A WW1 Veteran Amnesiac Walking Home "Let's go Will"



In 1918 Britain, hundreds of thousands of men returned from the Great War altered in ways few understood.
Some spoke of it. Many did not. Some remembered everything. Others remembered nothing.
Let’s Go, Will follows one such man lost.
Demobilized in London and given the name “Peter” in a French hospital, he walks the length of Britain searching for the cottage where he believes his wife waits.
Accompanied by his best friend Will.

The novel traces Peter and Will's journey from London to Scotland, and then south again down the East coast toward the Midlands, where a fragment of memory might, in 1920, finally reveal who he truly is.
But this story is not his alone. Thousands of young men walked the land, alone, frightened, lost.

Let’s Go, Will is set in 1920 Britain, in villages and towns that still exist today.
Peter will walk through real places.
He will sit in real pubs. Chased throu
Stand in real churchyards.
Work in real fields.
Rather than invent every village, I am inviting communities to help shape his journey
He knows only three things:
Peter’s journey begins in London after demobilisation.
He walks north through:
From there, he begins his second walk southward down the east coast and into the Midlands, where a forgotten memory may lead him home.

As the generation who lived through the Great War has now passed, and as our grandparents’ memories fade, much of Britain’s lived history is being lost. This project seeks to gather local stories, dialect phrases, family memories, and community histories before they disappear. It is an opportunity to preserve the voice of 1920 Britain for future generations.

I am writing to invite the public to take part in a collaborative literary project set in 1920 Britain, just after the First World War.
The novel, Let’s Go, Will, follows a demobilized soldier who walks from London to Aberdeen and back down the east coast in search of his wife and his lost identity. Along the way, he passes through real villages, meeting ordinary people and hearing their stories.
As the generation who lived through the Great War has now passed, and as our grandparents’ memories fade, much of Britain’s lived history is being lost. This project seeks to gather local stories, dialect phrases, family memories, and community histories before they disappear. It is an opportunity to preserve the voice of 1920 Britain for future generations.
I would be honored if you would consider sharing:
I’m inviting people from villages between London and Aberdeen, and along the East coast and Midlands, to share:
• Family WW1 stories
• Local legends
• Dialect phrases
• How returning soldiers were treated
• Descriptions of village life in the early 1920s
Your village could become part of this journey.
All contributors will be acknowledged in the finished Novel .
Interactive route:
London → East Anglia → Yorkshire → Northumberland → Scotland → The South West- Midlands
Simple form:
Let’s Go, Will is a historical novel set in post–First World War Britain
But this is more than a novel.
It is a National Memory project.
As our grandparents’ generation passes, the lived memory of 1920's Britain and the Great War’s aftermath is being lost.
This project invites communities across Britain to help preserve those stories.
Peter, the novel’s central character, will pass through real villages. He will sit in real pubs, work in real fields, stand in real churchyards.
And he will listen.
Should you wish to collaborate, please fill in this form and attach a Word or PDF document with your stories and media. We look forward to reading your stories
For further info email info@letsgowill.com
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