Our book reviews - WW1 by https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s chapter review from WW1 stories en-us 2018-03-19 12:39:12 UTC 2025-12-05 16:08:04 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Prizecup.png Our book reviews rhian_bilclough https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/243445133 HI Class, 

Once you have read the whole book of short stores please post your review of your favourite chapter. Why did this appeal to you and how did it help your understanding of WW1?

Mrs B :)]]> 2018-03-19 12:41:24 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/243445133 Alex G https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/243457673 I enjoyed all of the stories except the suicidle lancers because that was just a lot of suicide. I had two favourites being ‘The Mines of Messines’ and ‘The Red Baron’. I liked these two because they interested me the most, one having bombs and explosions and the other having a cool dogfight. It helped me understand that the war was a lot worse than I thought. It was incredibly gruesome and incredibly sad. Another thing I found was that people started to show they were ‘dragon amoung men’ wig a lot of war heroes being born like ‘Red Baron’ and the person who shot him down. 

Btw don’t mind the grammar and spelling, I’m bad at English.

Oh, and FIRST!!!!!]]> 2018-03-19 13:03:05 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/243457673 Olivia https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245786396 I liked reading the stories in this book because they were all different perspectives on WW1 and made me think about how other countries viewed the war. My favourite story was the Football Truce because it showed that people weren’t just trying to kill each other and there was some good in people’s hearts. It helped me to understand WW1 better because there was a close bond between the soldiers and they were so desperate for people they took boys as young as 15.]]> 2018-03-25 03:33:10 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245786396 Danger Zone https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245788567 I enjoyed a lot of the stories as they mostly show bravery and courage in times of war, my favourite story was the ‘Football Truce’ story as it made me smile as I read it because you have more friendly competition between to enemies, it was a shame that they had to go back to fighting each other]]> 2018-03-25 04:44:20 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245788567 Renneth https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245791564 I enjoyed reading all of the stories from the children but I particularly was inspired by the Football Truce story as both nations came out to play football together. It was so peaceful for the moment after the fight, but as we all know, they had to return to their camps to fight each other. I even thought to myself, “ Why would they want to play football if both sides were enemies and they’re playing in the middle of the time of a world war.” This helped me understand that there is a time of peace in the war and both sides could meet with each other face to face.]]> 2018-03-25 06:23:10 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245791564 Zak https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245792678 The story I thought was most interesting was the first story in the book, “Horses, swords, lances ... and machine guns”. I thought it was the most interesting as it pretty much outlined every battle in WWI:

Officer: Men, we are going to attack the enemy.
Men: Huzar!
Officer: The enemy is on the other side of a nice empty field with no cover, just perfect to make people into targets.
Men: Huzar.
Officer: The enemy are behind a large battery of machine guns that can cut down a whole army in seconds.
Men: Huz.
Officer: So we will just hop on our horses and charge straight at the enemy!
Men: Charging over empty ground with no cover that is perfect for making men into targets at an enemy who are hiding behind a large battery of machine guns that can cut down a whole army in seconds?
Officer: Yes!
Men: Jolly good sir! We will give them quite a thrashing and no mistake!
Officer and Men (as they charge): Tally ho!
Machine guns: RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
Officer and Men: Oooooooooooof! Oooooooowwwieeeeeeeee! Aaargh! Ug!
Enemy Men: Hehehe.
Enemy Officer: Look over there men at the enemy and their stupid battle tactics!
Enemy Men: Sir, yes, sir!
Enemy Officer: We are going to do just that! Off we go!
(This endlessly repeats into infinity, the only things being lost being human life, money and sanity)

This appealed to me by being both interesting and depressing.
It helped my understanding of WWI by showing me the overview of each battle and its destructive power, wastefulness and utter, utter pointlessness.


]]> 2018-03-25 06:49:59 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245792678 Tylers boring review no one should read EVER https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245792744 I liked the book as a whole because it showed the technological advancements though out the war from horses and lances to tanks and planes. But by-far my favourite story was "The Red Baron" as I knew what they were talking about and I'm most interested in that sort of combat. The way the two sides advanced to counter each other was also very inavitive. Some of the things i though were pretty  
interesting were:

- There were missions that the only purpose was for recon and the two manned planes for taking pictures of the enemy lines didn't have any defence and were the only planes to have parachutes.
- If you were shot down you were trained to ram into the enemy and kill them instead of saving yourself.

