PRIVATE BEATSON'S WAR: Life, Death and Hope on the Western Front [Hardcover]

Edited by Shaun Springer (Author), Edited by Stuart Humphreys (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2009

Until recently James Beatson was one of the millions of forgotten soldiers of the Great War. But after 90 years his diary has been rediscovered, perfectly preserved, and his story can now be told. It is a moving, intensely personal and beautifully written narrative by an extraordinary young man who witnessed one of the darkest episodes in European history.

His experience gives us a telling insight into the thoughts and reactions of a self- educated, patriotic and religious individual confronted by the horrors of warfare on the Western Front. Indeed, after reading the diary of a dead German soldier, Beatson begins to identify more with the thoughts and fears of his enemy than he does with those he loves at home.

Reminiscent of some of the greatest of the First World War authors, the diary is also the record of a gifted writer whose potential was tragically curtailed. For, shortly after marrying his childhood sweet heart, he was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme in one of the many failed attacks on High Wood.

For this, the first publication of Beatson's diary, Shaun Springer and Stuart Humphreys have edited and illustrated the text and provided an introduction, describing Beatson's family background and the campaign on the Western Front in which he took part.

James Beatson was the eldest of nine children. He was raised in Scotland by working-class parents. He was a civil engineer until, as with so many, the declaration of war offered him the chance of adventure. He enlisted in the first days of the war in the Royal Scots and was an eyewitness to the first poison gas attack by the Germans in 1915. Despite the horrors he experienced, Private Beatson never lost his love of humanity nor his faith. He now lies buried, lost somewhere on the Somme when in July 1916 he breathed his last in that infamous battle.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Pen and Sword (November 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848840829
• ISBN-13: 978-1848840829
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,858,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars intelligent soldier, May 16, 2010

By 

David L. Poremba "the past in review" (Windermere, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: PRIVATE BEATSON'S WAR: Life, Death and Hope on the Western Front (Hardcover)

In private hands since 1915, this diary was purchased at auction in 2006 by one of the editors who outbid the other editor. The editing and publication of the diary as a collaborative effort with the proceeds going to charity attests to their selflessness and their desire to share this remarkable diary with the world.
James Beatson was not quite twenty-four years old when he was killed in action during the first weeks of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. His diary covers the period from February to December, 1915, a period of only ten months; but in this short time span, Beatson creates an incredible piece of literature at one of the darkest periods of history - the meat grinder that was the Great War. It is very personal, beautifully written and a testament to a generation soon to be lost on the Western Front.
The diary is dedicated to his sweetheart, Caroline. Beatson was granted a weeks leave in December, 1915 (when his diary stopped) and he went back to Scotland and married her. Upon his return to the front, chances are god that he started a second volume of his diary and, no doubt, it lies with him still.
There are many World War I diaries that have been edited and published to choose from but not many have the realism, intelligence and humanity of this one.