The light voice from the doorway, determinedly cheerful, even matronly, was cut short, stopped by emotion. A tray of tea things slid to the floor.

His hand had gone out to ruffle the cat’s fur in a familiar gesture. The other reached out to the table at his side to pick up his pipe. Thibaud looked up, focused on the anxious face in the doorway and smiled a smile worth waiting for.

Author’s note

If, having finished this book, which is – let me make it plain – a work of fiction, any reader would like to find out more about the Great War as it was fought in the hills of Champagne, there are many excellent books available. The following short list contains those I have found most inspirational as I trailed after Joe Sandilands from London to Reims.

Liaison 1914, Edward Spears. Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1930. Reprinted Cassell and Co., London, 2000.

Major-General Sir Edward Spears was a young Lieutenant of Hussars when he was sent to the front at the very start of the war. He became a liaison officer working with the BEF and the French Fifth Army. His meticulous eyewitness accounts are dramatic, humorous and moving.

Tommy, Richard Holmes. Harper Perennial, London, 2004.

A brilliant account blending narrative and personal testimony. Contains all you never knew you didn’t know about the Great War. The introduction is an education in itself.

The Fifth in the Great War, Brigadier H.R. Sandilands. St George’s Press, Dover, 1938.

Understated, crisp account of the war fought by the Northumberland Fusiliers. Excellent maps.

The Living Unknown Soldier, Jean-Yves Le Naour. Arrow, London, 2006.

The fascinating – and true – story of a genuine unknown soldier, an amnesiac, late-release prisoner of war. A compelling and thought-provoking story which reads like a thriller.