Belfast Boys: How Unionists and Nationalists Fought and Died Together in the First World War [Hardcover]

This is the story of men from either side of West Belfast's sectarian divide during the Great War. Richard S. Grayson follows the volunteers of the 36th and 16th divisions who fought on the Somme and side-by-side at Messines, recovering the forgotten West Belfast men throughout the armed forces, from the retreat at Mons to the defeat of Germany and life post-war. In so doing, he tells a new story which challenges popular perceptions of the war and explains why remembrance remains so controversial in Belfast today.

The compelling story of West Belfast's involvement in fighting on the Western Front throughout the First World War.

Richard S. Grayson is Professor of Twentieth Century History at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.Richard Grayson paints his picture of religious co-operation from a human perspective - focusing on the young squaddies who fought and died together. Tribune1. Civil War? \ 2. Volunteers and Reserves \ 3. The British Expeditionary Force, 1914-15 \ 4. The Nature of War \ 5. Gallipoli and the Eastern Front \ 6. Arrivals and Executions \ 7. The Ulster Division on the Somme \ 8. The Other Somme \ 9. On and On \ 10. Messines \ 11. Mud \ 12. Retreat \ 13. Victory \ 14. Peace and Partition \ 15. Remembrance \ 16. Appendix: Methods and Patterns of 'Military History from the Street'