Casualty Evacuation for the Somme

Jeremy Higgins is a railwayman, reservist officer and historian. Having spent 15 years as a director of CrossCountry Trains he is now a rail consultant. During his time working for the railway he was mobilised for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was as a result of his experience in Iraq that led him to gradually become a First World War historian. The catalyst to his immersion in history began on his first day back at work after his service in Iraq. He spotted a railway war memorial and on impulse randomly picked a single name to research. After some 13,000 more individuals his obsession became his first book Great War Railwaymen - and raised over £50,000 for The Soldiers' Charity and the Railway Benefit Fund. His interest piqued, he then went on to complete a research degree at the University of Aberdeen which was the basis for this book. He hopes to raise money from this book for The Soldiers' Charity and Air Ambulance. His studies continue at the University of Aberdeen, where his current research interest is 'labour, railways and the First World War'.