leader to a physical and mental wreck of a man. This well written diary is an honest and endearing account which engages the reader's interest and attention from start to finish. Mure's sympathy for those under his command is readily apparent and, though suffering from shell-shock himself, when the time came to leave he felt like a deserter, remarking hauntingly, 'you can carry a no longer fit soldier's body out of the firing line, but not his soul'. Mure died aged 64 in 1943 but his writing is some of the best of the war era and this diary rightly deserves to become a classic of the Great War. This truly remarkable book was second in line for Editor's choice this month and is one that readers will certainly want to add to their bookshelves.
The Great War Magazine - May 2016
A first class diary.
About Richard van Emden
Richard van Emden interviewed 270 veterans of the Great War, has written extensively about the soldiers' lives, and has worked on many television documentaries, always concentrating on the human aspects of war, its challenge and its cost to the millions of men involved. Richard van Emden’s books have sold over 660,000 copies and have appeared in The Times’ bestseller chart on a number of occasions.
He has also worked on more than a dozen television programmes on the Great War, including the award-winning Roses of No Man’s Land, Britain’s Boy Soldiers, A Poem for Harry, War Horse: the Real Story, Teenage Tommies with Fergal Keane and most recently, Hidden Histories: WW1’s Forgotten Photographs. He lives in London.