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Richard Van Emden
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Missing: The Need for Closure After the Great War Kindle Edition

by Richard van Emden (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 214 ratings
The story of one British mother’s desperate search for her son’s remains after he was killed in action during World War I.
 
In May, 1918, Angela and Leopold Mond received a knock on the front door. It was the postman delivering the letter every family in the United Kingdom dreaded: the notification of a loved one’s battlefield death—in their case their eldest child, their son, Lieutenant Francis Mond.
 
The Royal Flying Corps pilot, along with his Observer, Lieutenant Edgar Martyn, had been shot down over no man’s land in France, both killed instantly. Yet there was one comfort: both bodies had been recovered. There would, at the very least, be a grave to visit after the war.
 
However, no news followed. Angela Mond wrote to the Imperial War Graves Commission asking for further details, but no one knew where the bodies were buried. There was an initial trail, but from that last sighting both men had simply disappeared.
 
So begins the story detailed in Missing. Angela, a wealthy, well-connected 48-year-old mother of five and a socialite from London’s West End, embarked on an exhaustive quest to find her son that took her to the battlefields and cemeteries of France and into correspondence with hundreds of French civilians and British and German servicemen. She even bought the ground on which her son’s plane had crashed and erected a private memorial to Francis, a memorial that survives to this day.
 
During the Great War, more than 750,000 servicemen and women had been killed. Half of them had no known grave, leaving many families desperate for solace. This is just one of those heartbreaking stories.
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  1. Print length
    299 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Military
  4. Publication date
    November 14, 2019
  5. File size
    5.8 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"As someone whose grandfather died at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and whose body was never found and buried, this moving story resonates with me to an extent I would never have believed possible."
Books Monthly

"...a thoroughly excellent book and merits the highest recommendation."
Over the Front

About the Author

Richard van Emden interviewed 270 veterans of the Great War, has written extensively about the soldiers' lives, and has worked on many television documentaries, always concentrating on the human aspects of war, its challenge and its cost to the millions of men involved. Richard van Emden’s books have sold over 660,000 copies and have appeared in The Times’ bestseller chart on a number of occasions.

He has also worked on more than a dozen television programmes on the Great War, including the award-winning Roses of No Man’s Land, Britain’s Boy Soldiers, A Poem for Harry, War Horse: the Real Story, Teenage Tommies with Fergal Keane and most recently, Hidden Histories: WW1’s Forgotten Photographs. He lives in London.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07Z5W3N8W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Military (November 14, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 14, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 299 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 214 ratings

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Richard Van Emden

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
214 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • CJW
    5.0 out of 5 stars Missing In Acction
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Many WW1 soldiers were reported as missing in action. For some of their families, these scant words would lead to years of speculation & fact finding on a journey to discover their fate. This fine book illuminates one family's journey amid the general experience. A must read book for any WW1 history buff.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Mrs Maria Ions
    5.0 out of 5 stars Missing.The need for Closure after the great war.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Very informative and at the same time totally absorbing. It has the gift of being a book full of interesting factual chapters and the deeply moving true story of one woman's determined search for the body of her son. Captivating reading from start to finish.
    Report
  • mr david scott
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Richard has done it again! An amazing book full of wonderful new details & packed with stunning (unseen) pictures. A thought provoking book on an aspect of the Great War that is often overlooked in preference to guns, mud & blood.... 10/10.
    Report
  • Warren T. Smith
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed this book immensely not only does it tell the heart wrenching story of a mother determined to find her son but also give wonderful narrative to the work of the many people and associations to do with the CWGC (IWGC).
    I thoroughly recommend.
    Report
  • Steve F
    5.0 out of 5 stars Missing of WW1
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This is an excellent book that deals sensitively with a factor of WW1 that's not really covered by other books. Whilst the books key theme is a family's story of locating a fallen loved one, the author broadens out to cover the various background facts of those organisations with responsibility for recovering and commemorating the fallen from across the British empire. The best WW1 book of 2019 that's thoroughly recommended.
    Report
  • Judy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Missing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I have been moved by this story of the missing.But moved by on woman determined to find her son's body. She never up the fight. Devoted to this course the time it took. The amount of knock backs from officials. This story is a true one. The things the family went through, knowing their son and his observer shot down. One soldier putting his life in danger to get the the aircraft and drag the two soldiers to safety was a mark of selfless courage on his part.
    Report

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