Being an Account: The Memoirs of Ernest Lycette, 1911–1921

Being an Account: The Memoirs of Ernest Lycette, 1911-1921 is the first-hand memoir of Ernest Lycette, a Staffordshire scoutmaster and St John Ambulance volunteer who enlisted in the British Army in August 1914 and served through the First World War and its aftermath. Written from Ernest's handwritten notes in 1966, the memoir follows his journey from pre-war village life to army training in England, the Dardanelles, Egypt, France, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Italy, the Piave sector, the Armistice, the British Army of Occupation in Germany, service with the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Ireland, and finally his decision to leave England for New Zealand.
This is not a grand strategy history of war. It is a soldier's account from ground level: tents, billets, route marches, lice, food, fatigue, patrols, shellfire, burial parties, wounded men, humour, discipline, fear, comradeship and survival. At once candid, observant, humorous and deeply human, Ernest Lycette's memoir preserves the voice of an ordinary man caught in extraordinary events. Written for his children and grandchildren, it is now republished as a revised digital edition for readers interested in First World War history, military memoirs and family memory.