The Trench: The True Story of the Hull Pals

The book details the history of the 10th Battalion of the East Yorkshire, known as the Hull Pals, from September 1914 to May 1919; the battalion which will be featured in the four part BBC2 programme called "The Trench" to be aired at the end of March, beginning of April 2002. In around 150 pages it will provide viewers with answers to the questions the programme will generate: Who were these men? What did they do? Which of them survived? Where did they really come from? Did they really live like this? In excess of 150 photographs, illustrations and maps will illustrate the men, the places they went and the conditions they lived in. Many of the illustrations have never been seen before. Known locally as "The Commercials" because they were a battalion of office workers. The 1400 men trained in England, were sent to fight the Turks in Egypt and then returned to spend nearly three years in the trenches of the Western Front. Their losses were heavy, with around one in four being killed.

David Bilton
Softcover, 224 pages, 2002