How my family history led me to become an author.
By Eamonn Ashe
My grandfather was killed in the First World War. In
1991 I brought my mother (his daughter) to France to visit his grave. It was
her first and only time to visit her father’s final resting place. I found the
trip very poignant; however, I was surprised that my mother seemed stoical. On
the way back to Paris I said to her, “Mam, I thought
you would be more emotional.”
She replied, “Eamonn, you don’t
understand. I was born in 1915; my Dad was killed in the war in
1918 — during those three years, he was away at the war. I didn’t really know
him.” I realised
then that Mam was what I would call a war
orphan and, bearing in mind that the total death toll between the two
world wars was sixty million, I wondered then and still wonder how many war
orphans there were. Sixty million people is the equivalent of every man, woman
and child in Britain being killed.
My grandfather, Joseph Phillips, was a Company
Sergeant with the Connaught Rangers. After enlisting in the army at Renmore
Barracks in 1899, he served in
the Boer War and later in India. He got married in India in 1907 and had five
children: Myra, Phyllis (my mother), Bernie, Leo and Alby. When the First World
War began in 1914, he was already an experienced soldier. He saw action on
several of the world war fronts before
being tragically killed in action in France at the age of thirty-six in what
became known as the German Spring Offensive. The Russians had withdrawn from
the war in 1917 after their own revolution, leaving the Germans with a clear field on the
Eastern Front. They then
concentrated their full attention on the Western Front in an attempt to finish
the war before the Americans arrived. The Germans launched a major offensive on
21 March, taking full advantage of a very heavy fog. Joseph Phillips was one of many casualties. He
is buried in Ste. Emilie Valley Cemetery, Villers-Faucon, Somme, France.
My visit to his grave was my first to a war cemetery. It
made such an impression on me that I resolved to write a book about the Great War,
which is remembered for the horrors of trench warfare that cost the lives of
ten million soldiers. It decimated cities, destroyed countries and obliterated
centuries-old empires. It was to be “the war to end all wars” yet just twenty years later the world was plunged into
another even more devastating conflict. I became fascinated by the events which
shaped Europe and the United States in the years that followed the First World
War: the crucifying debt, the depressed state of countries and the enmity over territorial
disputes. Following the
signing of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of that war, British Economist
John Maynard Keynes said, “I believe
that the campaign for securing from Germany the general costs of the war was
one of the most serious acts of political unwisdom for which our
statesmen have ever been responsible.” This era
facilitated the rise of Hitler and Stalin, two of the greatest mass-murderers
this world has ever known. So decided to write a concise history of the two
world wars and the interwar years. I called it ‘31 Years of Hell! 1914–1945’
to reflect the horrors of both world wars.
 Eamonn Ashe with his critically-acclaimed book '31 Years of Hell! 1914–1945' |
Once I had made the decision to write the book I
realised that a huge amount of research was required so I read dozens of books
and watched many documentaries about the wars. I also
embarked on war tours to the
Somme, Messines, Passchendaele, Gallipoli, Tyne Cot Cemetery and the Menin Gate
(World War I) followed by
the Normandy Beaches, Berlin, the site of the Dunkirk Evacuation (World War II) and the Imperial
War Museum in London.
Once I commenced writing, I realised that I had to
adopt a system. There were too many distractions during the daytime so I
decided to write during the night and I quickly discovered that two hours
writing at night was more productive than four hours during the day. This is a
practice that has stayed with me.
Because there is so much detail involved
in documenting the world wars, I decided to illustrate the book with maps which
would show the vast territories involved and the power
struggles therein. I also wrote timelines at the end of each chapter to give
readers a snapshot of the key developments in a given year. To convey the
emotion of this traumatic time in history, I have included powerful photographs
which underscore the very human aspect to this global tragedy. I feel honoured
that historian and author William Henry described the book as: "An
excellent and riveting book” and that British security expert Philip Ingram
MBE endorsed it as: “Brilliantly researched, clearly written, expertly
edited. For a factually-based history book it reads as easily as a good
novel.”
‘31 Years of Hell! 1914–1945’ tells
the captivating story of the two world wars in a well-paced, easy-to-read
narrative. It is a timely and moving account of power struggles, human suffering
and the devastating toll of war. I have dedicated the book to my mother and it
is one of my greatest pleasures to see it on bookshelves.
‘31 Years of Hell! 1914–1945’
The
First World War decimated cities, destroyed countries, obliterated empires and
cost millions of lives. Yet only twenty years later the world was plunged into
another even more devastating conflict. This book gives a compelling insight
into how the terrible impact of World War I led to crucifying debt, enmity over
territorial disputes and the brewing of unimaginable horrors in the cauldron of
the interwar decades. '31 Years of Hell!' chronicles in a concise
captivating narrative the entire turbulent period from 1914 to 1945. It is a
timely and moving account of power struggles, human suffering and the
devastating toll of war.
Eamonn Ashe
Eamonn Ashe made his
debut as an author with his world war book ‘31 Years of Hell! 1914–1945’
Originally from Galway, he studied engineering and ran his own companies for
more than thirty years. He became gripped by the world wars, sparked by the loss of his
grandfather in World War I. Joseph Phillips, a Company Sergeant Major in the
Connaught Rangers, died on the fields of France on 21 March, 1918 during
Germany’s Spring
Offensive. Eamonn became so passionate about the world wars that
he resolved to write a book about them when he retired. An avid reader, Eamonn
Ashe has studied dozens of
books about the wars and the interwar years. He has deepened his insight
through documentaries and visits to war sites, including:
•
Battlefields at the Somme, Messines
and Passchendaele
•
War museums in Ypres and Albert
•
Sites of the Normandy landings
•
Allied war cemeteries at Tyne Cot (Passchendaele)
and Normandy
•
Checkpoint Charlie
•
Brandenburg Gate
•
Soviet War Memorial (Tiergarten)
•
Battle of Berlin sites
•
Seelow Heights museum
•
Wannsee Conference building
•
Cape Helles, Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay in Gallipoli
• Atatürk monument
•
Francis Ledwidge's grave
When Albert
II, Prince of Monaco visited Eamonn’s home town of Drogheda in 2017 the author was delighted to present
him with a copy of his book ‘31 Years of Hell! 1914–1945’. He also sent
a copy to the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, who wrote to Eamonn
expressing his interest in the book.
