Major Tom's War

Why does Bengal-born solicitor Tom flee Calcutta in 1914 for the horrors of the Western Front?

And in 1918, why does Evie Winnington-Ingram, who has good cause to hate him, agree to his proposal of marriage?

Based on a true story of tragic loss and unlikely love spanning the entire First World War and beyond, Major Tom's War weaves together the experiences of many memorable characters drawn from the author's family archive: her grandfather Tom, the myopic cavalry officer who is haunted by a dark and damaging secret; his nurse and reluctant bride, Evie; Amar Singh, the steadfast leader of the Sikhs at the Western Front; Tom's protector, Harnam Singh, who embodies India's military nobility and courage; the reckless yet terrified young lieutenant, Reggie Durand; their vicious and unprincipled nemesis, Lochdubh; Gaston Derome, the hero mayor of Bavay, a French town clinging to survival in occupied France; and four unforgettable horses.

The stirring and intricate plot of this uplifting novel weaves together real events set in India, England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium , Germany and France, including the suffagette movement, executions by firing squad and the retreat from the Somme in March 1918, and offers insights into the strangely cosmopolitan cameraderie and grim humour of the trenches. Major Tom's War commemorates the Armistice centenary by celebrating the extraordinary capabilities of ordinary people caught up in the upheaval and unimaginable violence of the First World War.