This is a work of fiction; the characters and plot line are all created from my imagination and any resemblance to real people is coincidental.
I am very grateful to James and Claire Birch, of Doddington Hall near Lincoln, for allowing me to use their beautiful home as the setting and inspiration for this story, and also to the members of their team, who have been so helpful with my research.
I am also most grateful to all the staff of Lincoln Central Library, who took the time and trouble to send me lists of suggested areas of research; this was invaluable.
My sincere thanks also to Mike Hodgson, of Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre at Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire, who acted as a guide on one of our coach trips to Belgium. He has so generously shared his knowledge and expertise in answering all my questions, then and since.
A huge thank you, too, to Chris Bassford and Nick Hodgkinson, who organized and led two trips to Ypres, where I was able to do detailed research. Everyone on both trips was so kind, encouraging and helpful; thank you to all of you.
On the second trip to Belgium in 2016, it was wonderful to have my daughter Zoe and niece Helen with us. They have also read and commented on the early draft of the script, as too have my usual ‘first readers’: my brother David, my brother-in-law Fred, and my friend Pauline. And, of course, I mustn’t forget my lovely husband Dennis, and daughter Mandi, who support and encourage me every step of the way.
And with this, my twenty-fifth novel for Pan Macmillan, I wish to pay tribute to my fantastic agent, Darley Anderson, to my brilliant editor, Trisha Jackson, and to all the superb team at Macmillan. You’re the best!
My love and grateful thanks to all of you.
A great many sources have been used in the research for this novel, most notably Elsie and Mairi Go To War by Diane Atkinson (Preface Publishing, 2009); Stretcher Bearer: Fighting for Life in the Trenches by Charles H. Horton, edited by Dale Le Vack (Lion Books, 2013); Wounded: The Long Journey Home from the Great War by Emily Mayhew (Vintage, 2014); Ypres Diary 1914–1915: The Memoirs of Sir Morgan Crofton, edited by Gavin Roynon (The History Press, 2004); World War 1: Day by Day by Ian Westwell (Snap Productions, 2012); The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment 1914–1918, edited by Major-General C. R. Simpson, C.B. (The Naval and Military Press Ltd, 2009) and Bombardment! The Day the East Coast Bled by Mark Marsay (Great Northern Publishing, 1999).