Death of a soldier
By Rita Restorick.
The relatives of many of those who are members of NESA will have suffered that moment in time when that wretched knock came to their door, or the recipient of that distressing telegram bearing the information that a loved one has been killed by a complete stranger, for no apparent reason.
Rita Restorick was visited by a policeman accompanied by an army officer in the evening of February 12th 1997, to inform her that her second eldest son Stephen had been killed by snipers bullet earlier in the evening at Bessbrook in County Amagh. He was the last British soldier to be killed at this point in time.
This book written by Stephen's mother Rita, tells of his life and thoughts of the future. It also deals with the total futility of this war, where men of the same tongue and same Christian background can set out to destroy the lives of complete strangers.
This is not a book about SAS skirmishes with enemy soldiers, or is it about battles in which men were killed en masse. It is the story by one lady, who whether she realises it or not, is trying to understand why, and having read the book, the reader will be asking the same question. Stephen died just three years ago, his killer is one of those who will probably be released under the British and Irish peace agreement which is currently taking place..
Order from any good book shop or direct fromthe author at:
2 Fairview Ave., Underwood, Notts, NG16 5GD
ISBN: 7808560 670 8 Price: £7.99
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National Service in the 'GUNNERS'.
(1957 -
In this book Ian Donald describes his time as a national serviceman. It gives an interesting outlook on life and conditions in the British army at this time.
Mr. Donald has in no way tried to 'gloss over' or glamorize his experiences, and gives us a very vivid picture as seen through his own eyes of the everyday life situations and 'highs and lows' of this period.
He also gives us a colourful description of the various characters he encountered.
Many serving and ex-
Price to be announced.
Chris Miller.
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The Lame One
(Sod this for a game of Soldiers)
by W.A. Deakins
A really riveting read, the author's autobiography shows a young man thrown into the horrors of war, it tells the story of a young man who joins the army at the start of WW2 as a Royal Engineer and later joining the elite S.A.S.
His story creates a moving and at times a very sad picture of his movements, the author also manages to not only portray the horrors of war at the sharp end, but also paints a picture of what it was like back at home and the horrors that went with it.
There are some light moments as in any horror story, but it's main feature was the ease of read that the story took.
ISBN 0 7223 3314 -
For further information contact :-
Arthur H. Stockwell Ltd.
Elms Court, Torrs Park
Illfracombe,
Devon
EX34 -
Tel:-
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SIGNALS TO THE RIGHT
ARMOURED CORPS TO THE LEFT
by Ron Larby
The author Ron Larby is a Londoner, born within the atmosphere of The Guards barracks at Chelsea and Bird cage Walk where his father was a regular. At 8 years he was evacuated to Cornwall for much of the war. In 1950 he was called up for National Service and was posted to the Far East,
His book recreates those dark, dim, but enjoyable days of the past when most recruits did not know (putting it mildly) his arm from his elbow, and his reference to the threat from Sergeant Day, that unless he and the other recruits picked their socks up soon, he Sgt Day, ' would piss on them from a dizzy height' a threat which was never acted upon, but brought the necessary results.
His book describes in a light vein Ron's journey from a green rookie to becoming a full blown veteran. He actually considered re joining the army, but considered that after his experiences in Korea, it would be an anti climax.
Ron is a Member of the Korean War Veterans and similar to the majority feels that the war which they were invited to has never been really exposed to the British public. It is known as the forgotten war by many and although the book will remind many, and will interest many armchair historians, he has left out the blood and gore and replaced it with humour.
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HIDDEN WOUNDS
by Aly Renwick.
Tens of thousands of young soldiers from Britain have served tours of duty in Northern
Ireland over the past three decades.
Like the Vietnam veterans in the USA some British
soldiers have experienced psychological and/or other rehabilitation problems on their
return to Civvy Street.
Hidden Wounds takes a detailed look at what has happened to
some of these soldiers and shows how many Northern Ireland veterans have ended up
serving time in HM Prisons.
ISBN 0 -
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Tel: 0181 829 3000
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Where are all the Madmen.
