Age 14

It is 1924 and John Condon receives word in Waterford from the British War Office that he is dead and his remains have been found in Flanders.

Young Patrick Condon is big for his age in 1911.  At 10 he goes with his father and brother to work on the quays at Waterford to help earn a few pennies for the family.  Two years later Patrick attempts to join the army, giving his age as 17 and using the name of his brother John, who is five years old than him.  Surprisingly he is accepted.  Patrick takes to the army with alacrity; he is now in the part time army.

As war looms Patrick joins the regular army and thrives.  When war breaks out he is extremely excited about getting to the front.  But you have to be 19 for that.  He can't wait until he turns 19 in the eyes of the army.

As the Irish troops enter Ypres, Patrick is excited by the devastation he sees, whereas his good friend, Tom, sees an appalling destruction of centuries of history.  The progress to the front is slow and at night.  From the front come weary soldiers, the wounded and the dead.  An MP tells them to turn off lanterns and to not smoke, unless they want to become targets for the Germans.

Shelling and machine gun fire is constant at the front.  It is bitterly cold in the trenches and the men are given whale oil to smear on their feet to protect them from the cold and damp.  Snipers pick off men who are foolish enough to stick their heads above the top of the trench.  Patrick is shocked by the death he sees around him.  A cycle of four days in and four days out of the trenches is set up.

By April of 1915 the weather was warming up, and poppies were starting to bloom amongst the many graves.  On the German side of the battlefield at Ypres, they are preparing to release their new devastating new weapon.  Chlorine gas is released against the Zouaves and Canadians at Ypres.  The Germans are unable to take advantage because the Canadians counter-attack.  Without gas masks the Irish are told to pee on their handkerchief and wrap it around their face.

The Second Battle of Ypres is devastating to both sides, costing thousands of men.  Patrick's Irish regiment is virtually wiped out.

This is an excellent, short novel, based on a true story.  Author Geert Spillebeen has really given the reader a sense of what it was like to live and die in the trenches near Ypres.  A very good read.