Damage

A Novel of the Great War

Philip Glover survived his first wounding at the Salient in the summer of 1917. Returning in fair health to his duties as Army Chaplain, he finds himself in a chateau-turned-hospital to the rear of Ypres. Skills and diligence in the tending of wounds have earned Philip respect among his fellow clerics and medical officers. He is a good listener, and his easy manner gains him access to conversations and friendship with all manner of characters, from orderly to surgeon, and private soldier to divisional general. Dubbed by a comradely major ‘The Graeco-Christian’, he draws upon his broad learning to sustain a quiet stoicism that carries him through the day’s work, in the hospital and on the battlefield. Philip doesn’t escape the Kaiser’s battle of March 1918 unscathed. This time he is wounded to the head more severely, and he is left to recuperate with his brother and family in Malmesbury. On the Home Front he hears talk of shortages, make-do, civic affairs and daily war news as he takes his walks and the weeks pass. As time continues to move on, Philip slowly begins to realise that his recovery may be less than total… Set in Flanders and Wiltshire, Damage is published on the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, which began in August 1914. Through the experiences of an Army Chaplain, author D.G. Holliday reflects on the war and its impact on subsequent history, his novel a fascinating read for anyone interested in historical and war fiction.