This item has closed 1 buyer bought 1 item
View other items offered by Waveren27248

Similar products

GUNS by Dudley Pope Drawings by Max Millar
R250.00
HELL FIRE
R250.00
Tobruk - The Story Of A Siege - Anthony Heckstall-Smith
R200.00
United States of Africa by Capt. DESMOND-SMITH
R350.00
Drawing Fire - Smith
Sold

Drawing Fire - Smith

1 was available / new
R45.00
Shipping
R65.00 Standard shipping applies to orders under R100.00, in most areas in South Africa. R35.00 Standard shipping applies to orders over R100.00. Some areas may attract a surcharge surcharge. This will be calculated at checkout if applicable.
Check my rate
The seller has indicated that they will usually have this item ready to ship within 12 business days. Shipping time depends on your delivery address. The most accurate delivery time will be calculated at checkout, but in general, the following shipping times apply:
 
Standard Delivery
Main centres:  1-3 business days
Regional areas: 3-4 business days
Remote areas: 3-5 business days
Buyer protection
Get it now, pay later

Product details

Condition
New
Location
South Africa
Customer ratings:
Bob Shop ID
351377564

2009 first edition hardcover and dust jacket in new condition. 383 pages. R60 postage in SA.

A vivid and powerful diary of life in the trenches.

The horrors of war in the trenches are brought to life with a rare immediacy and power through the diary of soldier and artist Len Smith. Enduring battles such as those at Loos and Vimy Ridge, Len survives with a mixture of whimsical humour, bravery and sheer good luck.

Len enlisted as an infantryman in the City of London Regiment on his 23rd birthday, 22 September 1914. During the war years he kept a journal on scraps of paper which he hid in his trousers to smuggle home at the end of the war. At the same time, he added to his thoughts with colour sketches of the people and places he encountered.

His drawing skills were also put to good use to gather and record intelligence on German army positions which he did under great personal risk; they were later used to help plan military strategy. One of his many ingenious contributions to the war was to camouflage a watch tower in no man’s land as a living tree. He had crept within yards of an enemy headquarters and drawn a tree so accurately that a hollow steel replica could be created. In the dead of night the real tree was removed and the fake one put in its place, with the enemy none the wiser. He also spent four days avoiding enemy fire to produce a two-yard long panoramic view of enemy troop lines at Vimy Ridge.

Len, who was never honoured for his actions during the war, was extremely humble about his adventures - after delivering a message through heavy fire a General remarked that his efforts were worthy of a VC. With characteristic good humour Len writes, “I’d like to have assured him in that ordeal a WC would have been more appropriate.”

The diary as a whole creates a tremendous sense of being at his side during his extraordinary experiences.

Recently viewed

See more
28% OFF
Tork Craft Soft Grip Wide Nylon Stripper Brush 5 X 11 Row Tcw
R29.00 R40.00
Union of SA - Cover
R30.00 No bids
Yu-Gi-Oh! - Borrel Supplier - 1st Ed/Common - Structure Deck: Rokket Revolt (SDRR-EN022)
R20.00
PLAQUE TO LT. GENL. LIEBENBERG SSAS.SD. OEF. SWEEPSLAG NOV 86
R300.00 No bids

Customer ratings: 1 ratings

Excellent, offered to books at no additional cost
01 Aug 2018