Customer Reviews

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

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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.