Six Weeks

Often fresh out of school, many junior officers in the First World War went straight from being prefects to having to lead their men in a charge over the top, knowing that the German machine guns would be trained on the man at the front, knowing that so many of their predecessors had fallen before them. In this remarkable book, John Lewis-Stempel focuses on the oft-overlooked men who were crucial to Britain's war effort.

Basing his account on a huge range of first person accounts, including poignant letters and diaries sent home or back to their school, Lewis-Stempel reveals what motivated these men who faced an average life expectancy of just six weeks once they reached the frontline. He shows the life they led in the trenches, how they sought to keep up the spirits of their men and how they tried to behave with honour in a world where their codes of conduct were being quite literally shot to pieces.

“'woven with great narrative skill...presents an incomparable portrait of a generation'”

Superb ... the most moving single book on the Great War that I have ever read -- Nigel Jones Literary Review
Best research resource ever. Beautiful book -- Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey)
Compelling -- Julian Fellowes
This well researched book tells the harrowing story of the men - or adolescents, many of them -who unhesitatingly answered the call by War Minister Lord Kitchener for volunteers, and continued to answer it even after it became clear that the life expectancy of a subaltern in the trenches averaged only six weeks... Lewis-Stempel is excellent on life in the trenches... for all the horror and pity of their struggle, their legacy is our freedom. -- Andrew Roberts MAIL ON SUNDAY
It is only rarely that a book deserves to be recommended unreservedly but John Lewis-Stempel's Six Weeks falls firmly into that category...This is a book that should be read by every young man who aspires to serve as an officer in the Army; it will educate him about how to behave in command of soldiers and about how to face the perils of war. GUARDS MAGAZINE
woven with great narrative skill...presents an incomparable portrait of a generation MILITARY TIMES
A superb study... Lewis-Stempel's marvelously evocative book is full of throat-catching moments... The result is the most moving single book on the Great War that I have ever read - and I have read many... his book pays the subalterns the respect they deserve by entering into their distant mindsets. -- Nigel Jones LITERARY REVIEW
Diaries and letters convey the inspiring spirit of these young men. SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
A hugely moving account OXFORD TIMES
A poignant and detailed study on what life was like at the front. GOOD BOOK GUIDE
One of the most important new studies of the Great War CONTEMPORARY REVIEW
Every school pupil should read "Six Weeks" by @JLewisStempel before going on a First World War battlefield tour Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander British Forces in Afghanistan and author of 'Attack State Red'

John Lewis-Stempel is the author of the highly acclaimed The Wild Life and THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH SOLDIER. Since 1996 he has lived on a farm in Herefordshire with his wife and two children.

Often fresh out of school, many junior officers in the First World War went straight from being prefects to having to lead their men in a charge over the top, knowing that the German machine guns would be trained on the man at the front, knowing that so many of their predecessors had fallen before them. In this remarkable book, John Lewis-Stempel focuses on the oft-overlooked men who were crucial to Britain's war effort.Basing his account on a huge range of first person accounts, including poignant letters and diaries sent home or back to their school, Lewis-Stempel reveals what motivated these men who faced an average life expectancy of just six weeks once they reached the frontline. He shows the life they led in the trenches, how they sought to keep up the spirits of their men and how they tried to behave with honour in a world where their codes of conduct were being quite literally shot to pieces.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.