Her Privates We - Paperbackby Private 19022 (Author), Frederic Manning (Author) Frederic Manning is generally acknowledged as the finest novelist of the Western Front. Born in Australia, novelist and poet Frederic Manning moved to England in his youth and was an off and on presence there for much of his life. He enlisted during 1915 into the Shropshire Light Infantry, and served in France during 1916 as 'Private 19022'. The Shropshires saw heavy fighting on the Somme, and