Boy Soldiers of the Great War: Their Own Stories for the First Time

At the outbreak of the First World War, boys as young as thirteen, caught up in the overwhelming tide of patriotism, enlisted for active service in huge numbers. Many were to serve in the bloodiest battles of the war, like Frank Lindley, who seeking to avenge his dead brother, went over the top on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He was just sixteen. Drawing on unpublished diaries and letters, as well as the testimonies of the last survivors, Boy Soldiers of the Great War records their stories of sacrifice and heroism.