Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Book in excellent unread/unused condition. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> Away from the turmoil of battle in the Ypres Salient the town of Poperinge developed into the nerve centre of the British sector In the heart of this bustling town the Army Chaplains Philip (Tubby) Clayton and Neville Talbot opened an Every-Man’s Club. It was an alternative place of wholesome recreation where all soldiers regardless of their rank were welcome. The inspired way in which Tubby ran this ‘home from home turned Talbot House or “Toc H into the best-known soldiers’ club of the British Army – a sanctuary for half a million men on their way to or from the Front. The first part Portrait of an Every Man’s Club paints a graphic picture of Talbot House against the immense background of the waste and horror of war from its early beginnings at the end of 1915 till the private owner’s return early in 1919. The connecting thread is provided by a wide selection of Tubby’s letters mostly to his mother. These are supplemented with extracts from his diaries and other wartime writings as well as letters and accounts from dozens of other eyewitnesses. Together they provide an intimate vivid and complete picture of what life at the House was like. They give us a fascinating insight into the lives that Tubby and his guests were living the kind of thoughts they were thinking and the visions hopes and ideals that gripped their minds. Indeed they tell the authentic history of Talbot House. In the second part A Home from Home Tubby shows us around the House so that we get a clearer picture as he passes from room to room from the lively and noisy gaiety in the canteen to the peace and serenity in the chapel. This ‘guided tour’ is flavoured with recollections of some 40 officers and other ranks relating how they experienced the unique atmosphere radiating from the various parts of the remarkable building. (MP)