{"product_id":"the-big-show-my-six-months-with-the-american-expeditionary-forces-classic-reprint","title":"The Big Show: My Six Months With the American Expeditionary Forces (Classic Reprint)","description":"Excerpt from The Big Show: My Six Months With the American Expeditionary Forces\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn August the great blow fell upon the world. Suddenly England was at war. The theaters still went on, people stood the shock wonderfully, and in a few days one hundred thousand of England''s best had been spirited away and were landed in France - while we were still wondering when they would go! About ten per cent of my friends went with them, some never to return, but to make his tory and cover themselves with glory that can never be forgotten.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was not surprising that, arriving home in America in October, 1914, with Tipperary ring ing in my ears and visions of hundreds of brave men singing as they marched away, I should have been a bit disappointed in the neutral attitude of most of my friends. Having seen the Americans, as I have, in France since then, I don''t believe they know the meaning of the word neutral. They were not that - they were loyal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTheir President said be neutral, and they wera loyal to him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter three months in America we sailed again for England - January 30, 1915 - Ou the Lusitania, the time when the submarine lay in wait for her, and that wonderful man Captain Paddy Dow set us out in the middle of a hurricane until dawn and then came in ?ying the American ?ag. Exit subs. In consternation and some speed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI played again at the Palace, and now began my first real taste of war. The wounded were com ing home in thousands; the camps were full; and I spent every spare moment I had, and some I did not have, singing in hospitals and camps. It was then I learned what a little amusing story or a song can mean to a''man before he goes into a fight or after he has got his.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn July, 1915, my dear friend and fellow-player Basil Hallam heard the call of his country more than the cheers and applause of the public, and he enlisted or rather insisted, as he had been turned down as unfit several times.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI did not want to continue without him, so again we went to America. In the meantime the Lusitania had been sunk and America was growing restive in spots.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAbout the Publisher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.","brand":"Forgotten Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":35112626913325,"sku":"9780266613596","price":16.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39814770262061,"sku":"9781331652069","price":10.38,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk\/products\/the-big-show-my-six-months-with-the-american-expeditionary-forces-classic-reprint","provider":"The Great British Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}