The war in Asia.
by Arthur Lane
A true story which describes how Chuck Stewart deserted his regiment to go and fight the Japanese, and was awarded a court martial, charged with desertion in the face of the enemy. Suspended until the end of the war the case was adjourned sine die. It is not a nice tale, which tells of the war in the jungle through the eyes of Cpl Chuck Stewart a British soldier, Lim Hung, a Chinese Communist Recruit in the AJPA (Anti Japanese Peoples Army.), and Itu Nakahama, a private soldier in the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) The details and the story are true. The telling and understanding is left to the reader.
Price: £ 5.00 Published date: 30 Jun 95 206mm(h) x 145mm(w) 252pp
Military History, Non-
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Moon Over Malaya
By Jonothan Moffat and Audrey Holmes
This is the story of the Argyll’s in Malaya and Singapore during the fighting and afterwards, you should read it to begin to understand how its own government betrayed an army.
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Tell them of us
Non fiction -
44 photographs,
11 maps misc. illistrations.
ISBN: 0 9528789 3 3 Retail Price: £14.99
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THE REMORSELESS ROAD
Singapore to Nagasaki
By James McEwan
This is one of the best books I have ever read about Singapore and after. James McEwan
was a teacher before the balloon went up, and for his troubles he was posted to Sungei
Patani north Malaya, but that had fallen to the Japanese so instead was sent to Seletar
as intelligence officer to 36 and 100 squadrons of Vilderbeest torpedo bombers, The
story covers the retreat down Malaya including the battles at Slim River, Endea,
and Mersing. with observations on the crew of HMS Thanet which was sunk by the Japanese
on the morning of the 28th January 1942.
Finally becoming the Kings messenger carrying
top secret messages for dispatch to Java after capitulation and with seveal others
making his way to Banka and on to Batavia in Java. each day pushing forward and upward
over the mountains, until finally after making a last desperate sortie being compelled
to surrender to the Japanese. The story then covers those long tears as a prisoner
of war. The journey aboard the Singapore Maru and the Yoshida Maru, to Takao, and
on to Moji and three years in the mines.
James McEwans descriptions of the day by
day scenery and events are so vivid that anyone who was part of that era instantly
recognizes each picture he has created with words. Worth every penny.
ISBN 1-
EMPIRE SOLDIER
-
A book in which the author attempts to create and produce
his own experiences and that of his friends. About what really happened in Singapore and Malaya immediately before and during the seventy days, in which the Japanese invaded and captured both countries.
To do this he has published recently uncovered facts and material which points to one of the greatest betrayals of British Service men and women in our time.
UNSUNG HEROES
-
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REVIEW TO FOLLOW.
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A Green Hill Far Away
by Fred Hirst
Author Fred Hirst takes you with him as a teenage soldier called up for service during the Second World War. He describes the harsh early days of his training in the infantry at Lincoln Barracks before being posted to the 2/5th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters Regiment.
On Christmas Day, 1942, Fred sailed with his battalion on HM Troopship Derbyshire,
landing at Algiers on 3rd January 1943. Then by cattle wagon train to Tunisia to
join the vastly outnumbered and hard-
Eight continuous weeks in various front line positions is described as the battalion is heavily shelled and mortar bombed. Several actions in which he was engaged with his unit feature in the book, until the German Afrika Korps took him prisoner.
A 10-
A comprehensive account follows of life experienced in the Italian PoW Camp PG 82 at Laterina near Arrezo. The present inhabitants were mainly men from the British 8th Army, captured during the German advance towards El Alamein in the summer of 1942. They included Australian, South African, Indian and New Zealander troops. The majority were British. ..
NESA have a strong working relationship with Fred, who edits the newsletter for the
8th Army Veteran's Association -
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Angel On My Shoulder
by Geoffrey Monument
This book by Geoffrey Monument is not political. It tells of the experiences of a young soldier drafted originally to places unknown, who finds himself in Singapore fighting a losing battle against the Japanese. It is a simple tale without bitterness, but not without its occasional humour. Telling of the indignities and squalor endured as a prisoner of war. It's dramatis personae are real people, who through no fault of their own, were incarcerated by the Devil's henchmen.
