| This
is an account of the Great War as seen by a chaplain
to an infantry battalion. It was written a
year or two after the war when old soldiers were no
longer heroes but in some cases were reduced to selling
matches and even begging for their livelihood. Noel
Mellish’s account was therefore written in praise
and defence of the soldiers who had suffered the horrors
of trench warfare for four long years and whom he had
grown to love and admire for their courage and humour. But
if this book was to be published it would inevitably
bring publicity for the first chaplain to be awarded
the Victoria Cross in the war and only the second
ever since the medal was created in 1856. So the typescript
was locked away and only came to light after his death
in 1962. Friends and family who read this wanted to
know more about this remarkable man who started life
as a mounted trooper in the Boer War, worked in the
diamond mines for eight years and then became a priest
in 1912. The complete story of his life, after some
research, has now been put together in a book.
Noel Mellish details his early life and schooling
before giving a brief account of his life as a trooper
in South Africa during the Boer War. Yet the main body
of text is concerned with World War One and is as honest
and uplifting an account as one could hope to read.
In these evocative epistles the author paints a realistic
picture of the vile nature of trench warfare and the
conditions endured by he and his comrades. But the
book is not all horror and brutality and the mood is
frequently lifted by humour and resilience of the men.
By nature a modest man, Mellish places little weight
on his gaining the Victoria Cross, awarded for repeated
acts of bravery when rescuing injured men from the
field of battle while beset by heavy machine-gun fire.
The reader will be relieved to find that Noel Mellish
survived his wartime experiences and in the post war
period travelled to India, acting as a missionary.
After marrying and raising his children, the Chaplain
enjoyed a happy, busy and fulfilling retirement.
Hugh
Montell is the pen name of Noel Mellish’s
son Robin Hugh Mellish, the name Montell being the
name of the family home in South Petherton.
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