Strange Meeting is a novel by Susan Hill about the First World War. The title of the book is taken from a poem by the First World War poet Wilfred Owen. The novel was first published by Hamish Hamilton in 1971 and then by Penguin Books in 1974.
Characters
Main characters
John George Glover Hilliard – The protagonist of the novel, John Hillard is a withdrawn character who begins the novel in a military hospital, recovering from a wound to the leg. He feels that his family have no understanding of the conflict and is relieved when he is able to return to France. David Barton – The second main character in the novel is David Barton. A direct contrast to the character of a Hilliard, he is a friendly man who is able to charm almost everyone he meets. Unlike John he has only recently arrived and is not aware of the realities of war. At the end of the novel Barton goes missing in action, presumed dead.
Minor characters
Constance Hilliard – John Hilliard's mother. Captain Franklin – An Adjutant. John argues with David that Franklin "has it in for us". Franklin is an unemotional character described in one of Barton's diaries as "someone with a head to lose but a heart? I wonder." Coulter – A soldier and familiar face to Hilliard. Coulter is the new batman who replaces Bates, who has been killed. Coulter dies in a raid on the German trenches at the end of the book. Harris – A shell-shocked soldier who hides in the corner of a cellar; he is killed by a shell blast. Colonel Garrett – David and John's commanding officer. He criticises the senior officers and describes the state of his battalion as "absolute bloody chaos". When Hilliard goes to see him he has yellow fingers and whisky by his side, suggesting that he has been drinking to cope with the stresses of war. Beth Hilliard (Mrs. Henry Partington) – John Hilliard's sister. She tells John that she may marry Henry Partington. Henry Partington – The lawyer that Beth marries. Crawford – A doctor in the military hospital where Hilliard recovers from his wounds,and was Hilliard's dance partner when they were young.
Plot summary
Part I
The novel begins with the protagonist of the novel 'John Hilliard' in a military hospital, recovering from a wound he received; he briefly speaks to Crawford, a doctor, whom he knows from childhood and greatly dislikes. It is when Hilliard returns home that he has trouble sleeping. This is not because of his memories of war, but from being at home, a place which he greatly dislikes.
The opening pages of the novel concern his brief period of sick leave back in England where his sister Beth, mother Constance and father are blind to the horror of the trenches. John finds it hard to adapt to life back in England and is happy to return to the war; especially after the new distance between him and his sister, to whom he was previously close. When Hilliard returns he finds that his batman and many other faces he knew have been killed. The group's Commanding Officer, Colonel Garrett, appears to have aged greatly in the short time Hilliard has been away, due to the stresses of war, and has taken to drinking quantities of whisky.
His old batman is replaced with a new one called Coulter and he is placed in a room with a new Officer called David Barton in a rest camp while they wait to be called up to the front. During this time he becomes great friends with Barton, who is as yet untouched by the war. Throughout this chapter, the new Adjutant, a character called Franklin, appears expressionless and remote from the group.
The chapter ends with Hilliard and Barton witnessing the wreckage of a German plane crash which shocks Barton, who has not seen a dead body yet.
Part II
In Part Two, the group that Hilliard and Barton are in, B Company, is travelling to the front line at Feuvry. There are not enough horses so David walks alongside for the duration of the journey. He writes a letter home describing what a terrible place Feuvry is; the town has few buildings left intact after being shelled and occupied by the Germans in 1914.
When they arrive at their billets the Officers are informed that a soldier called Harris won't come out of the cellar. Harris is a new recruit who has broken down in terror; Barton manages to talk him round and lead him from the cellar. While Barton goes to fetch some rum ration for the still unstable Harris, a shell falls on the billets, killing Harris. Barton blames himself for the soldier's death because he would have been safe if Barton had not talked him out of the cellar.