ISBN 1897666-
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A Musket for the King.
by L.S. Ives
“The Trails And Tribulations Of A National Serviceman
1949 To 1951"
This book by Mr. Ives takes the reader on a wonderful journey through his National Service time. It starts with the naive civilian arriving at his basic training camp. Taking the reader through the pit falls of training and introducing those semi gods of NCOs, with that all time classic line “ Is your head hurting? It must be I'm treading on your hair.” We get an insight to the army of only four years after the end of WWII, the weapons and training that was to make the servicemen of 1949.
Mr. Ives then takes us to Malaya a country in strife fighting the communist rebels. We are taken through jungle patrols, convoy duty and the day to day life of the company camp. One such patrol is “Operation Jackpot” part of the Briggs Plan of the time. The reader is given an insight of life in Malaya on and off duty and the colorful people of the country and the camp hanger's on like the 'Char Walla'.
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A Copper in Kypriou
by Jack Taylor.
These memories of Mr. Taylor read as if taken straight out of an old fashioned coppers note book. They are accurate and true and make for quite exciting reading. In the book we are taken on patrol by foot and car in one of Cyprus’s biggest cities as if we were with the author all those years ago in 1956. We meet along the way other officers of all ranks and from all backgrounds, the night life and the odd crime.
In our journey we travel with the author on what must have been a hard posting to the Toordos mountains where he was stationed alone except for local police and the local infantry battalion.
A good read full of facts and detail which add to make this book enjoyable and sure to bring back memories of those who were in Cyprus as a solider or policeman.
Ian Bradley.
ISBN: 1-
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Brits Speak Out.
Compiled by John Lindsay
This is a book drawn on the experiences of soldiers who served in Ireland during the troubled times. Thousands of young men spent long periods of their youth walking the streets of Belfast & Derry, and the country lanes of Tyrone, Fermanagh and South Armagh, carrying lethal weapons . On occasions they were welcomed, but more often they were spat at, pelted with stones and other missiles, shot at and made to suffer denigration in its many forms.
They were sent to Ireland to help keep the peace, they did not volunteer, it was their job, and when they returned home there were no victory parties or celebrations. They were proud, not for what they had done, but for a job well done. This book tells how it felt to be a British soldier in Ireland, How the Army prepared them for their tours of duty, What did they see as their roll in this disturbed country, and how they felt about those people who sought only to destroy them by any means.
The book displays the courage and fears living on the edge, leading in many cases
to having to face an aftermath of trauma and fear alone. The stories are well told
and for those who have never experienced the mixture of adrenaline and fear it is
a reason for them to thank God that they were spared that experience.
Arthur Lane.
Guildhall Press ISBN: 0946451-
At all good bookshops.
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Cumbria to Kwai.
by T. Stewart.
I found the first part of the book most enjoyable and hilarious, and at time's it had me in stitches, the story flows from the author's days of pigeon racing, to a tour into the depths of hell and back, bringing the mood of the story slowly back to earth with a bump, for me to go any deeper into the story would do it an injustice, the only thing I can say in conclusion is, " I hope to God we never have to go through events such as these again".
Phil Beal.
ISBN 1 897666 04 7 Price:-
The cream of the Cumbrian writing crop were honoured at a ceremonyIn Windermere with a Record 57 Entries for the Lake District Book Of The Year Award
Second Prize to
Tom (Chuck) Stewart (Deceased)
For
CUMBRIA TO KWAI
Published by
NESA NEWS PUBLICATIONS
2001 Shortlist
BARCLAYS BANK PRIZE -
"A Striking Likeness: The Life. of George Romney" by David A Cress
"Cumbria to Kwai" by Tom Stewart (deceased)
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'Cloudpuncher'
by Tony McNally
Available now in bookshops or direct from the publisher.
Pharaoh Press
To see Tony's web-
Whether singing at the bedside of a wounded soldier or with an E N S A show playing for thousands in an Italian football stadium, the singng would help bring back memories of home and loved ones. Most of all it helped sustain moral which was greatly needed during those dark years.
James “Jimmy” Nuttall was born in Cale Green, Stockport, Cheshire and served in the
Cheshire regt from 1940-
This is the story of Jimmy’s travels during those war years through North Africa, the Middle East, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sicily and Italy.
A story of how taking a guitar and the having the ability to sing and of course LUCK opened up a number of opportunities, entertaining with the E N S A shows and meeting Tommy Cooper and other famous artists and entertainers.
