David Bilton is a retired teacher who spends his time looking after his family, working as a University lecturer and researching the Great War. He is the prolific author of numerous books about the British Army, the Home Front and the German Army. His first book, The Hull Pals, became the BBC 2 series The Trench. Since he started writing he has contributed to many television and radio programmes. His interest in the Great War was ignited by his grandfather's refusal to talk about his experiences in Gallipoli and on the Western Front.

The book details the history of the 10th Battalion of the East Yorkshire, known as the Hull Pals, from September 1914 to May 1918. In around 150 pages it will provide viewers with answers to the questions the program will generate: Who were these men? What did they do? Which of them survived? Where did they really come from? Did they really live like this? Over 150 photographs, illustrations and maps record in detail the lives of these men; many of the illustrations have never been seen before.Known locally as "The Commercials" because they were a battalion of office workers, the 1400 men trained in England, were sent to fight the Turks in Egypt and then returned to spend nearly three years in the trenches of the Western Front. Their losses were heavy, with around one in four being killed.