Megiddo's Shadow

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

In October 1917, a letter informs 16-year-old Edward Bathe and his
widower father, Wilfred, that Edward’s brother Hector, 18, has been
killed on a battlefield in France. To avenge his brother’s death, an
underage Edward wants to enlist immediately, but Wilfred, an embittered
Boer War veteran, refuses to sign the requisite permission papers.
Determined, Edward sneaks away from the family farm and travels to the
nearest recruiting office, where he lies about his age and is inducted
into the army.

Following three weeks of basic training, Edward’s unit is shipped
overseas, arriving in Britain in December 1917. Fate, in the form of
Colonel Hilts, Wilfred’s old commanding officer, intervenes, and Hilts
has Edward transferred from the infantry into an army branch that breaks
in horses for British cavalry regiments. Edward chafes at this
non-combat role, but an injury brings him in contact with 21-year-old
nurse Emily Waters and, ultimately, a tragic romance. Still seeking
combat, Edward transfers to the Lincolnshire Yeomanry, a unit that
fights on the ground like infantry or on horseback like cavalry. But,
instead of being sent to France, the unit is posted to Palestine, where
the principal enemy is the Turks. There, in the shadow of the city of
Megiddo, where Armageddon is supposed to begin, Edward experiences the
horrible realities of war and what it does to humans. Having been twice
wounded, Edward, much older than his 17 years, returns to the Bathe
farm.

Strong action, excellent characterization, and a well-developed
anti-war theme make Megiddo’s Shadow a fine read for young adults.
Highly recommended.