Book readings/speaking engagements

Readings from Foot Soldier Sam Sutcliffe's Nobody Of Any Importance: A Foot Soldier's Memoir Of World War 1 given by his son, Phil

Sam Sutcliffe, May 1919, post Gallipoli, 
Somme, Arras 1918, POW months, aged 20.

Sam's lad Phil, um, not long
ago. Thanks and © Pete Jenkins

 

Forthcoming readings 2024-5

WFA BRANCHES OR ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED IN WW1, PLEASE DO CONSIDER MAKING A SAM BOOKING IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! HE KEEPS THE CUSTOMERS SATISFIED, HONEST!
(ALL PROCEEDS FROM HIS MEMOIR, PLUS ANY DONATIONS, GO TO
BRITISH RED CROSS AS EVER – MORE THAN £10,000 DONATED AS OF DECEMBER'23)

All the best, Phil pp my dad, Sam

 

FOOT SOLDIER SAM WW1 MEMOIR READINGS — "NOBODY OF ANY IMPORTANCE" Excerpts from my father Sam Sutcliffe's WW1 frontline experiences – Gallipoli, the Somme, Arras '18 (the battle against the Spring Offensive)… plus before that the impoverished London childhood that made the Tommy, volunteering at 16 in September, 1914, training in Malta… and after that March 28 Arras battle Sam's eight months as a POW "on the road" in France and Germany, Armistice and his long walk back to Allied lines, recovery in various hospitals, his return home and further sad or farcical tales of a Tommy in the aftermath concluding with the July, 1919, Peace parade. Every word of the Memoir from Sam's wonderfully vivid and detailed memory and his own pen…

Glad to do readings more or less anywhere in the UK in 2024 – see nice list of bookings below, but late September onwards still free. Sam does requests, so you can have an overview from his entire Memoir, or more concentrated excerpts on Gallipoli, the Somme, or 1918-19 (frontline in the Spring Offensive, POW, homecoming, peace) or any combination thereof – plus in May '22 I did a first ever on his "year out" in 1917 when, after the Somme, the Army realised he was still too young for the battlefield and sent him home until he was 19 (a request from Devon & Cornwall WFA, who seemed to enjoy the different aspect very well).
No fee, but I sell paperback copies of Nobody Of Any Importance and all proceeds from my father's writings plus any branch/other donations go to the British Red Cross "FootSoldierSam fund" – £6 per copy on the paperback after £4 print costs plus every penny from sales of the e-Memoir and e-excerpts on Gallipoli, the Somme and Arras/POW/1918-19, available via this blog. Further info  http://footsoldiersam.blogspot.co.uk/p/books-available.html

See below for details on how to book FSS readings…
with thanks for their hospitality to all branches Sam (& Phil) have visited so far!

And then next…? (downhill? following wind? with fond hopes… ah, and on into '24 now…)

 

2024
 

* May 28 Lancashire (East) WFA, Burnley. See https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/branches/united-kingdom/lancashire-east/

* June 6 Yorkshire (West Riding) WFA,  Allerton Bywater (near Castleford). See https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/branches/united-kingdom/yorkshire-west-riding/

* September 3 Kent (East) WFA,  Canterbury. See https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/branches/united-kingdom/kent-east/

2025

* January 8 Suffolk WFA, Stowmarket. See https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/branches/united-kingdom/suffolk/
 
(Also see https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/branches/ for info on all WFA branch events)

BOOK A FOOT SOLDIER SAM SUTCLIFFE READING …
The above leaves rather a lot of unreading days for 2023 (when we hope to be free at last!)...

So here's Phil and Sam's pitch to whomever might like a good talking to as we all together insist that "We will remember them" shall not fade into "Oh forget it"...

Foot Soldier Sam's World War 1 in his own words: Lance Corporal Signaller Sam Sutcliffe's son and editor Phil reads excerpts from his father's story of World War 1 from when he lied about his age to enlist in September, 1914, to the July 19, 1919, Peace Parade.

Sam meets the Chelsea Pensioners. Pic by
Lance Bolton of Royal Chelsea Hospital ©️2016.

Phil is happy to talk about the remarkable man he called "Dad", how the Memoir was written, and encourage audience members to discuss any aspect of WW1 – or any war – especially their own stories of family members caught up in such conflicts and how it has affected their own lives.

The readings are fee-free•, their purpose to record the essence of a First World War Tommy's experience, ensuring it's understood and not forgotten. Paperbacks of the Memoir will be available to buy at all readings for the benefit of the British Red Cross.
• If you're miles away from London I'll ask for my fare! And donations to the Red Cross to supplement proceeds from books sales are always welcome of course, but entirely up to you…

Email philsutcliffe47@gmail.com or phone 020 8674 9397, mobile 0751 1871989 to discuss bookings.

