WHAT thoughts went through the minds of Bridgwater’s soldiers waiting to go into battle on the Somme or Passchendaele?

How did men cope with the horrors of trench warfare – poison gas, shelling, rats and enemy snipers?

Somerset author Brendon Moorhouse’s book, ‘Forged by Fire: The 7th Somersets in WW1’, tells a story common to many of the volunteers from Somerset and Bristol during the First World War.

Made up of local volunteers who rushed to join up when war was declared in 1914, the 7th Somersets fought through the main battles fought by the British Army during the war and, as part of the 20th (Light) Division, earned the respect of friend and foe alike.

The ‘Western Bulldogs’ became Somerset’s very own band of brothers.

The book also explains how fighting technology and battle tactics changed as the war went along showing the remarkable changes in technology and battle tactics that took place during the war.

Forged by Fire was originally published by Spellmount in 2003 and has been updated and re-released with nearly all new photographs as a paperback and ebook available through Amazon.