Insights into the war experience

A little bit of background📃

The historian in me made a beeline for the history section at the 2025 Brisbane Lifeline bookfest. This post reviews some of the titles I picked up that day, sparking my interested in the three quite different perspectives on war that the books explore. Read on for my thoughts on the three books that I read in the weeks following the bookfest.

Empires of the dead | Published September 2013

The author✏️

David Crane read History and English at Oxford University then lectured at universities in the Netherlands, Japan and Africa. He is the author of acclaimed biographies on explorer Robert Falcon Scott and Edward Trelawny, companion of Byron and Shelley. Crane also wrote The kindness of sisters, charting the relationship between Byron's widow and his sister-in-law, the mother of his child. His other book is on the Battle of Waterloo. Empires of the dead is is most acclaimed work, having been shortlisted for two literary prizes, the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction and the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for history content. Crane now lives in his native Scotland.

The subject matterℹ️

Crane traces the history of the creation of the Commonwealth war graves following the end of the First World War. Little provision was made for the burial of the dead prior to that war. Soldiers were often unceremoniously dumped in mass graves and officers shipped home for burial.

Crane's story behind the creation of the magnificent and fitting memorials to the war dead that we have today demonstrates the impact of one inspired visionary, Fabian Ware, a former frontline Red Cross worker during WW1. Ware was justifiably horrified by what he witnessed in France and the slapdash way the dead were buried, so he began recording the identity and position of their graves. Eventually Ware's work gained official recognition, with the formation of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Crane charts the initial attempts by Ware to ensure proper burial for the fallen, through to resistance from bereaved families who discovered that they could not bring their loved ones' bodies home. Crane also explores the often cynical attempts by governments to control the process and the narrative around it, attempting to justify the slaughter and sacrifice of millions of servicemen and women.

My thoughts on the book💭

I am something of a cemetery nerd - which I know sounds a bit odd - but there is something poignant about them and the histories that they preserve. Cemeteries are often beautiful green spaces. I have walked through two stunning ones - Pere lachaise in Paris and Highgate in London. War cemeteries are particularly impressive. Having also been to Gallipoli, I can appreciate the significance of honouring the dead in such a peaceful, beautiful setting. The First World War cemeteries of France and Belgium are not only a proper resting place for the fallen but also part of the cultural iconography of the war, a constant visual reminder of conflict's enormous sacrifices.

Empires of the dead is a fascinating account of the whole concept of war cemeteries. I often think it's challenging for history writers to capture their subject for the reader in an engaging way, balancing historical detail with the human side of the story. Crane does a nice job with the subject matter, crafting a poignant narrative that shows the approach that Fabian Ware spearheaded, to create democratic and inclusive memorials that respectfully honour the fallen. It sounds like the book could be dry, but I had no trouble staying engaged throughout my reading journey.

My key learnings🪴

Crane delves into the political, social, economic, religious and architectural history of the cemeteries that I hitherto knew very little about. It's hard to imagine the mammoth task of burying so many fallen soldiers and memorialising them in a way that is respectful but also logistically possible. That mammoth task is set out in Empires of the dead and if I have the opportunity to visit war cemeteries in the future, I will certainly look at them with a new appreciation.

In sum📝

Empires of the dead is absolutely worth your time if you are interested in the subject matter. I will say that the subtitle of the book is a bit misleading, though. While Crane does spend a significant part of the book demonstrating Ware's vision for the war cemeteries, it's not just one man's story. I'd like to read more about the history of the war cemeteries to flesh out my understanding as I don't think the book stands alone in its telling of the history of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and of Ware himself.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

---

The secret life of Bletchley Park | Published May 2010

The author✏️

Sinclair McKay is a British historian, writer and journalist. I can't find much on his background other than that. He is a Sunday Times bestselling author of a number of books on the Second World War and one with the fascinating title of The man with the golden touch: How the Bond films conquered the world. McKay is a literary critic for the Telegraph and the Spectator.

The subject matterℹ️

Bletchley Park played a crucial part in Britain's war efforts. The country estate will always take an important place in history for the cracking of Germany's Enigma code and the deciphering of military communications that were instrumental in the Allies' success. Bletchley Park was home to Britain's most brilliant mathematical brains and could quite arguably claim to be the birthplace of modern computing. I knew a little of the Bletchley Park story from Benedict Cumberbatch's turn as Alan Turing in The imitation game. I've always been fascinated by the idea of codebreaking - even though my woeful maths makes it beyond my understanding - and would love to one day visit Bletchley Park now that it is a museum. I had plans to do so while working in London in 2022 and 2023, but unfortunately didn't get there as it's a bit of a trek on public transport.

