It's an enthralling, and often moving, read, that sets the study and enjoyment of wildlife in a much wider context.― BIRD WATCHING Shows how important birdwatching was to officers in particular, and how this in turn fed back into post-war ornithology. It eludes review, but it begs to be read.― John Andrews, CAUGHT BY THE RIVER Ultimately, the depth and power of Where Poppies Blow is impossible to convey. I went straight off and read his excellent book, Where Poppies Blow, and I defy you not to be moved by its chapters on flowers and dogs.― Robin Lane Fox, FINANCIAL TIMES In early July, i heard him speak on first world war soldiers and their love of flowers and animals. Unmissable.John Lewis Stempel is both a working farmer and a prizewinnig author. ' Wonderful, beautifully written and often deeply moving'― Lawrence James, The Times ' Manages what might have seemed impossible: to find a new perspective on the Great War'― Mark Smith, Glasgow Herald I finished this book marvelling at nature's healing power'― Jonathan Tulloch, The Tablet "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. Where Poppies Blow is the unique story of how nature gave the British soldiers of the Great War a reason to fight, and the will to go on. Nature was also sometimes a curse - rats, spiders and lice abounded, and disease could be biblical.īut above all, nature healed, and, despite the bullets and blood, it inspired men to endure. Soldiers went fishing in flooded shell holes, shot hares in no-man's land for the pot, and planted gardens in their trenches and billets. Animals provided comfort and interest to fill the blank hours in the trenches - bird-watching, for instance, was probably the single most popular hobby among officers.
'If it weren't for the birds, what a hell it would be.'ĭuring the Great War, soldiers lived inside the ground, closer to nature than many humans had lived for centuries. The natural history of the Western Front during the First World War Winner of the 2017 Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize for nature writing
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