The memory Man 1897666446 J Nuttall £6.50
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K -
This is a compelling book about the forgotten war in Korea. Humour and pathos with tongue in cheek revelations. If you were not there, the book deserves your attention.
ISBN 0-
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LESSER GODS GREATER DEVILS.
A soldier's journey from Yorkshire to the Thai Jungle.
by
Arthur Lane
From fifteen years of age to twenty six years of age , from Egypt to Cyprus, to Palestine and Singapore then to hell as a prisoner of war working on the infamous Death Railway and back
This is a story of incredible suffering, bravery and endurance. Allied troops desperately clinging to life as all around their comrades are dying, yet despite a slave like existence, wit and humor prevailed.
From December 1941 to September 1945 56,000 Allied service men and women perished in the Far East. More than half this number have no known grave.
Arthur Lane has given a clear and modest account of his part in these desperate events.
This book will be of particular interest to those who shared with him experiences
which they can feel proud to have survived, and to those who want to l know what
it was like to be a soldier in the thirties and forties.
"It is a bitter book, but
not wholly so, not a comforting read, but one to provoke much thought" Major General
D B Egerton CB OBE MC.
HARDBACK Price: £14.95 Published date: 30 Jun 98, 210mm(h) x 147mm(w) 223pp ; 35
plates
Military History, Autobiography ISBN No: 1897666055
PAPERBACK Price: £10.00 Published date: 30 Jun 98 210mm(h) x 147mm(w) 223pp ; 35
plates
Military History, Autobiography ISBN No: 1897666101
MY WORLD WAR TWO TRAVELS -
Douglas Skippen
Chapter 5
By the third week in January we were sailing for Singapore, our final destination, 'England's FORTRESS OF THE EAST'. Here we were to get the hardest tests yet put on Englishmen. As we steamed at full speed amongst the innumerable pretty islands we were able to get some idea of the South Sea Islands. It was this last section of our journey that we came into real danger; we were spotted by some Japanese pilots and subsequently subjected to bombing, but fortunately no damage was done to the convoy at all, this in spite of being the Straits of Mallacca and the ships unable to take evasive action.
As we drew into the docks at Singapore it seemed to be much like a willow patterned
plate. Tiny ramshackle houses dotted along the beaches everywhere, delightful gardens
to the better class properties all nestling among tropical vegetation. Everything
seemed so unreal. The tall slender palms swaying in the breeze, huge banana plants
with leaves 10-
Since we have been in Singapore we have had different opportunities of sampling native
fruits of all sorts and descriptions. These fruits include papaya, breadfruit, egg
fruit, mango, lime, tapioca root, sweet potato and cucumber. The last named are similar
in taste to the English but instead of being at 10"-
The day after we arrived was a Sunday and the A Company Section of 19 men and 1 Officer were sent out to set up an Advanced Dressing Station or A.D.S. We set up our three tents in amongst some rubber trees and by the side of a reservoir (which by the way had plenty of mosquitoes). Here we were about 200 yards from a village called Pasir Ris and almost next to some native houses. These houses were of wooden construction and thatched roofs of about 6" thick of leaves. It was amazing to watch the habits of these natives, as many as 30 people lived in one large house just over the reservoir and all day long chickens, pigs, goats and dogs wandered in and out of the houses at will. Three tents is little enough accommodation for 20 people, however, in action that is of little moment. We set to digging trenches for our own use, for patients, and even dug the tents out to a depth of 1'6" for safety. As I was the Clerk and had to be handy for any casualties which might come in I set about building myself a little shelter for an office from bamboo. Around this swampy natural reservoir were plenty of clusters of bamboo, so, armed with an axe, I set off to hack down some of these huge bamboo poles which were growing to a height of about 30 odd feet, straight and with a few superficial leaves at the top. With these, a ball of twine and a ground sheet I built myself a shelter from rain and sun, built a table and seat, and when I was not using it, the Officer in charge used it for eating his meals in. This formed quite a novel occupation for me and great amusement for the native boys who used to cluster around. After a few days I built, or rather rebuilt this, profiting by my previous experience and making a slightly larger and better one. It was whilst building this that I took to the trenches for the first time.
