Churchill's Volunteer - A Parachute Corporals Story

Reg Curtis joined the Grenadier Guards in 1937. He had originally thought that he would spend four years with the Colours before fulfilling his ambition to serve in the City of London Police. This was not to be, and soon after the outbreak of war he found himself serving in perilous forward positions of the Maginot Line.

After a footslog across France and Belgium he came back to England via Dunkirk. It was then that he volunteered for the Para Commando, and after many experimental parachute drops and a vigorous course to toughen up the body and sharpen the thinking, he was successively dropped into North Africa, Italy, Sicily and finally Arnhem in Holland.

'Churchill's Volunteer' is an account of the author's experiences. His many valiant comrades of all ranks vividly come to life in these pages, and the book is a hearty celebration of them all, both living and dead.

Table of contents
Chapter I - Two Bob a Day Rookie
Chapter II - The Waiting Game, Then Catastrophe
Chapter III - A Volunteer for No. 2 Commando and 11th Special Air Service
Chapter IV - Unorthodox Methods of Training
Chapter V - Test of 1st Para Battalion in North Africa
Chapter VI - Slaughter of 1st Para Battalion at Djebel Mansour
Chapter VII - The End is Near in Happy Valley
Chapter VIII - Interlude Prior to 1st Para Battalion Assault in Sicily
Chapter IX - Preparation for the Last Battle
Chapter X - Action Stations and Away
Chapter XI - Six Days at the Tafelberg Hotel
Chapter XII - A German General Inspects
Chapter XIII - Destination Stalag IIB, via Apeldoorn
Chapter XIV - The Best Kept Secret of WWII

Reg died in February 2012 - Obituary

Available from:
Amazon

The 1st Household Cavalry 1943-44: in the Shadow of Monte Amaro

The mettle of the famous First Household Cavalry Regiment was tested to the maximum in action in the mountains of Italy in 1943–44. This book explores a largely undervalued and forgotten part of a costly and complex struggle. We directly experience what it was like to be there through the words of those who were.

In late 1943 1st HCR was sent to Syria to patrol the Turko-Syrian border, it being feared that Turkey would join the Axis powers. In April 1944, 1st HCR was shipped to Italy. The Italian campaign was at that time well underway. During the summer of 1944, 1st HCR were in action near Arezzo and in the advance to Florence in a reconnaissance role, probing enemy positions, patrolling constantly. The Regiment finally took part in dismounted actions in the Gothic Line – the German defensive system in Northern Italy.

Based upon interviews with the few survivors still with us and several unpublished diaries, there are many revelations that will entertain – and some that will shock. The 1st Household Cavalry 1943–44 is published on the 70th anniversary of the actions described, as a tribute to the fighting force made up from the two most senior regiments of the British Army and, in the words of His Grace the Duke of Wellington who has kindly provided the foreword, ‘to gain insight into why such a war should never be fought again’.

Available from:
The History Press

Pillar of Fire - Dunkirk 1940

The story of the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk is well known, however Ronald Atkin's book made me question how much I presumed I knew about the campaign in France and Belgium in 1940. Told using first person narratives, reproduced from a large number of sources and utilising interivews carried out by the author, Pillar of Fire provides an excellent account of the experiences of members of the BEF during the retreat to Dunkirk and the beaches of La Panne and Bray Dunes. The stories are, in the most part, from British soldiers, although there are a number of French and German accounts which add further levels of detail. These recollections are intertwined with the story of the historical events of 1940 - told clearly and without too much superfluous information which can sometimes make campaign accounts a bit dry.

While the popular perception of Dunkirk as a heroic withdrawl remains predominantly unchallenged by Atkin, the inclusion of occasional tales of less than honourable behaviour, and an examination of the British attitiude to the French Army, helps to provide a balanced account. The results in an extremely readable book that should be purchased by anyone with an interest in the human experiences of those caught in the chaos of the Dunkirk evacuation.

Available from:
Birlinn Ltd
Amazon

New & Notable - 15th April

Penalty Strike The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander 1943-45
by Alexander Pyl'cyn (Stackpole Books)
The focus of this book are the author's vivid memories of service as a company commander in a Red Army officers' penal battalion on the Eastern Front 1944-45. During this time, he and his unit participated in the 1944 Soviet summer offensive Operation 'Bagration', the Vistula-Oder operation into eastern Germany, and the final assault on Berlin.

Alexander Pyl'cyn was a platoon commander and later a commander of an officers' penal company. He was a senior lieutenant having a degraded regiment commander as a second-in-command. He and his company had to carry out the most difficult and dangerous operations in order to break through the enemy defenses. With more than 80% of the men lost his company succeeded in completing their missions. The horrors of war, the hand-to-hand fights with a desperately struggling enemy are described in this book along with a story of a strong feeling between the young officer and a hospital nurse Rita. Thanks to Alexander Rita was appointed a nurse in the penal battalion. She saved dozens of soldiers, carrying them from the battlefield under enemy fire. It was Rita who saved Alexander Pyl'cyn from death, when he was badly wounded near Berlin. She became his wife in the last months of the war.
Available from:
Amazon.com