My thoughts on the book💭

The social historian in me rather enjoyed the romp through the Bletchley Park experience. I liked the sense of authenticity that McKay brought to the book through the raft of anecdotes from primary sources. There's a lot of detail about the codebreakers' lives and less about the actual codebreaking, though. Perhaps McKay thought the latter too dry for his readers? Still, the book does evoke a strong sense of the remarkable secrecy surrounding the Park during the war and for some fifty odd years later.

McKay's writing is a bit waffly, gossipy and repetitive in places and his writing does have an impact on the reading experience, somewhat lessening the importance of the Bletchley Park work. The whole book has something of a journalistic vibe to it. Also, I know I said above that I have woeful maths, but I would have liked just a little more explanation of the codebreaking and early technology that laid the groundwork for modern-day computing. Overall, though, the book lacks insight and it's somewhat uninspiring for such a fascinating part of WW2 history.

My key learnings🪴

McKay spends a good deal of time on the experience of working at Bletchley Park, and there's loads of description of food, living conditions, relationships, and social events. I found all that interesting and if that is your expectation of the book, then you won't be disappointed. I'm not really sure that I properly understand the whole code breaking thing, so I'll have to read something that is more focussed on this work to flesh out my knowledge.

In sum📝

I've seen a Goodreads reviewer comment that the book "reads like an amalgam of topics and personal interviews stitched together in a semi-organised fashion, a patchwork quilt job." I would have to agree with this assessment. I don't think that The secret life of Bletchley Park stands alone as a definitive account of the heroic codebreakers' work. That said, I gained some insight into life in Bletchley Park, just as the book's title promises.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

---

Stranger in the house | Published January 2008

The author✏️

Julie Summers (born 1960) is a British writer, researcher and historian. She is the author is several historical works on the Second World War. One of her most notable works is Jambusters (2013), inspiration for the television series, Homes fires, charting the activities of the Women's Institute during the war. Summers has also published a book on her uncle, Sandy Irvine, a mountaineer who took part in the 1924 Mt Everest expedition, the third ever British expedition to the top of the world's highest mountain. Another of Summer's impressive relatives has also featured in her books. She wrote a story of her grandfather, Sir Philip Toosey, a lieutenant colonel and Japanese prisoner of war in Thailand, fictionalised in the film, The bridge over the River Kwai as Lt Col Nicholson, played by Sir Alec Guinness. Summers herself is rather impressive. She studied at the Munich Business School and worked at Deutsche Bank then studied German and Art History at Bristol University. She was later Deputy Curator for the Henry Moore Foundation, a fine arts charity, then Head of Exhibitions at Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Britain's first public museum. Impressive indeed.

The subject matterℹ️

Julie Summers has put together a tapestry of women's experiences as they coped with the absence of their brothers, husbands and fathers during the Second World War and then dealt with their homecoming after demobilisation. Many of the returned servicemen were changed by injury and trauma but they returned to a country and to their families who had also adjusted in their absence. The end of the war saw countless wives who had to deal with an injured, emotionally-damaged husband, children who had never seen their fathers before, mothers whose sons refused to speak about their horrific experiences, and fiances married to someone else after thinking theirs was dead. Summers meticulously spent hours listening to the women's stories to capture them for Stranger in the house. The book delves into their experiences of coping with the aftermath of the war and its survivors, returned soldiers who often battled alcoholism and mental health issues in addition to their physical injuries.

My thoughts on the book💭

Stranger in the house is my favourite of the three books I have reviewed in this post. I found the book deeply moving and was completely immersed in all the stories Summers presents. The book provides special insight into the fallout of the Second World War and its lasting impact on the men who survived it and on their families. The honesty and authenticity of the stories make for a poignant and deeply sad read while transporting the reader into these stories and truly feeling what it must have been like to cope with war's aftermath. It was heartbreaking to read the stories given the lack of understanding at the time of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how returned servicemen just had to get on with their lives with little support for their mental health. As an Australian, the book's chapters dedicated to the experiences of men in Japanese prisoner of war camps and the impact of the brutality and harshness they endured were particularly moving.

My only small niggle is that Summers could have offered more insight into the experiences as a historian, to pull together all the threads. There are also a lot of stories in the book and this is both a blessing and a curse. I did find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed with them all.

My key learnings🪴

Stranger in the house is a book about the human experience of war's aftermath. Each story featured in the book deepened my understanding of this experience, showing just how much the scars of war linger and what it means to be irrevocably changed by trauma. The book is also testament to the lack of understanding at the time of mental health and PTSD. It begs the question of how differently the consequences of war may have played out for the returned soldiers and their families had there been better knowledge and support.

In sum📝

There is a line from the book that nicely sums up its core theme: "When their ended, our war began." Stranger in the house does an important and necessary job of shining the light on the impact of war when the conflict is over. It's a harrowing but honest collective memoir of the men who returned from war irrevocably damaged by it and how they and their loved ones suffered as a result.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