]]> 2018-03-25 06:51:17 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/245792744 Petra https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/246358067 None of the stories really connected with my life, so I’m going to write about the Christmas story (story 3 I believe). I like how it showcases that people can get along and celebrate together while also showing dark parts of the war like underage soldiers and the censorship of letters, as well as the appalling conditions soldiers were living under. It’s a strange mix of being in the wet trenches, remembering back home and what it was like before the war, all tied in with football. ]]> 2018-03-27 05:14:45 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/246358067 Review from Shradha https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247180278 I read all through the stories in the book. It gave a good overview from all perspectives, from the British to the Germans and the Serbians. I enjoyed the Red Baron as it showed how planes were used in the war and it was an interesting show-off between the Germans and the British. The Football Truce showed that even soldiers were fighting for different sides, they still wanted peace and friendship. Homecoming showed how many people were traumatised and completely changed after coming through the war, including many young people. The Mines of Messinese highlighted the “underground war”, of many trench diggers that had to dig sophisticated trenches(got paid more than soldiers) and the destructive explosives placed in them. The Somme:Tanks and Conchies showed the introduction of tanks into the war , and sometimes not very safe and how paramedics were risking their life as much as everyone else. Edith Cavell showed that there were many brave people killed for their bravery and defiance, and it was interesting to hear a Serbian perspective(controlled by the Germans). In conclusion, the war brought many technological advancements , but was a time of oppression, destruction and loss of life. ]]> 2018-03-29 09:17:24 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247180278 Flynn https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247649376 This was quite an interesting book as it showed many accounts from the war, but the most interesting and the chapte that I enjoyed the most was the excerpt from Jack Cornwell’s diary. It was an example of some primary information and I enjoyed it because it was a diary entry and not the person telling their story after the war occurred. Every time a person recalls a memory, it is fractured a bit and that’s why I liked this one, because it was written down on the day and time that these events occurred, making it the most believable chapter to me. It gave good, first-hand, non-fractured information of what boat life was like and how the soldiers were anxious to go to war. Overall, I just enjoyed this chapter because it was the most believable to me and it was really interesting to me.]]> 2018-04-01 08:30:31 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247649376 Hashva https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247961206 I found Horses, Swords, Lances...and machine guns to be a very interesting story of World War 1. I found it fascinating because it portrayed the points of view of different people. It showed the public perception of the war among the young people and how some of them were affected by the war. It depicted the hardships of not being as advanced technologically as the opposition (Allies), and showcased how dominant the Central Powers were for most of the war. All in all, I think it was a great read.]]> 2018-04-03 00:48:51 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247961206 AlexN alex_north https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247991832 I thought the book was quite good, as it covered many perspectives from different people but the story I found the most interesting was the Football Truce, as it showed just about all the people that were fighting and killing were what we would consider normal people. I think it also shows the psychological damage that would of occurred in these war zones, going from playing football together to fighting each other the very next day.

