Alfred Forbes Johnson MC is a Lieutenant in the artillery who keeps himself sane in the war with a mixture of humour, letter writing and prodigious reading while on duty at the often hazy observation point - OB.

An academic librarian, he had worked at the British Museum where he returned after the war and became deputy keeper of books.

He writes to his wife Essie in London nearly every day and his letters are archived in the British Library. He writes with a dry humour, a touch of irony and a keen eye for detail.

'This is a weird state of affairs here. The Hun is shelling something about a quarter of a mile on the left, and on the right there is a band playing.' (16/08/1918)

Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_F._Johnson https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2017/11/testimony-from-the-trenches-personal-journeys-of-ww1.html