Overview

With every passing year, the First and Second World Wars are seen more and more as remote history, rather than as something that directly shaped us. We forget that not so long ago people lived through times we can barely understand. These never-before-published stories from ordinary people - silent heroes - who lived through the World Wars burst in on us with us an electrifying freshness. They make us pause and consider the many lessons that we might learn from their experiences. The matter-of-fact, word-for-word tales say more to us than any debate ever could. These are the stories of people from a community that is rarely given the opportunity to have a voice. They are people whose uncomplaining peace-time lives were often poverty-stricken or who had to cope with their after-war injuries in a world that was moving on. Their voices were not heard. Their war experiences lead them to reflections on good and evil, poverty and wealth, faith and doubt. Through these interviews, we encounter a tiny fragment of that dialogue which continues without pause today. We might expect such tales to be bitter or harrowing. Instead, they are inspiring and uplifting. Acts of human kindness amidst unspeakable mass cruelty abound. People accept their 'lot' and get on with the task at hand. We are right to marvel at their bravery, tolerance and stamina but we also begin to see that there are many more parallels with today than we might have realised, and that perhaps the biggest lesson of all is to never forget.

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9780715208151

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Within these pages, there are tales of extraordinary bravery. They offer us all inspiration and hope for humanity.\ Terry Waite CBE \ A poignant and engaging account of war's effect on ordinary people ... it's important to be reminded of the human cost in the battle for freedom - and to ponder on the evil, poverty and disregard for the sanctity of human life that are at the root of so much conflict. -- The Rt Rev. Nigel McCulloch These stories of ordinary, unsung people caught up in warfare provide a personal dimension that's not normally to be found. Unforgettably, they bring us face to face with war's realities. -- Martin Bell OBE Heroes are not supermen or superwomen but ordinary people who have the courage and resolve to do extraordinary things. John Miller has done us all a favour by recording for posterity these stories of quiet courage and grace under pressure. -- Trevor Royle Sunday Herald A continuous golden thread of solid Christian conviction runs through this book. It would be a dull person who could not be moved by the simple honesty of the stories, all told without the faintest trace of rancour. -- A. C. Herdman

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