Empire Discovered

Joe Rutherford, a young shipbuilder from Jarrow, in the northeast of England, is unusual among his peers. He was fortunate to attend school long enough to learn to read, and becomes an inspiring teller of stories about the current war in southern Africa; stories he has gleaned from the British press. Soon, despite the opposition of their loved ones, he and his friends decide to join the British Army, and set out on an adventure they couldn't possibly have expected from the newspaper reports Joe has been relaying to them. Shipped out to join the existing forces after only minimal training, they soon encounter the harsh and terrifying reality of war; the atrocities on both sides, the loss of friends and comrades, and the desperation of holding on to friendships, relationships and romance in the light of what may be a very short life ahead of them. They also learn to understand the commonality of humankind the world over, whether it be found in friends or enemies. Unsure of what may happen from one day to the next, the friends cling tightly to each other, to hope, and to new friends they meet along the way, knowing that only they, and perhaps luck, can keep each other safe... Written after meticulous research into the lives of the common soldiers of the period, as well as those of the more well-documented officers and commanders, this story is the first in a series that follows generations of the Rutherfords through their own family history and that of the world around them.