This book comprises of a selection of accounts of the First World War and its effects on English life, condensed from a 92 volume diary by Reverend Andrew Clark, Rector of Great Leighs, in Essex at the time. In his record, Clark described how the news of war and its ramifications invaded his village. As the months wore on the pace of life quickened and people's horizons broadened, no community could stand aside from the conflict. Through his writings he contrasted the quiet, slow, ordered life of rural England with the battlefields of Europe and the horrors of twentieth-century warfare. This title acts as a testimony to surviving traditions and changing perspectives, giving a personal view of how the war altered people's lives and outlook.