A fine and moving history of the Hull Pals in the Great War - the author's veteran grandfather’s story led him on a three year search to track down the few survivors of the Great War still living in and around Hull. He has also collected, copied and collated written accounts of the Hull Pals remaining in archives or with the families of veterans. The result is an absorbing human story which far transcends the normal bounds of local history as Barrie traces the Pals from the initial enthusiasm of the early volunteers of 1914, through their training to their ‘blooding’ in the terrible trenches and killing fields of the Somme.

The Pals saw service in Egypt, the Somme, Oppy Wood, near Arras in 1917 and in the great German Spring offensives of 1918. This is their story. With appendices on VCs, War Graves, and the Schlieffen Plan, this is a moving and poignant account of idealism, patriotism and sacrifice written as a labour of love.

• Paperback ISBN: 978 1 872955 00 1Our Price: £14.99