Title: In the side shows,
Authors: Stansgate, William Wedgwood Benn, 1877-1960.
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton,
Year: 1919
Subjects: Stansgate, William Wedgwood Benn,; World War, 1914-1918 Personal narratives, British.; Soldiers Great Britain Biography
Abstract: "The following pages hardly touch on the famous incidents of the War. There is no record of its chief events, no echo of its great controversies. This book is the simple diary of a citizen soldier, a story of four years of happy adventure whose measure of variety was pressed down and running over. But I have attempted more than a story. The War was an education for millions and I have tried to explain how it influenced me." --W.B., from the Introduction.
Contents: The national relief fund -- With the yeomanry to Egypt -- Life in the desert -- From Egypt to Gallipoli -- The last fight at Suvla Bay -- The boredome of the Dardanelles -- The system and the ranks -- The system and the officer -- Is militarism a sure defence? -- Seaplanes in the East -- El Arish and Jaffa -- June flying in the Aden Hinterland -- The king of the Hedjaz--"Mecca One" -- Home via the Sudan -- Patrolling the Syrian and Arabian coasts -- An air campaign against the Bagdad Railway -- Mainly about Cyprus --The luckless "Perisvet" -- The loss of the "Ben-my-chree" -- An Admiral Chrichton -- The evacuation of Castelorizo -- Dining with the Omdeh -- A mudir at work -- A coptic wedding -- Municipal government and voluntary rates -- An Egyptian gentleman's opinions -- British officials in Egypt -- Getting "wings" -- Aircraft v. submarines -- The Bourbon kingdom -- Our Italian air alliance -- Two wings at work -- Air raids from both points of view -- The home of Petrarch and Virgil -- Chivalry and battle -- Tuscan cities -- Perugia--Assisi--Orvieto--Cassino -- The Adriatic Coast -- On secret service -- Barker, V.C. -- If we failed! -- An air-fight in the dark -- We drop Tandura -- The life of a spy.