Netley Diary 1915-1916

Corporal Alec Riley served at Gallipoli in 1915 with the British 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. 

'Four months of Gallipoli gave me four diseases and 12 months in Netley.'

Riley chose the Royal Victoria Hospital for his convalescence because he wanted to know what a great military hospital was like, that knowledge recorded in a diary of his time at Netley.

'I have tried,' says Riley, 'to give some idea of life in one of the many wards, the various patients I met, our habits, amusements, hopes and fears.'

Riley's journey was shared by thousands of First World War soldiers who left the front sick and broken, to embark on the slow road to recovery.

The book is richly illustrated with rarely seen images and includes a concise history of the Royal Victoria Hospital.