Missing: The Need for Closure after the Great War

How long would you look for a missing son, even if you knew he was dead? How long could you justify such a search? Two years? Five years? A lifetime? Angela Mond's son, a Royal Air Force pilot, had been shot down and killed, but where was his body? Francis, Angela's hero son, had fought in 1915; he had been injured and suffered severe shell-shock, but returned voluntarily to France three years later to help stem the German spring offensive. Now, post-war, what hope had Angela of finding him, his body presumed to be amongst the legions of those with no known grave? Angela's grief drove her to the battlefields in a seemingly hopeless search, longing also to find some semblance of personal peace. The motivation for her search transcends time; it was a desperate need for closure. But does closure really exist? Best selling author Richard van Emden tells Angela's gripping story, exploring its wider implications and repercussions. How long would the country look for its war dead and how did the public react when that search appeared to end prematurely? France and Belgium were liberated, but did the rights of civilians to their own land conflict with the Allies' wish to build cemeteries and memorials for the fallen??As financial austerity bit hard, how much money could be spent on the dead when the living, the survivors, needed help? Using a remarkable collection of previously unseen images, Missing is a sweeping, epic story that is as resonant and relevant today, as a hundred years ago. See more