o import,
Gibbs knew how to talk to soldiers coming from or going to the front
lines, how to convey their thoughts and fears and vividly describe
their battle experiences. Gibbs was a very serious writer, and
extremely proficient at his trade. He knew how to get to the essence of
things, to describe the feel of the times, the general attitude, and
the hopes and fears of both fighting men and civilians. Not only is
this voluminous book a brilliantly written commentary on the opening
months of the war, it is also infused with an inner sadness that could
well be considered a precursor to the post-war "lost generation" myth,
which is yet another indicator at how well Gibbs could gage the feel of
the times and assess its impact on future developments in society.

In this first book of his, he tells of his wanderings during the first
year of the war, as he tried (in vain) to witness the fighting in
France. His observations, descriptions and opinions are however well
worth reading; they are accurate, insightful and to the point. He gives
detailed descriptions of both British and French soldiers and includes
an incredibly atmospheric portrait of Paris during the opening months
of the war as well as a moving account of his time spent with the
British Field Hospital in Furnes. After being arrested in 1915 on
general principle by the British authorities as a nuisance and
potential loose-lipped journalist, he was afterwards appointed one of
the few officially accredited journalists attached to the British
forces on the Western front. Thereafter Gibbs continued filing
dispatches till the end of hostilities. His writing is heartily
sympathetic to the common soldier and war-time refugees, but quite
critical to those in power. After the war he was knighted for his
valuable patriotic services and enjoyed a distinguished career as
novelist and writer.

He served yet again as accredited reporter during the opening months of
the Second World War, being billeted in the same areas in France as
during the Great War. After the evacuation of the BEF in 1940 he
remained in Great Britain. His son followed in his footsteps, taking up
the profession of war reporter for the British press.

Anthony Langley

[1] Now It Can Be Told, by Philip Gibbs, is Project Gutenberg
E-book #3317, nicbt10.txt and nicb10.zip. See
http://www.gutenberg.net/etext02/nicbt10.txt
or
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