The time; 11 o'clock.
The date; November 11. 11, 11, 11. It wasn't as if there was a war that had been won... Tommy knew it wasn't over - a ceasefire had been called, yet who were the winners?
He knew he would be back - it was just a matter of time...
They had all been told, time and again, that they'd fought for their 'King and Country' in return for a Land Fit for Heroes.
A Land Fit for Heroes - what exactly was this supposed to mean? Had things really changed? He, along with thousands of others, flooded home from the trenches to civilian life, from a hidden world of suffering to being expected to fit straight back into normal life.
Peter Gill has triumphed by encapsulating the life of Tommy Atkins, a soldier like many other soldiers, dedicated to playing a part in fighting for their country.