the great war stories inspired by items from the first world war sampler

8/9/2019 The Great War Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War Sampler

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STORIES I NSPIRE D BY ITEMSFROM THE FI RST WORLD WAR


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T his is a wor k of c tion. Names, c harac

ters, p laces,

and inciden ts are ei t her prod uc ts of t he

a u t hor’s

imagina tion or, if rea l, are used c ti tio u

s l y.

Compi la tion and in trod uc tion cop yrig h t

© 2014 b y Wa l ker Boo ks L td.

I l l us tra tions cop yrig h t © 2014 b y Jim K

a y

“O ur Jac ko” cop yrig h t © 2014 b y Mic h

ae l Morp urgo

“Ano t her Kind of Miss

ing” cop yrig h t © 2014 b y A. L. Kenned

y

“ Don’ t Ca l l I t G lor y” cop yrig h t © 2014 b y Marc us Sedg wic k

“ T he Co un tr y Yo u Ca l led Home” cop yri

g h t © 2014 b y Jo hn Bo yne

“ W hen T he y Were Needed Mos t” cop yri

g h t © 2014 b y Trac y C he va lier

“A Wor ld T ha t Has No War in I t” cop y

rig h t © 2014 b y Da vid A lmond

“A Har lem He l l g h ter and His Horn” c

op yrig h t © 2014 b y Tan ya Lee S tone

“Ma ud’s S tor y” cop yrig h t © 2014 b y A

dè le Geras

“Cap tain Rosa lie” cop yrig h t © 2014 b y

Timo t hée de Fom be l le;

trans la tion cop yrig h t © 2014 b y Sam G

ordon

“ Eac h S lo w D us k” cop yrig h t © 2014 b y

S heena Wi l kinson

“ Li t t le Wars” cop yrig h t © 2014 b y Urs u

la D u barsars k y

A l l rig h ts reser ved. No

par t of t his boo k ma y be reprod uced, tr

ansmi t ted,

or s tored in an informa tion re trie va l s ys tem in an y form or b y an y

means,

grap hic, e lec tronic, or mec hanica l, inc l u

ding p ho tocop ying, taping, and

recording, wi t ho u t prior wri t ten permiss

ion from t he p u b lis her.

Firs t U.S. edi tion 2015

Li brar y of Congress Ca ta log Card N um

ber 2013955699

IS B N 978- 0- 7636 - 7554- 7

T K 19 18 17 16 15 14

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Prin ted in t k.

T his boo k was t ypese t in F u t ura and Sa bon.

Cand le wic k Press

99 Do ver S tree t

Somer vi l le, Massac h use t ts 02144

visi t us a t w w w.cand le wic k.com


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DAVID ALMOND • JOHN BOYNETRACY CHEVALIER • URSULA DUBOSARSKYTIMOTHÉE DE FOMBELLE • ADÈLE GERAS

A. L. KENNEDY • MICHAEL MORPURGOMARCUS SEDGWICK • TANYA LEE STONE

SHEENA WILKINSON

illustrated by JIM KAY


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World War I, known at the time as the Great War, was the most

destructive conict the world had ever seen. Sixteen million

people lost their lives, twenty million were wounded, andmillions more were left homeless and starving.

What started as a small conict in the Balkans quickly

escalated into the rst truly global war. At rst the lead-

ers of the nations involved thought it would be over quickly,

but the ghting dragged on for four long, bloody years, from

August 1914 until an armistice went into effect at 11 a.m. onNovember 11 , 1918 .

The stories in this collection are inspired by objects from

this terrible conict. Some, like the Brodie helmet, were used

in the ghting. Others, like the wartime butter dish, belonged

to those left behind at home. Each story gives us a glimpse into

the millions of lives that were changed by the war. Each object

brings home the reality of a war that is now fading from living

memory — a war many hoped and believed would be a war to

end all wars.

The War to End All Wars........................................


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ABOUT THE ITEMS

The objects that inspired the stories in this collection

are tangible reminders of the war and the individuals

behind the statistics. Some, such as the compass andthe writing case, can still be used. From their appear-

ance, it is hard to believe that they were made during

a war that began a hundred years ago.


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About the I tems 279

Nose of a Zeppelin bomb“Don’t Call It Glory”

Marcus Sedgwick

In 1914 , planes had only existed foronly ten years and air bombing raidsseemed more like science ction thanreality. In 1915 , Germany launcheda eet of zeppelin airships to dropre bombs on London. They hov-ered only a few hundred meters overthe city, but it seemed impossible toshoot them down; planes didn’t movequickly enough, and bullets causedhardly any damage. In 1917 , aftertwo years of zeppelin raids, new bul-lets were invented that ignited thegas inside the zeppelins, destroying

them, and the threat from zeppelinswas effectively over. Pictured aboveis the nose cap from a zeppelin bombthat fell on Streatham, England, onSeptember 24 , 1916 , killing a donkey.

