Born in Dunedin, Charles Campbell May, is one of the most quoted New Zealand soldiers of World War I. He was killed in 'No Man's Land' on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916. Passages from his wartime diaries have been anthologised in books, academic and popular, about that war and that battle. His diaries, the originals of which are in the Regimental Archive near Manchester, have pride of place in the Imperial War Museum in London.
Gerry Harrison is Charlie May's great-nephew. He has been an actor and worked in film and TV production and served as a councillor for twelve years. Meanwhile he has written pieces for the Guardian and The Times, and the Irish Times. He lives in Ireland.