Explores the life of the average British 'Tommy' of the Great War, in battle and at rest, in training, and on his return home. Illustrated with evocative images of the war, and items of the soldier's kit, this book provides an answer to the question: What was it like to be a soldier in the trenches on the front line?

Chapter 1: The Great War • Introduction to the War •Trench warfare and its routines • The British Soldier at War •The major campaigns • Chapter 2: Joining up •Your Country Needs You •Territorials, Regulars, Kitchener’s Army, Derby Men and Conscripts •Training and preparing for war overseas • Chapter 3: Up the line • Tommy’s uniform and equipment • The routine of trench life • Over the top • Chapter 4: On rest and at home • In and out of the trenches • Hospitals, casualties and wounds • Life in the rear areas • Thoughts of home • Chapter 5: Aftermath • Remembrance and commemoration • Medals and certificates • Life after the war • Chapter 6: Where to go today • Museums and battlefields • Preserved trenches • Suggested reading

A list of fully illustrated paperback introductions to a swathe of British history, heritage and nostalgia, from Agricultural Hand Tools to Women in the Second World War, with themes including motoring, churches, railways, fashion, military history, women’s history, social history, architecture, agriculture and ceramics.