THE ‘War to End All Wars’ may have started in 1914 but the consequences of so many lives lost had a generational impact that reverberated down through the decades

The human stories of love, loss, and redemption are all captured in Kerry Whelan’s debut novel – See You On The Other Side – illustrating how the war impacted a small number of families and a whole community in South Belfast.

The first in a trilogy, this story weaves together the religious, sectarian, class divisions and the brutality of war but shows it through the lens of two love stories and a gently humorous exposition of everyday life in pre-war Belfast. The novel is full of colour describing working life on the River Lagan as the ‘Lighters’ wended their way from Belfast to Shaws Bridge.

It paints for us the human story of how young boys went to war full of bravado but with no idea of the death and destruction that hey would endure. It also highlights the role of women and young girls who volunteered as nurses, working in field hospitals who became nurses, mothers, sisters or sweethearts of the young boys who breathed their last in the arms of strangers.

Author Kerry Whelan grew up in the Stranmillis where his father was a butcher in Shaftsbury Square. His grandfather was a blacksmith and his personal experiences of visiting Ballydrain House and walking the Lagan Towpath since childhood, all inspired many of the colourful stories of life before the war. See You On The Other Side was originally one of ten short stories but this one seemed to take on a life of its own.

“I have always wanted our young people to know the reality of war and I lectured on the Somme and Irish History as part of the Queen's University outreach programme throughout the hardest to reach areas of Belfast across the sectarian divide," he said.

He added: "While the storylines in the book are fictional, it includes both historical facts and stories taken from my own family history in the area.”

See You On The Other Side is published by Malone Books and is available to buy through Amazon or local bookshops.