Recruitment Poster“The Country YouCalled Home”

John Boyne

At the start of the war, propaganda wasstill fairly crude, but as the war pro-gressed, posters and other propagandabecame more sophisticated. Manyrecruitment drives encouraged men

to sign up with their friends, promis-ing that those who “joined togethershould serve together” in “pals bat-talions.” Recruitment drives for thesebattalions often appealed to local andethnic identities, as this 1914 postershows. Four Tyneside Irish battalionsof the Northumberland Fusiliers wereraised by this recruitment drive.


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280 About the I tems

Princess Mary’sGift Fund Box

“When They WereNeeded Most”Tracy Chevalier

In 1914 , seventeen- year-old PrincessMary set up a fund to provide thoseserving at the front or in the navywith Christmas gifts. Over £ 162 ,500

was raised to make Princess Mary’sGift Fund boxes. Most tins were forsmokers and contained cigarettes.

Non smokers received candy and awriting case. All the tins included a

Christmas card and a photograph ofPrincess Mary. At Christmas there wasan unofcial truce, and Germans andAllied troops met in no- man’s- land toplay soccer and exchange gifts, includ-ing items from the boxes.

Soldier’s Writing Case“A World That HasNo War in It”David Almond

By 1918 , the Army Postal Serviceemployed 4 ,000 soldiers who madedaily deliveries of morale-boosting let-ters to those serving on the front lines.Most soldiers wrote home, as well,

though their letters were censored sothat they did not give away ofcialsecrets, and the soldiers themselvesoften decided to conceal the reali-ties of life in the trenches from theirfamilies. The writing case picturedbelow belonged to Lieutenant- ColonelFrederick Heneker. He died on therst day of the Battle of the Somme,

July 1 , 1916 , while commanding the

21 st Northumberland Fusiliers.


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282 About the I tems

Victoria Cross“Captain Rosalie”

Timothée de Fombelle

The Victoria Cross is the highestaward for bravery for British andCommonwealth servicemen. Of 1 ,357

Crosses that have been awarded,

634 were given during WorldWar I. Pictured here is the

Victoria Cross awarded toBoy, 1 st Class, John Travers

Cornwell for his actions inthe Battle of Jutland on

May 31 , 1916 . His shipwas badly damaged byGerman gunre, andevery member of hisgun crew was killed

or wounded. Cornwellwas hit in the chest by a

shell fragment but stayed at his post,awaiting orders, until the ship HMSChester was disengaged from theaction. He died two days

after the battle, on June 2 ,1916 , at age sixteen.

School Magazines“Each Slow Dusk”

Sheena Wilkinson

School magazines published duringthe World War I depicted, amongrugby and hockey reports and news ofexam success, the involvement of for-mer students and teachers in the war.They often included excerpts of lettersfrom the front and the obituaries ofthose who had lost their lives in theghting. Pictured below is a collectionof magazines published by MethodistCollege Belfast, from 1914 to 1919 .In 1914 , the mood was enthusiasticand patriotic; by 1916 , the magazineswere dominated by news of the deadand injured; and in 1919 the war

wasn’t mentioned at all.


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About the I tems 283

PICTURE CREDITSObject photographs copyright ©by the Imperial War Museums

(EPH 2780 , EPH 9430 ,EPH 6282 , EPH 3788 , PST 13620 ,

EPH 1992 , OMD 2406 ,UNI 12606 ) except compass,

copyright © 2014 by WalkerBooks Ltd.; sheet music, courtesy

of the Library of Congress; andschool magazines, copyright ©

2014 by Sheena Wilkinson.

French Toy Soldier“Little Wars”

Ursula Dubosarsky

In the years leading up to WorldWar I, toy soldiers became more andmore popular as they became cheaperto produce. The toys appealed toadults as well as children, and inBritain, H. G. Wells published apopular set of war-game rules underthe title Little Wars. The popularityof these toys may partly explain theenthusiasm for war when it broke outin 1914 , and the number of men whoso willingly volunteered to ght. This

1917 model of a French infantryman,or poilu, was sold in Paris for

70 francs. The soldier

is dressed inthe “horizon-blue” uniformof the Frencharmy.


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ABOUT THECONTRIBUTORS


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286 About the Contributors

P h o t o

b y S a r a

J a n e

P a l m e r

DAVID ALMONDworked as a teacher before becominga full- time writer. His books for children include Skellig,

My Name is Mina, The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas, and Mouse Bird Snake Wolf. He has won numerousawards for his work, including the Hans ChristianAndersen Award, a Carnegie Medal, two Whitbread

Children’s Book Awards, and a Michael L. Printz Award.He lives in northern England with his family.

