At Ypres with Best-Dunkley

A vivid, first‑person chronicle of life in the trenches, this memoir opens with a soldier’s dedication to the men of the Second‑Fifth Lancashire Fusiliers who fell at Ypres. Drawing from diary entries and letters home, the author conveys the daily grind of patrols, the waiting between Messines and the looming Ypres offensive, and the mixture of dread and stubborn optimism that sustained the rank‑and‑file. The narrative paints a raw picture of mud‑caked mornings, quiet moments of camaraderie, and the ever‑present question of what the next attack will bring.

Central to the account is the enigmatic Colonel Best‑Dunkley, a figure both admired and misunderstood by his men. Through the writer’s eyes we glimpse the colonel’s leadership style, his unpopularity, and the quiet heroism that later earned him a Victoria Cross. The book offers a personal, unvarnished lens on a pivotal slice of World War I, giving voice to the ordinary soldier whose thoughts and feelings are often left out of official histories.