Dirty Swindle

WALTER STEPHEN was born in Thurso, Caithness and educated at schools and universities in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with degrees in Geography, Economic History and Education. He was Principal Teacher of Geography in schools in Fife and Edinburgh, before becoming the first Adviser in Social Studies in Edinburgh and Senior Adviser in Lothian Region. He set up Castlehill Urban Studies Centre, the first successful Urban Studies Centre in Britain, and the History of Education Centre.

Walter Stephen eschews any temptation to cover old ground, instead presenting a series of uniquely Scottish and deeply individual accounts of the conflict… the author pieces together a series of personal tales that provide a valuable contribution to how the Great War is understood in the present day. ROBERT TURBYNE, Leopard MagazineThis book approaches the war from different angles… particularly through the lives of certain individuals… telling the stories, warmly, directly and allowing any emotion expressed to come through the words of others. I would certainly recommend Walter Stephen’s book, which has a light and deft touch, in such a painful area of history. His writing is warm, informative about so many people and places, sympathetic but never sentimental. MORELLE SMITH, Scottish Review

• Contents Acknowledgements 9 Introduction True Stories 11 Chapter 1 A Peace Warrior and His Family in the Great War 27 Chapter 2 Out of the Frying Pan 78 Chapter 3 Dark Lochnagar 85 Chapter 4 The First Hundred Thousand 90 Chapter 5 McCrae’s Battalion – Eponymous or Anonymous? 102 Chapter 6 The War Poets in the Eye of the Storm 125 Chapter 7 Memento Mori 144 Chapter 8 Their Name Liveth 154 Chapter 9 Observe the Sons of Ulster 160 Chapter 10 The Scottish National War Memorial 168 Chapter 11 ‘God bless the Kaiser!’ 174Chapter 12 Andra and the Field-Marshal 178 Bibliographical Note 187