Those Who Fought for Us
by
D. Allen Henry
© D. Allen Henry 2015
On the Cover
Photo From: CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT: BRITISH SOLDIERS BRINGING IN MISTLETOE – 30 December 1914
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wn21-45a.jpg
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Also by D. Allen Henry
at
The Starry Message
Hawk Banks
My Father the God
Of War and Women
Enlisting Redemption
Finding Patience
Dedication
To Claudia…
Preface
The twentieth century was dominated by a succession of wars, two of which were on a global scale never before seen on this planet. As such, the effects of those wars profoundly influenced the course of history. I am speaking of course of The Great War (termed World War I in the United States), World War II, and to a lesser extent, The Vietnam War, and the Gulf Wars. Although much has been written about the history of these wars (especially the first two), much less has been written about the effect of these wars on the lives of those who lived (and died) through them.
The Sutherland Saga consists of a sequence of four novels, each of which chronicles the lives of one generation of the fictitious Sutherland family, the patriarch being the Earl of Winston. Set against the backdrop of world-changing events of the twentieth century, the saga traces the travails of the Earls of Winston and their loved ones. Having been awarded the Earldom of Winston by King James the First, the ancestral home of the Sutherland family is located at Wharton Manor in Gloucestershire, England.
I have chosen each of the four wars mentioned above as the backdrop for one of the stories within The Sutherland Saga. Accordingly, the first book in the series depicts events during the era of World War I, whereas the second book spans the period of World War II. The timing for the third book is during the Vietnam War, and the fourth in the series spans a fifteen year period roughly corresponding to the Second Gulf War, thereby leading up to present day. As such, the plots are strongly connected to their associated wars and, although the storylines are intimately related to English culture, there is also a strong thread of both Scottish and American ancestry evident as the saga evolves.
I have also written an ancillary novel, My Father the God, which may be viewed as a spin-off of the first novel in the series. This last novel in the series may be read as a standalone story, or in tandem with the second novel in the series, Of War and Women.
The idea for the Sutherland Series was born from my own experiences, travels, loves, and losses, spanning a lifetime. While the stories themselves, including the primary characters, are entirely fictional, the places are not. In addition, I have, where appropriate, included historical figures who played significant roles in the events portrayed with the series. Indeed, I have attempted to portray both historical events and historical figures within the series as accurately as possible. Where I have erred, I offer my sincere apologies.
Those Who Fought for Us, the first in the series, depicts the lives of the Sutherland family spanning the era of the twelfth Earldom of Winston, the backdrop for the events depicted herein being the period spanning The Great War. As such, it may be read as a standalone novel, or it may be viewed as a prequel to both My Father the God and Of War and Women, the characters being related but the plotlines independent. I hope that this account will provide an enlightening and enjoyable experience for you the reader.
D.A.H.
Figure Credits
Fig. 1 Map Showing Gloucestershire, graphic drawn by the author {{PD-dallenhenry}}
Fig. 2 Depiction of the First Battle of the Marne {{PD-USGov-USArmy}}
Fig. 3 Satellite Photo Showing the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Straits of the Dardanelles
{{PD-USGov-NASA}}
Fig. 4 Depiction of the Battle of Verdun, attributed to Wikipedia contributor Gdr, downloaded in November, 2013 at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Battle_of_Verdun_map.png
{{CC BY-SA 3.0}}
Fig. 5 Depiction of the Battle of the Somme, attributed to Wikipedia contributor Giro720
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Fig. 6 Depiction of the Second Battle of the Marne {{PD-USGov}}
Fig. 7 Depiction of the Allied Counter-Offensive that Led to the End of the War {{PD-USGov-USArmy}}
Author’s Note Regarding Sectional Perspectives
The reader will notice that throughout the text I have delineated sections by the use of boldface titles. Each title normally describes the setting location and date for the section that immediately follows. However, when only a date is included, it is implied that the location for that section is identical to that of the previous section. Furthermore, each section begins with a few boldface words immediately after the section setting. The name of the first person included in boldface within the section is intended to be the person whose perspective is taken within that section of the text.
