Accounts of the First World War usually centre on gruelling life in the trenches, living and fighting on the front line. While incorporating wartime life, this book gives a refreshingly different perspective by looking at the rich crop of legends that sprang from the battlefields. Many of these myths still persist in the public consciousness even today. Some of the legends remain well-known while others are more obscure. Yet all are mirrored in recent conspiracy theories, folk tales of the paranormal and moral panics. Tales such as the Angel of Mons are still debated today. The phenomenon occurred when British troops, exhausted from many days marching to battle, reported sightings of a troop of angels on the battlefield at Mons. The story goes that the supernatural presence terrified the German soldiers, who were forced to retreat. The unexplained disappearance of a whole Territorial battalion of the Norfolk Regiment at Gallipoli, is also a lingering controversy. Using a wide range of contemporary documentary sources, James Hayward retells the story of each myth with possible explanations for how they came about. He illustrates his narrative with a variety of contemporary photographs and illustrations, some of which are rare and from his own private collection.

About the Author
James Hayward is the author of Shingle Street, a study of myth and propaganda in 1940. He has an active interest in twentieth-century military history and recently assisted in the research of Speak of the Devil (Cambridge UP, 1998). He is a solicitor by profession and lives near Dereham, Norfolk.


Book Information
ISBN 9780750928656
Author James Hayward
Format Hardback
Page Count 210
Imprint Sutton Publishing Ltd
Publisher The History Press Ltd