{"product_id":"diary-of-a-dead-officer-being-the-posthumous-papers-of-arthur-graeme-west-9781805000600","title":"Diary of a Dead Officer: Being the Posthumous Papers of Arthur Graeme West","description":"\u003cb\u003eA young scholar's World War I journey from eager enlistment to profound disillusionment, reflected in poignant war poetry before his tragic death.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBorn in September 1891, Arthur Graeme West was a quiet and self-effacing youth with a passion for literature, who went on to become a keen Oxford scholar. When war broke out in 1914, for some time it left him untouched. However, in January 1915, in a rush of enthusiasm, he enlisted as a private in the Public Schools Battalion. From that time, until his death in April 1917, his life was a succession of training in England and fighting in France, with short intervals of leave. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWest joined due to a feeling of duty and patriotism, but the war was to have a profound effect on him. He developed an intense abhorrence of army life and began to question the very core of his beliefs -- in religion, patriotism and the reason for war. This growing disillusionment found expression in two particularly powerful war poems, \u003ci\u003eGod! How I Hate You, You Young Cheerful Men\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNight Patrol\u003c\/i\u003e, which stand deservedly alongside those of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn August 1916, he became a second lieutenant in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Shortly after, he wrote to his CO renouncing the war and any further part in it -- but he could not bring himself to post the letter. Less than a year later, on April 3rd, 1917, he was shot dead by a sniper's bullet near Bapaume.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten with complete frankness and sincerity, \u003ci\u003eDiary of a Dead Officer\u003c\/i\u003e gives voice to West's struggle to come to terms with the realities of war and is a poignant tribute to a lost generation of soldiers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Greenhill Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/30\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781805000600\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208","brand":"Arthur Graeme West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44561504010421,"sku":"9781805000600","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_c61b2e4a-eada-49dd-b092-f33dbbddcf93.jpg?v=1723525823","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/diary-of-a-dead-officer-being-the-posthumous-papers-of-arthur-graeme-west-9781805000600","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}