Foot Soldier Sam's 38 road trips so far:
Readings 2015
* Walthamstow, London
* St Leonard's, Sussex
* Primrose Hill, London
* Gloucester and as duo with Kelsey Thornton, expert on WW1 poet Ivor Gurney
* Newcastle (with Phil and Ivor again)

Readings 2016
* "Chelsea Pensioners", London
* King's College, London seminar with four speakers, including Phil pp Sam relating excerpts from Nobody Of Any Importance to the work of World War 1's best-known front-line poet Wilfred Owen on the theme Patriotism And 'The Great Game'

Readings 2017
* London East Western Front Association WW1 open day at St Mary's Church, Walthamstow, September
* Ox & Bucks Western Front Association September meeting, Chalfont St Giles, October
* Abergavenny Library, October
* London East Western Front Association, Walthamstow, November

Readings 2018
* Essex Western Front Association, Hornchurch, April. This event sadly turned out to be in memory of Bill Fulton of Essex WFA and Malcolm Doolin of Walthamstow (London East) WFA who both died quite suddenly in the couple of weeks before the reading. Both much missed by everybody who knew them and the whole WW1 Remembrance movement.
* London Central Western Front Association, Waterloo, May.
* London East Western Front Association WW1 open day at St Mary's Church, Walthamstow, September.
* Wiltshire Western Front Association, Highworth near Swindon, October.
* Surrey Western Front Association, Cobham, November.

Readings 2019
* Norfolk Western Front Association, Norwich, January.
* Northamptonshire Western Front Association, April.
* Tyneside Western Front Association, June.
* Wales (Gwent) and Devon & Cornwall Western Front Associations, September.
* Worcester & Herefordshire Western Front Association, November.

Readings 2020
* Kent East Western Front Association, Canterbury, January.
* Cheltenham & Gloucester Western Front Association, February. 
* Spalding & South Lincs Western Front Association, February…

 

Readings 2021
* Lancashire & Cheshire WFA, Stockport, January (on Zoom, but went well, if differently, and thanks to the branch for a kind donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Birmingham WFA, Sutton Coldfield, August (also Zoom, and likewise thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Milton Keynes WFA, Milton Keynes, October (real-not-Zoom!)

* Lincoln & North Lincolnshire WFA, Lincoln, November (rearranged from March, real-not-Zoom! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

 

Readings 2022
* Sussex WFA, Lewes, March (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)
* Southend WFA, April (Live! Special thanks for "record" donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)
* Devon & Cornwall WFA, Newton Abbott, May (Live!)
* Wolverhampton WFA, Wolverhampton, June (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Lancashire (East) WFA, Burnley, August (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Kent (North West) WFA, Pett's Wood, September (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Northumberland WFA, Alnwick, October (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Middlesex WFA, Whitton, December (Live! "Record" Sam book sales as proportion of audience – 66.6% ladies and gentlemen!)

 

Readings 2023
* Heart Of England WFA, Warwick, January (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name – and  probably Sam's liveliest Q&A session ever…)

* Wolverhampton WFA, Wolverhamton, August (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Lancashire (North),  Caton Near Lancaster, September (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

* Essex WFA, Hatfield Peverel, November (Live! Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name)

 

 Readings 2024 (all live from here on, unless otherwise etc)

* Thames Valley WFA, Reading, January (Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name).

* Chesterfield WFA, Chesterfield, February (Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name).
* Midlands (East) WFA, Ruddington, Notts, February (Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name).

* British Modern Military History Society, Reading, February (Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name).

* Staffs (North) & Cheshire (South) WFA, Newcastle under Lyme, April (Thanks for donation to Brit Red Cross in Sam's name).  

The Norwich WFA reading, January, 2019, kind hospitality and a pic
kindly offered free to FootSoldierSam by a proper
photographer, namely © Peter Smith.

A brief history of Sam's son, Phil: 76, a Londoner, has been a  journalist all his working life, freelance mostly, writing about music – articles listed here – sport, and many other interesting matters. Outlets have included Mojo, Q, Los Angeles Times, Total Sport, Sounds, Smash Hits, Time Out. He also wrote books about The Police, AC/DC, and Queen, before latterly turning to editing and publishing Sam's Memoir. Bruce Springsteen multi-tome always on the go.

Phil seeing eye to eye with Sam outside Abergavenny
Library before the October, 2017 reading.
Pic by Phil's wife Gay Lee.
…

Poster for a run of reading gigs
– designed by friend of Sam (and Phil) Hina Pandya.