The British Army's 53rd (Welsh Division) played a prominent part in World War One but not in the theatre that most people are familiar with - the Western Front. Its members served instead in the Near East, in Gallipoli, in Egypt and Palestine, where over a period of four years they helped to wrest control of the region from Turco-German forces and to bring about the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Though they were not subject to the full horrors of the trench warfare of France, they were involved in key battles against a determined enemy in Sinai, in Gaza (where three actions spread over six months had to be fought before the town was captured), in Palestine culminating in the capture of Jerusalem, and at Megiddo, the location from which the campaign's most famous leader, Lord Allenby, took his title. These campaigns are followed through the highly literate, and in places very amusing letters - 110,000 words in total - sent by Sapper Dewi David, a Welsh soldier from Cardiff, to his parents and sister. He had signed up with the Royal Engineers in 1915 on his 17th birthday and was away for a total of four years, with a short and brilliantly-described week-long leave in Cairo his only real break during this period. As well as providing a first-hand account of the hardships endured by the men of the 53rd - long marches in very difficult country, long periods with the bare minimum of food and water, extreme heat and cold, sandstorms and flooding, flies and mosquitoes - the letters also throw extensive light on contemporary concerns, attitudes and conditions and on family life, work and leisure in early 20th century Britain. They also reveal a young man maturing from nervous youth to seasoned solider but to the end frequently homesick and desperate to get home. Within this volume, which draws on a number of other published historical sources, it has been possible to use only extended extracts from the letters. The full set can be found at www.rhysdavid.net This volume will be of great interest to all those keen to learn more about the Eastern campaigns in World War One and why they were regarded as so important by British politicians such as David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. It will also answer many questions for those who had a grandfather, a great-uncle or other relative serving in this theatre of war but possess tantalisingly few details of where the men were and what their exploits were. More than 300 pages long, the book is accompanied by more than 20 pages of photographs taken during the campaigns, and by maps. It is fully indexed.
About the Author: Rhys David began his career as a journalist with the Western Mail in Cardiff before moving to the Financial Times where he spent 30 years as a specialist writer and later departmental editor. He now writes mainly on regional economic and Welsh issues. He studied at the University of Oxford and is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Welsh Affairs