]]> 2018-04-03 05:31:40 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/247991832 Aaliyah https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/249722535 The story “bombardment!” Gives us an insight of WW1 from the perspective of an ordinary child. It is an account of a day that started out as ordinary, before the ten-year-old girl was bombarded by explosions from German planes. It features adventure and bravery, when she rescues someone from a trapped building with the help of her dog, despite how much people ridiculed her for showing so much concern for her dog, when so many people were in danger. The story captures the destruction and death caused by the war through the eyes of a child and how calm and determined someone so young could be through all the chaos.]]> 2018-04-09 10:55:53 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/249722535 Xavier https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/249732974
This book, by Jim Eldridge, is a series of short story’s about the first world war. This book takes different perspectives of this war, i found at the start for this to be slightly confusing as it was swapping from one side of the war to the other. After the first couple short stories it made more sense as it changed perspective less during the stories. This change in perspectives also helps the reader understand more than one side of the war. The stories also change from fiction to non-fiction, I personal prefered the fiction stories as they were more interesting. This book had reasonably easy english which made it easy to follow most of the time and easier for lower grade readers. I personally found the non-fiction stories not so interesting, but most of the fiction stories were well written and reasonably interesting.]]> 2018-04-09 11:38:57 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/249732974 Finn https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/250118159 The chapter from the book that I enjoyed most was the one about the navy. I liked how it followed the experience of a young navy soldier who hadn’t experienced action in the war up until that naval battle. It began with him on a ship and how he was describing the drills that they had to do to train for any up coming battle. I also liked how he described the might of the British fleet, and all the ships that were in it. A naval battle then began, in which the ship he was on got hit. The chapter then continues on when he is in a hospital, but he is dying due to the shrapnel in his body. The chapter ends when he is waiting for his mother to come and visit him, but he dies before she gets the]]> 2018-04-10 05:16:04 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/250118159 Footballs truce https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/250118440 I really enjoyed the one about the truces if the countries. Even though war was about to break they still played soccer. That’s really cool because the war didn’t a affect anything about the beautiful game. Sam]]> 2018-04-10 05:18:37 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/250118440 Hayley https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/250599771 The story I found to be the most interesting was the story of Simpson and his donkey, it is a story I have read before but this version was in more detail than the other versions I have read. This gives the reader more of a feel of what it was like to be fighting in the war alongside brave people like Simpson. It also shows that people could use their different skills or talents from home to help fight for their fellow soldiers and friends. It is another reminder of how unique some of these soldiers were, and how brave they could be.]]> 2018-04-11 08:12:38 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/250599771 ANSU https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251000474 The book was very interesting and I liked all stories but my favourite one would probably be the football truce. It showed even in the midst of a war, they came out to play for a day and went back to fighting after the game.

]]> 2018-04-12 05:24:17 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251000474 Erin https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251048125 I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the stories in this book, but if I had to pick my favourite I would have to choose the football truce story. I had read about it before but I still find it interesting and fascinating that even in the middle of a war zone people can come together, even if only for a short time, and put aside their differences to play a game of soccer. It also provides information about the conditions in the trenches and the fact that there were many soldiers who lied about their age to fight in the war.]]> 2018-04-12 09:03:59 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251048125 Nadine https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251093498 I thought the book gave me a better understanding of the war, putting it into context, rather than just learning about what happened]]> 2018-04-12 12:03:18 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251093498 Aoife aoife_wolfe https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251096225 The chapter of the book i am reviewing was my favourite. It was about a young man on the front between france and Germany on the German side. His family dies from bombing and he becomes depressed and decodes to walk home, killed in the process. This story gives you an insight on how the solider felt during the ware and the lengths they would go to, to try and get home.]]> 2018-04-12 12:10:28 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251096225 Tea https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251116794 My favourite story was the one where the kid was on the ship and it was really cool because even when everyone else gave up, he persisted and didn’t give up and I think that that is really inspiring because he was just a kid and yet he was the only one who didn’t give up when things got difficult. It’s also really sad because he like died but he totally died a hero so his effort payed off in the end.]]> 2018-04-12 12:56:05 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251116794 Nitya https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251178786 My favourite story out of these was ‘Football Truce’. It’s written well and the idea that even in the midst of war, the soldiers put down their weapons for a game of football made me enjoy it all the more. It’s like the monstrous side of the soldiers was defeated by the more human, more fun side, even for a little while. It was great to read how just in that little while their guards fell to reveal the normal men, but just as soon, they were back to war. ]]> 2018-04-12 14:43:55 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251178786 Celeste celesteprowse1 https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251393574 To be completely honest I put off reading this book until the last minute due to having read most of the stories before, yet no matter how many times the tale comes up I always enjoy the tale of the trench football game.
It shows that even in times of great conflict, we can still show humanity and compassion towards one another.]]> 2018-04-13 00:31:07 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251393574 Cole coalburning123 https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251399249 I really liked the different perspectives given from different areas of the war, especially the one about Christmas football as it shows that despite being in the people still took time to have some fun and join be in a friendly competition. It gives a refreshing outlook for what went on in the war from a human perspective.]]> 2018-04-13 01:13:06 UTC https://padlet.com/rhian_bilclough/hbct8e5i9f1s/wish/251399249