JOHN BOYNEis the author of eight novels for adults andfour for young readers, including The Boy in the StripedPajamas and Stay Where You Are and Then Leave, bothworks of wartime ction. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas has sold more than ve million copies worldwide andwas made into an award- winning lm. John Boyne’swork is published in more than 45 languages. He livesin Dublin, Ireland.

TRACY CHEVALIERis the author of seven novels, mostrecently The Last Runaway. She is best known for theinternational bestseller Girl with a Pearl Earring, whichhas sold more than ve million copies, been translatedinto thirty-nine languages, and been made into a lm.She grew up in Washington, D.C., and in 1984 moved to

London, where she lives with her husband and son. She isa Fellow of Britain’s Royal Society of Literature.

P h o t o

b y R i c h

G i l l i g a n


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About the Contributors 287

URSULA DUBOSARSKYis the author of more than thirtybooks for children. She has won several Australian book

prizes, including the NSW, Victorian, South Australian,and Queensland Premier’s literary awards. Her latestnovels for young adults are The Red Shoe, set during a1954 Australian spy scandal, and The Golden Day, setin a girls’ school in 1967 . She lives in Sydney, Australiawith her family.

TIMOTHÉE DE FOMBELLEis a popular French playwrightand has achieved international success as a ction authorwith Toby Alone, Toby and the Secrets of the Tree, and Vango: Between Sky and Earth. He lives in Paris, withhis family.

ADÈLE GERASwas born in Jerusalem and lived in Cyprus,Nigeria, and North Borneo as a child. She has writtenmore than ninety books for children and young adults,including Happy Ever After, Ithaka, A Thousand Yards ofSea, and Troy, which was short-listed for the WhitbreadChildren’s Book Award and the Carnegie Medal.

She has also written four novels for adults. She livesin Cambridge, England.


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288 About the Contributors

P h o t o

b y C a m p b e l

l M i t c h e l l

JIM KAYworked in the archives of Tate Britain and theRoyal Botanic Gardens before becoming a full- time

illustrator. He received a Kate Greenaway Medal forhis illustrations of Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls, andhe was chosen by J. K. Rowling to illustrate the full-color editions of the Harry Potter series. He lives inNorthamptonshire, England.

A. L. KENNEDYis the author of six novels, three worksof non ction, and ve short-story collections, includingAll the Rage. Her novel Day was named a Costa Bookof the Year , and she has twice been selected as one ofGranta ’s Best of Young British Novelists. She is a Fellowof Britain’s Royal Society of Arts and Royal Society ofLiterature. She is also a dramatist and writes a blog withthe Guardian. She lives in London.

MICHAEL MORPURGOhas written more than a hundredbooks, including Meeting Cezanne, The Mozart Question,and I Believe in Unicorns. His novel War Horse has beenadapted into an award- winning play and an acclaimedlm. From 2003 to 2005 , he was the British Children’sLaureate, and in 2006 he was awarded an Order of the

British Empire. Michael Morpurgo lives on a farm inDevon, England.


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About the Contributors 289

P h o t o

b y C a t

h y B e n n e

t t

MARCUS SEDGWICKestablished himself as an admiredwriter of YA ction alongside a career in publishing; he

now writes full-time. He is the author of Midwinterblood,which received a Michael L. Printz Award; Revolver,which received a Printz Honor; and other acclaimed titlesfor young adults; as well as his recent rst thriller foradults, A Love Like Blood. He divides his time betweena village near Cambridge, England, and the French Alps.

TANYA LEE STONEwas an editor of children’s non ctionfor many years before becoming a full- time writer. Herbooks include the young adult novel A Bad Boy Can BeGood for a Girl; the picture books Elizabeth Leads the Way and Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?; and the narrativenon ction titles Almost Astronauts, which received a SibertMedal, and Courage Has No Color, which received anNAACP Image Award. She lives in Vermont.

SHEENA WILKINSONhas been established as anacclaimed writer for young people since the publicationof her multi- award- winning debut novel Taking Flight, which was followed by a sequel, Grounded, named theChildren’s Books Ireland Book of the Year. Her mostrecent novel, Too Many Ponies, is for younger readers.

She lives in rural Northern Ireland with a neurotic catand an ever- increasing book collection.


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The y sha ll gro w no t

old ,

a s we tha t a re le f t gr

o w old :

Age sha ll no t wea r y

them ,

nor the years condem

n.

A t the going do wn o f the sun

a nd in the morning

We will remember th

em.

— Robe r t La u re nce Bi

n yo n, “Fo r the Falle n

”


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The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from theFirst World WarVarious Contributors

illustrated by Jim Kay

www.candlewick.com
http://www.candlewick.com/http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-great-war-various/1119987312?ean=9780763675547http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-War-Stories-Inspired/dp/0763675547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409946781&sr=8-1&keywords=the+great+war+stories+inspired+by+itemshttp://www.indiebound.org/book/9780763675547http://www.candlewick.com/

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