Pass Guard at Ypres

by Ronald Gurner

A platoon of inexperienced British soldiers crosses to France, in excited and nervous anticipation of what is to come; they find themselves at Ypres where the battle-weary Allied troops are dug in, and slaughter surrounds them. With their young, upright officer Freddy Mann, they are soon in the thick of it, burying the dead, experiencing the terror of bombardment, being picked off by snipers, with some unable to cope and refusing to go over the top. We see the action through their eyes, from privates to the senior officers of the wider battalion, with a focus on Freddy Mann s journey from idealistic officer barely out of school, to battle-hardened cynic, barely hanging on as those around him are cut down, maimed or crack. Freddy suffers a crisis of faith and loses his belief in the war and everything he once stood for; as he wrestles with his conscience he finds that for all always at the end, is Ypres ."

Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics, War, Fiction, Novels

242 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[Matthew Waller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relatively short book, which made it eminently readable given the pretty brutal material.
This is a war story, so be prepared for abbreviations for the army and terms specific to trench warfare that are used regularly and not explained. Some colloquialisms, dated references and use of various English accents in writing the book also make its reading a little tricky.
Don’t let the writing style of the first couple of chapters put you off (relentless use of the semi-colon!).

The narration varies between first, second and third person across the chapters, used where most appropriate to conveying brief snapshots of different aspects of the war from different perspectives, but always involving the main protagonist in some way. Some chapters read almost as individual poems and of odes to war; one being a fantastical meandering of the mind during the chaos of battle. It’s a variety I welcomed and managed to make the book less bleak.

I read ‘First Light’ by Geoffrey Wellum, which is the 2nd World War ‘Air Force’ equivalent to this story: a young, fresh-faced man choosing military service and going almost immediately to war to do his ‘duty’. Both tackled common themes and situations, but I preferred the way that Wellum wrote his story. They are not true comparisons however, with Wellum writing about his life, whereas you could almost argue that the central figure in Gurner’s disguised autobiographical account is in fact a place; the unyielding town of Ypres.

[Steve Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a war account (by its own admission autobiographical but wrapped in fiction), but unlike so many you will have read. As a summary of the futility of the 'fighting' of WWI it's excellent. Ypres is anthropomorphised, and you're carried along by the experiences of a few humans who's lives entwine with her. It's a difficult read at times, as even though some of the descriptions are matter-of-fact, it's more the way they extend your mind's eye to see the bigger picture of those, than the individual events being told of. The descriptive passages are detailed without being too long, and there's a real sense of what it must have been like to be in such close quarters with not only your brothers-in-arms, but also people that were just hard to like.

I was left with an intense sadness, but not one that I would choose to remove. It's an important book to make us remember how fleeting life could and can be, how (relatively) fortunate we are, but also how easy it is to have our lives twisted and turned by other forces.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brits in WWI Trench warfare

Realistic (partly autobiographical) portrayal of wartime in northern France and Belgium and portrays the uselessness of war. It covers relations with family back home, alcoholism, nihilism and despair.

[Sam Hogarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good account of the transition from idealistic recruit to disillusioned soldier in the trenches. Particularly toward the end there is some very captivating prose detailing Freddy Mann's state of mind and exhaustion with the war. Definitely a book I needed to read a way into in order to properly get into it - the use of military jargon and jumping around POVs especially at the start made it difficult to orient myself in the first half, but the quality of the second half makes up for it.

[Jordan Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this around two months ago but am only just getting to write my thoughts on it now.

It was a pretty short and easy-to-read war novel, which I was appreciative of. The book was generally not like other war-type works of fiction. You could tell that the novel was heavily influenced by the author's real-life experience fighting as a British Infantryman during the earlier phases of World War 1, but there was a very different approach to the writing style compared to other war novels. It was both melodic and symbolic, with short passages often ending in philosophical retorts about the meaning of war, violence, or life itself. The main character, Freddy Mann, was a well-developed character, and I was fascinated by his mental torment - having to act nationalistic in front of his family and civilians back home, while having to face the true nature of fighting at the Front lines, questioning morality and his loyalty to the British Empire, something that is little more than an illusion in his mind.
This book took many turns, was dramatic, well-paced, and rewarding. A delightful little read that I highly recommend if you are into war novels.

I dedicate this reflection to the author, Ronald Gurner, who it seems has a simple yet extraordinary life and was forced to face many unfortunate things in his time with little reward. He shared his literature with the world and has certainly left an impact on me and many who may read this book. Good on him. Adieu!