Peter Rhodes  talked about his new book ‘For A Shilling A Day’at Kenilworth Library on Wednesday 10th November at 7.00pm.

It was a full-house to hear regional newspaper journalist Peter Rhodes talk about his book  ’For A Shilling A Day’.  ‘We can get you buggers for a shilling a day, but the horses cost eighty quid each.’ Knee-deep in mud and slush, covered in boils and lice, this was what his sergeant-major told one of the interviewees in this extraordinary and moving series of accounts of lives lived in the service of king, queen and country. The author, Peter Rhodes, has built up a unique collection of interviews with war veterans and we were lucky that he came to Kenilworth to talk about it.

He built up his compilation of nearly 200 pieces over the course of 25 years and, just as the book begins with an interview with 110-year-old John Evans recalling the death of General Gordon in Khartoum in 1885 and ends with the killing of a Midlands soldier in Afghanistan more than 120 years later, so Peter ranged in his talk over a tremendously wide field. It promised to be an important and fascinating talk, and so it was. Everyone present went away grateful that Peter had added immeasurably to our understanding of what it is like to fight in a war and what scars it leaves. A memorable evening.