I’ve just finished reading Tommy: the British soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Richard Holmes. The apt timing is more by luck than judgement. There is an excellent section in the book on language, including swearing, which includes the following wonderful quote (p. 491-492):
The parish priest of the Belgian village of Dickebush [not the funny bit] was frankly puzzled by it all. ‘I have looked it up phonetically in my little English dictionary (fahke),’ he wrote.
And I find, to my surprise, that the word ‘fake’ means ‘false, unreal, or not true to life’. Why the soldiers should refer to us in this way is difficult to understand, and yet everywhere one hears talk of ‘fake Belgium’ and ‘fake Belgians’.
Although this may be a puerile example, this is in fact a very good book which looks at every aspect of army life on the Western Front. It makes even uninspiring subjects such as the rear base areas interesting and explains how cavalry was still useful in 1918. This and the similar Redcoat are highly recommended. I look forward to reading the next one which he is apparently working on, Sahib about the Indian army.