Somme Mud

In 1916 a young Australian soldier embarked on a voyage that would change his life forever. Private Edward Lynch, like many Australians, joined the Australian army to serve for the motherland of Great Britain in the First World War.

At the age of eighteen, in 1916, Private Lynch set sail for France to join the other troops already fighting in the trenches of the Somme mud of northern France in . By 1919 Private Lynch had become more than a mere grown man, he had grown up in the surroundings of the first mechanised war.

Post World War One Private Lynch wrote of his experiences in the third person, when he tried to get this published he was rejected and told the scars of the Great War were still fresh in the minds of many Australians. The experiences of this soldier lay unread until his death when they were passed to his children, one of which lent it to his friend who got this amazing first hand account of the war published on the families behalf under the title Somme mud.

Somme mud really is a must read for all who are interested in military battles and personal accounts of war. This is such a moving and detailed account of World War One including the infamous battles of the Somme and Paschendale.