Author’s Note Concerning Language
The characters in this novel come from several English-speaking nations, including England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Furthermore, the story is set in the early twentieth century. During that period English was a remarkably diverse language, so much so that, for example, the ‘brogue’ spoken in Scotland, would oftentimes have been unrecognizable as English to those from elsewhere. Although not quite as varied, even the English employed by Australians and New Zealanders diverged markedly in the century since these two countries were colonized mainly by British citizens. Thus, there is no doubt that the vernacular forms of the English language deployed by many of the characters found herein would have been markedly different from one another. In my view, any attempt to accurately portray these various differences in language would significantly detract from the story that I am attempting to articulate. With this conjecture in mind, I have ‘simplified’ the language deployed by the characters.
In some cases, I have employed terms that are crudely representative of the way that the user might have spoken, based on where they were described within the storyline to have been born. Where I have done so, it is with the intention of either intensifying the plot or as a subtle reminder of the character’s lineage. In the rare case where my choice of words may not be recognizable to the reader, I have enclosed a ‘vernacular word identifier’, which is nothing more than a word or phrase translation key. I have attempted to use these terms accurately based on my own research. Where I have erred, I apologize to those who take offense, especially the Scots, whose choice of words is often quite colorful, not to mention – oftentimes completely lost on me.
Vernacular Word Identifier
Behin’ – Scottish for ‘behind’
Blooter’d – Scottish for ‘drunk’
Brammer – Scottish for ‘lovely’
Brine coest – Scottish for ‘sea coast’
Ça ne fait rien – French for ‘it doesn’t matter’
Dinnae – Scottish for ‘do not’
I dinna kin – Scottish for ‘I don’t know’
Jobby – Scottish for ‘shit’
Kirk – Scottish for ‘church’
Loosy warld – Scottish for ‘lousy world’
Mate – Aussie for ‘friend’
Mince – Scottish for ‘stuff’
Mukker – Scottish for ‘buddy’
Pish – Scottish for ‘nonsense’
Radge – Scottish for ‘insane’
Secht – Scottish for ‘sight’
Snair – Scottish for ‘snore’
Sporran – a leather or fur pouch accompanied at th
e waist with a kilt
Stoatin – Scottish for ‘great’
Übergeben Soldat – German for ‘surrender soldier’
Warld – Scottish for ‘world’
Chronology
1615 – Alan Sutherland is appointed the first Earl of Winston by King James I of England
1883 – William Sutherland becomes the Twelfth Earl of Winston
1893 – Robert Sutherland is born in Gloucestershire, England
1894 – Alastair Stewart is born in Aberdeen, Scotland
1895 – Margaret MacCreedy is born in Melbourne, Australia
1896 – Elizabeth Turnberry is born in York, England
January, 1914 – Margaret is transported by ship to Edinburgh, Scotland
February, 1914 – Robert Sutherland, Alastair Stewart and Elizabeth Turnberry begin their studies at The University of Edinburgh
April, 1914 – Margaret MacCreedy arrives by ship in Edinburgh
June 28, 1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip
July 28, 1914 – The Great War begins
September 5-12, 1914 – The First Battle of the Marne
22 April -1915 – The Second Battle of Ypres, the first time that chlorine gas is used
April 25, 1915-January 9, 1916 – The Gallipoli Campaign
February, 1916 – The Battle of Verdun begins
July-November, 1916 – Battle of the Somme
July-November 1917 – The Passchendaele Offensive
April 6, 1917 – The United States declares war on Germany
March 21, 1918 – Beginning of the German Spring Offensive at Amiens
July 15, 1918 – Beginning of the Second Battle of the Marne
August 8, 1918 – Beginning of the Allied Hundred Days Counteroffensive
October 30, 1918 – The Ottoman Empire capitulates at Moudros
November 3, 1918 – Austria signs the Austrian Armistice
November 11, 1918 – The German Armistice is signed at Compiègne, thereby ending The Great War
January, 1918-December, 1920 – Flu pandemic kills 40-100 million people worldwide
1920 – Robert Sutherland becomes the Thirteenth Earl of Winston on the death of his father, Lord William Sutherland