The Great War in North Somerset

Here's a photo by David Wilton of me in the uniform of the Somerset Light Infantry. David organised one of the first of these commemorative marches and it is his kit I'm wearing.
My grandfather was in the Coldstream Guards (they had a recruiting office in Bath I believe) - he was later involved in mining operations as an ex collier and fought hand-to-hand battles under ground. Another Grandfather while in France as an ex-farmer was required to pitchfork bodies onto carts.
Many local men after the war could not reenter ordinary life and spent their lives as tramps sleeping rough in the woods and batches. Read more about the impact of the Great War on Somerset villages like Radstock in'No Thankful Village'
Review here 'There have been many great novels, poems and stories inspired by the Great War. No Thankful Village, a small masterpiece, reminds us that the facts on which they are based are probably stranger and more affecting than anything we can imagine'.
· No Thankful Village by Christopher Howell is published by Fickle Hill, Chapel Cottage, Chilcompton, Bath BA3 4HD, £20