Impeccably detailed and beautifully written, The Lost Olympian of the Somme is the story of an Olympic gold medallist and forgotten war hero. Frederick Kelly's first-hand account offers a
startling personal insight into the Great War and offers a unique look into the Royal Navy's Hood Battalion. An innovative new division of sailors that served on land as soldiers, Kelly's battalion
included some of the leading artistic and intellectual minds of the day: The Hon. Charles Lister, Arthur 'Ock' Asquith (the Prime Minister's son), and the poet Rupert Brooke, whose final hours Kelly witnessed.
Olympic champion, composer, pianist, intellectual and leader of men - this is Frederick Kelly's incredible story. Jon Cooksey's previous books include Harry's War - The Great War Diary of Harry Drinkwater and Blood & Iron - Letters from the Western Front. As well as writing books, Jon has contributed feature articles to national newspapers and history magazines.
Graham McKechnie studied modern history at Queen's College, Oxford before pursuing a career in sports journalism. He is currently Sports Editor at BBC Radio Northampton. He has produced and presented several radio documentaries for the BBC, including the stories of Reading Football Club in the First World War and Ronald Poulton Palmer the England rugby captain. In this remarkable book, historians Jon Cooksey and Graham McKechnie present the extraordinary story of Frederick Kelly, the musician, composer and Olympic rower who was killed in action during the Great War. Frederick Kelly's war diary, written between 1914 and 1916, has never been published in its entirety and is a wholly unique document of the First World War. Impeccably detailed and beautifully written, Kelly's diary offers an exclusive insight into a unique formation of the First World War - the Royal Naval Division, a group of sailors serving on land as soldiers. The RND was formed by Winston Churchill and included some of the most eminent scholars, thinkers, artists and athletes of the time - men such as Rupert Brooke, with whom Kelly was intimately acquainted and whose final hours Kelly witnessed. Kelly's War is a fascinating and at times emotional insight into one of the era's unsung heroes: a great athlete, Olympian and leader of men during the some of the most deadly battles of the First World War.
