The butterfly that emerged in World War I trench warfare in 1915 aspired to kill: I cannot explain, the diary continues. It comes unseen and makes you oblivious of almost everything at times, save one intense desire to kill, kill, kill, the Germans.
Lionel Sotheby s diary and letters are a compelling first-person account of the harrowing experiences of the young British lieutenant at the Western Front. His writing reveals constant peril, hourly discomfort, and gruesome injuries. Brushes with death or mutilation were daily occurrences, and nearby comrades some literally inches away from...