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    Home > First World War Books > The Searchers: The Quest for the Lost of the First World War
    The Searchers: The Quest for the Lost of the First World War

    The Searchers: The Quest for the Lost of the First World War

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    Description
    By the end of the First World War, the whereabouts of more than half a million British soldiers were unknown. Most were presumed dead, lost forever under the battlefields of northern France and Flanders.

    In The Searchers, Robert Sackville-West brings together the extraordinary, moving accounts of those who dedicated their lives to the search for the missing. These stories reveal the remarkable lengths to which people will go to give meaning to their loss: Rudyard Kipling's quest for his son's grave; E.M. Forster's conversations with traumatised soldiers in hospital in Alexandria; desperate attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead; the campaign to establish the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior; and the exhumation and reburial in military cemeteries of hundreds of thousands of bodies.

    It was a search that would span a century: from the department set up to investigate the fate of missing comrades in the war's aftermath, to the present day, when DNA profiling continues to aid efforts to recover, identify and honour these men. As the rest of the country found ways to repair and move on, countless families were consumed by this mission, undertaking arduous, often hopeless, journeys to discover what happened to their husbands, brothers and sons. Giving prominence to the deep, personal battles of those left behind, The Searchers brings the legacy of war vividly to life in a testament to the bravery, compassion and resilience of the human spirit.
    DELIVERY

    We offer free standard UK delivery on all orders over £50.

    Orders up to £30 are charged a flat fee of £4.95

    Orders between £30.01 and £50 are charged a flat fee of £6.95.

    Usual UK delivery timescale (excluding custom prints) is between 5 and 7 working days from the date of dispatch. Please allow up to 14 working days for delivery. For custom print delivery pricing and timescales see below. These timescales may vary especially when we have online sales and in the weeks before Christmas. Christmas 2024: The last recommended order date for UK orders is 14 December. The last recommended order date for all international orders is 23 November.

    Delivery Worldwide

    We can also ship most items worldwide. 

    For full details, including prices, click here.

    Custom Prints

    Your prints and frames will be handmade by King & McGaw at their Sussex workshop.

    Unframed orders are shipped within 5 working days (normally shipped next day).

    Framed orders are shipped within 20 working days.

    Further information on delivery timescales for custom prints can be found here.

    RETURNS

    If you are not completely satisfied with your item you may return it within 28 days for a refund.

    For further details on returns click here.

    Unfortunately we cannot offer a refund on custom prints unless they are faulty or we have made a mistake. Custom prints are exempt as they are made to order.

    Manufacturer/Publisher: Bloomsbury
    Binding: Paperback
    Author: Robert Sackville-West
    Date Published: 2022
    Pagination: 368p

    SKU: 9781526613141

    Description
    By the end of the First World War, the whereabouts of more than half a million British soldiers were unknown. Most were presumed dead, lost forever under the battlefields of northern France and Flanders.

    In The Searchers, Robert Sackville-West brings together the extraordinary, moving accounts of those who dedicated their lives to the search for the missing. These stories reveal the remarkable lengths to which people will go to give meaning to their loss: Rudyard Kipling's quest for his son's grave; E.M. Forster's conversations with traumatised soldiers in hospital in Alexandria; desperate attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead; the campaign to establish the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior; and the exhumation and reburial in military cemeteries of hundreds of thousands of bodies.

    It was a search that would span a century: from the department set up to investigate the fate of missing comrades in the war's aftermath, to the present day, when DNA profiling continues to aid efforts to recover, identify and honour these men. As the rest of the country found ways to repair and move on, countless families were consumed by this mission, undertaking arduous, often hopeless, journeys to discover what happened to their husbands, brothers and sons. Giving prominence to the deep, personal battles of those left behind, The Searchers brings the legacy of war vividly to life in a testament to the bravery, compassion and resilience of the human spirit.
    DELIVERY

    We offer free standard UK delivery on all orders over £50.

    Orders up to £30 are charged a flat fee of £4.95

    Orders between £30.01 and £50 are charged a flat fee of £6.95.

    Usual UK delivery timescale (excluding custom prints) is between 5 and 7 working days from the date of dispatch. Please allow up to 14 working days for delivery. For custom print delivery pricing and timescales see below. These timescales may vary especially when we have online sales and in the weeks before Christmas. Christmas 2024: The last recommended order date for UK orders is 14 December. The last recommended order date for all international orders is 23 November.

    Delivery Worldwide

    We can also ship most items worldwide. 

    For full details, including prices, click here.

    Custom Prints

    Your prints and frames will be handmade by King & McGaw at their Sussex workshop.

    Unframed orders are shipped within 5 working days (normally shipped next day).

    Framed orders are shipped within 20 working days.

    Further information on delivery timescales for custom prints can be found here.

    RETURNS

    If you are not completely satisfied with your item you may return it within 28 days for a refund.

    For further details on returns click here.

    Unfortunately we cannot offer a refund on custom prints unless they are faulty or we have made a mistake. Custom prints are exempt as they are made to order.