WFA member chronicles grandfather's journey from Boer War to Palestine

As part of Remembrance season, the Fusilier Museum at the Tower of London hosted a book launch by WFA member Paul Blumsom. The venue, also the Regimental Headquarters for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, could not have been more appropriate, as Paul's grandfather, the subject of the book – Fought Like a Lion: The Life of an East End Soldier – served with the Royal Fusiliers in the Boer War and the First World War. The book chronicles Corporal William Charles Blumsom's service in South Africa, India, France, Belgium, Salonika, Egypt and Palestine.

The evening's proceedings began with a potted history of the Royal Fusiliers, and the museum itself, by Major Mick McCarthy MBE, followed by a preamble given by the museum's curator, Beth Wyrill, who eloquently introduced a reading from the book by Paul, then a Q and A session, and book signing. The presentation was well received and as the guests left they were treated to a spectacular poppy display alongside the iconic White Tower bringing the evening to a satisfying end.