I used to write quite a lot of book reviews, but I stopped doing it as it had ceased to be very enjoyable. Especially during the years of the centenary of the Great War and for a while afterwards, there was a veritable flood of new titles. Not all were worthwhile, and I began to find the rather academic style in which many were presented as being somewhat sterile. It is not surprising that this style appeared so often, as it seemed that a large proportion of output was based on the PhDs and Masters of those who had studied some aspect of the period. Good as a work of reference (and many are still on my shelf for that purpose), less good to actually read.
The flow has died down somewhat but there is still a remarkable activity in the subject. One feature of it that does interest me is how many diaries and unpublished memoirs are still emerging. Many of these are self-published or handled by smaller publishers, and “Behind the lines along the Somme” is no exception. The editor approached me and I was pleased to agree to review it. This is by no means a blockbuster but it is certainly different and offers an unusual insight.
This is the story of Reverend Percy Lane Hooson MA, a Lincolnshire man well known especially in the Stamford area. The “Grantham Journal” of Saturday 17 March 1917 announced that he had accepted the post of superintendent of a Church Army hut in France and he was due to leave soon. The book is based on Percy’s diary, which begins on 18 April 1917 when he began his journey to France, and runs until 19 August 1917 when he returned home. The book is edited by his grandson Ben Hooson and assisted by Cheryl Dobbs, who have transcribed the diary and added a short introduction and explanatory footnotes.
The Church Army, along with the YMCA and other organisations, provided refreshment and a place of rest and worship for soldiers behind the lines. Percy was sent to Doingt, in the area near Péronne which had recently been evacuated and deliberately devastated by the German Army in carrying out their strategic withdrawal from the Somme to the Hindenburg Line. By late April 1917, Doingt was several miles behind the new front.
There were times in his story when I wished Percy had explained in more detail how his hut operated, but there are plenty of clues. He describes many trips to acquire supplies of refreshments and other goods sold or given to the soldiers, often going to Péronne and Amiens, and describing the places he sees. He takes the opportunity to wander the recent battlefields, observing the degree of destruction of (mainly) churches, and the cemeteries and debris of fighting. He takes interest in the coming and going of various units, including many labour companies that included Indian troops, and meets Generals and Privates alike. Percy also appeared to have had an unerring ability to spot a Lincolnshire man in a crowd, and he names many of those with whom he came into contact. Many remembered him from his church work at home. It is clear that he was a dedicated, hard working and genial man, and from his writing I rather liked him. Born in 1872, he lived to the age of 97.
The production of the book is good, but as a paperback it is not designed to stand too much rough handling. The text is clear and accessible, and overall the volume is good quality. My only gripe is a small one: an index would be valuable.
For anyone interested in life behind the firing lines, or the Péronne area, or even just for a different take on the situation, “Behind the lines along the Somme” would be worth seeing. At 156 pages in a handy pocket size, and with some maps and postcard illustrations, it would be good for reading on a journey, for example.
Buying a copy
By email to: benwilliamhooson @ gmail.com (remove spaces either side of the @)
By post to: Ben Hooson, 20 Bramley Close, Bourne, PE10 9BD.
Price is £10 plus £2.50 for second-class postage in the UK. Contact Ben for the price to send a copy anywhere else.
Ben will provide details for direct bank payment and will despatch the book upon receipt.
The book is also available in an e-version for Kindle at this link