Japs were flying over in a formation when swish, down came a load of bombs. I dashed straight to a trench and jumped in, when somebody’s bare feet landed in the small of my back and to my surprise one of the native boys had followed me and crouched behind me shaking from fright and gibbering away in his native tongue. These natives dashed for cover each time a plane was heard and if a gun was fired nearby they would crouch at the foot of the nearest tree for quite 5 minutes. One of these boys, a lad of 14 years old, could speak a little English and became our unofficial interpreter. He took me one day to his fathers plantation and there his pal clambered up a tree and threw down a number of coconuts. As they hit the ground some cracked and so he held them up and told me to drink. I drank 3 green nuts in this fashion and the results… I will leave that to your imagination. We took the fellows back ten of these nuts and also some fruit which tasted very much like a grapefruit. Each night these boys would bring us something, either coconuts or pineapples, or some edible fruit and tell us just how to eat them to get the best taste and benefit out of them.
Here it was decided that we should try to get some eggs, so I set out to canvas the native dwellings and was able to get a glimpse at the interior of them. None of the natives could speak a word of English and I knew no Malay or Chinese. I had to resort to pointing to a chicken and squatting down then shaping an egg with my hands. This proved very successful and I was able to procure quite a number of the small Malayan eggs for 5c each. I was glad that none of the other chaps came with me because I should never have heard the last of it. One morning we had an old chap turn up with a basket full of eggs and we found that all he was asking was $2. Unfortunately not one of us had less than a $10 note having been paid the night before, and we learnt through the interpreter that he had to sell the eggs that morning or starve to death by the following morning. This is the simple hand to mouth reasoning of the poorer class native.
I propose to say very little here about the actual battle but just to make a few comments on the strange things I noticed. One battle is much about the same as another, certainly not a good thing, some incidents being far worse than others.
While my section was at this same A.D.S. we very often saw some of the older Chinese women from the village hobbling along with a stick on their club feet due to the tight method of bandaging when they were young. The size of their feet can be compared only to a child’s foot of 3 years old. This was supposed to be one of the aids to beauty.
One day we happened to have quite a number of casualties lying around under the trees
and it was surprising to see how the natives shunned the sight of blood. Later on
we moved to quarters in Singapore and there learnt, at some cost to life, how treacherous
some of these natives can be. Quite a lot of Fifth Column activities were set up
by these wogs. These chaps were everywhere and up to all sorts of underhanded tricks,
sniping our troops from behind the lines, acting as general information bureau for
the Japs etc. etc., even now their name is regarded with the very lowest type of
humanity. Most of the true Malays were not in this classification as we found out
later. One little incident will show what I mean-
As we marched from Singapore to our Prisoner of War Camp at Changi after the capitulation we were watched by hundred of the natives, some quite pitiful with their looks and others with almost hate in their eyes. Almost all the houses and shops had a small flag flying the Japanese emblem. This march was about 15 miles in tropical heat, each man carrying his kit and proved to be quite grueling for us, but every man held his head up high as he marched. Each time we came to a check point manned by Jap troops, they had to be saluted.
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THE F.E.P.O.W. PRAYER
And we that are left grow old with the years,
Remembering the heartache, the pain, and the tears,
Hoping and praying that never again
Man will sink to such sorrow and shame.
The price that was paid we will always remember,
Every day, every month, not just in November.
We will remember them
ARMY
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A A BEAUTIFUL COFFEE TABLE STYLE BOOK CONTAINING THE OUTPOURING OF EXPRESSIONS OF
THANKS IN RESPONSE TO ‘BEFORE YOU GO’ TO THE VETERANS WHO SAVED OUR WAY OF LIFE -
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Published by Doubleday 7th April 2008, £12.99
KILLING
ROMMEL
the fantastic new novel from
STEVEN PRESSFIELD
BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GATES OF FIRE
North Africa 1942, an elite British Army unit is on a deadly mission...
Two years into the war and Hitler’s legions have swept across Europe. France has fallen,
Soviet Russia reels under the German onslaught and in North Africa, Field Marshall Erwin
Rommel and his unstoppable Panzers have routed the Eighth Army and now threaten the
vital oil fields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance,
Churchill’s Britain hatch a desperate plan – to send a small, heavily armed yet highly
mobile force behind enemy lines to strike a disabling blow that will halt Rommel’s Afrika