The great retreat of the British Expeditionary Force from Mons in August 1914 is one of the most famous in military history, and it is justly celebrated. But not all the British soldiers who were forced back by the German offensive performed well. Two colonels, Elkington and Mainwaring, tried to surrender rather than fight on, and were disgraced. This is their story. It is one of the least glorious and most revealing episodes in the record of the British Army during the conflict on the Western Front. In this compelling account John Hutton shows, in graphic detail, the full confusion of the retreat, and the dire mental state to which brave men can be reduced by extreme stress, uncertainty and fatigue. But he also describes how Elkington redeemed himself. He joined the French Foreign Legion, fought gallantly, was severely wounded and was reinstated by King George V. His is one of the more remarkable stories to come out of the Great War, as is the story of the attempted surrender at St Quentin itself.

In 1915 Lord Kitchener extended his famous “Your Country Needs You” recruitment campaign by appealing to the Mayors of the London Metropolitan Boroughs, urging each Mayor to raise a unit of local men for active service overseas. In south-west London, the response from two neighbouring boroughs, Wandsworth and Battersea, could not have been more different. In Wandsworth, Mayor Dawnay personally took up the challenge and soon recruited, for the East Surrey Regiment, double the number of men needed for an infantry battalion. In Battersea, however, there was initially no more than lukewarm interest, partly due to the local Territorial Force unit, the 23rd London Regiment, having expanded from one to three battalions thanks to thousands of earlier volunteers. But as Wandsworth’s efforts bore fruit, Battersea too pledged to raise a full infantry battalion. Mirroring the different political leanings of the two boroughs, Mayor Simmons pledged Battersea’s battalion to the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment.

The son of a Sittingbourne brick maker, Donald Dean lied about his age to enlist in 1915. Working his way up from Private to acting Captain in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, Dean was severely wounded by machine gun fire at Passchendaele in 1917. Recovered from his wounds, Dean returned to France in 1918 where he won his VC near the city of Lens. Ordered to hold a captured and isolated trench, Dean fought off five German counterattacks, personally killing four Germans in hand-to-hand fighting. His citation read: „Throughout the period Lieutenant Dean inspired his command with his own contempt of danger, and all fought with the greatest bravery. He set an example of valorous leadership and devotion to duty of the very highest order.