Hurricane Pilot: The Wartime Letters of W.O. Harry L. Gill, DFM
Edited by Brent Wilson with Barbara J. Gill (Goose Lane Editions)
Harry L. Gill was born in Devon and attended Fredericton High School. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in Moncton in 1940 at the age of 18 and was among the first to pass through the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. . After flying training he was posted to 607 Fighter Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
In February 1942, Mr. Gill’s squadron of Hurricane Fighters attacked the German warships Scharnhorst and Gniesenau during the infamous “Channel Dash”. Mr. Gill’s bravery and flying skill in that action won him a Distinguished Flying Medal. In June of 1942, he traveled with his squadron to India to shore up Commonwealth defences against the Japanese. On Jan. 17 1943, at age 20, Harry Gill was shot down and killed in action. He lies buried in Maynamati Commonwealth War Cemetery in Bangladesh.

Drawing extensively on Gill's correspondence with his parents and his siblings, this very personal account of war shows how Gill was transformed from a small-town boy to a mature fighter pilot serving in a global war on another continent. His letters depict the enthusiasm of youth, a strong sense of humour, his plans for the future, and this continuing attachment to home.
Available from:
Goose Lane Editions

New and Notable - 6th April

Torpedo Leader
by Wing Commander Patrick Gibbs DSO, DFC and Bar (Grub Street)

Written during the war without benefit of hindsight, this is a remarkable and valuable account. A very personal story, its lucid, exciting and readable narrative describes firstly the author's frustrations as a Staff Officer in Cairo, then his triumphs and disasters as a Beaufort Flight Commander on the anti-shipping operations from Malta with 39 Squadron in 1942, during which Gibbs' contribution was immense.

Wing Commander Patrick Gibbs, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF torpedo bomber pilot and film critic for The Telegraph newspaper was born on April 2, 1915. He died on March 8, 2008, aged 92.

Read a full review on the Aircrew Book Review blog

Available from:
Grub Street (note: site works better in Internet Explorer than Firefox)

Further reading:
Times Obituary 26 March 2008



Guns Above, Steam Below
In Canada's Navy of WWII
by A.G.W. Lamont (Melrose Books)

Guns Above, Steam Below is the true story of the experiences of A.G.W. Lamont, an Engineer Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve.

His first sea-going experience was in the corvette HMCS Cobalt on the triangle run Halifax, New York, St. John's. Cobalt was one of many corvettes, fending off the U-boats while themselves experiencing Guns Above, Steam Below. The largest part of the book, however, deals with the River Class destroyer HMCS Qu'Appelle on various assignments, including the Normandy invasion of World War II.

Lamont provides a brief history of the ship with the aid of photographs and diagrams. Extracts from the memoirs of some of his ship-mates are used to recall life on board and he describes many of the crew in detail, and with great affection. Lamont also recalls his own experiences in the 'Steam Below' spaces of the ship where the men were oblivious to what was happening, either on-deck or in the sea below, and were subject to extreme heat and noise - including the noise of outgoing and incoming shell fire, depth charges and torpedoes exploding nearby. He then recounts his experiences of the events that took place during his career.

After several trips across the Atlantic, Qu'Appelle was assigned as the lead ship of four to be positioned at the west entrance of the English Channel during the Normandy invasion. Their orders were to prevent U-boats from getting at the enormous number of vessels in the invasion fleet. About a month later, Qu'Appelle was also leader of the four Canadian River Class destroyers engaged with their 'Guns Above' in the Battle of the Black Stones, launched against a group of U-boats and heavily armed escorts as they left port in Brest. In October 1944, when their presence was no longer required in the Channel, Qu'Appelle and three other ships, including HMCS Skeena were sent to patrol an area near Iceland. A vicious storm blew up and the shore authorities advised the ships to anchor until it had passed. This proved successful for all but one, HMCS Skeena. Lamont gives a most gripping and moving description of the wild and tragic events that followed as Skeena's anchor dragged and she was driven relentlessly onto the rocks near Reykjavik, causing the loss of a number of her crew.

Available from:
Melrose Books



Mogens Høirup
An Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Man
by Howard and Hanne Kulin

Moved by a deep sense of justice, in early 1944 Jutland history teacher Mogens Høirup became a leader of the local Danish resistance movement. Subsequently captured and imprisoned by the Gestapo, Høirup survived and horrors of Neuengamme Concentration Camp and returned home at the end of the war.

Through original communications and family photos, An Extrordinary Story of an Ordinary Man, written by Mogens Høirup’s daughter and son-in-law, provides rare insight into this “quiet hero” of the Danish Resistance. Gripping and tender, his story and words are as meaningful today as they were more than a half century ago.

Available from:
Hellgate Press

Rumours: A Memoir of a British POW in WWII

Charles "Chas" Mayhead served during the Second World War with the Royal Army Service Corps. Sent to the Middle East, in 1942 he was separated from his company in the desert and was captured by the Germans.

He was held captive in North Africa, then shipped across the Mediterranean to Italy. Held for a short while in a camp near Naples, he was then transported to Northern Italy to keep him away from the invading Allies. One of the camps Chas was held at was Campo Concentramento P.G.53 at Sforzacosta. Later, in 1943, he escaped from another camp and managed to hide out for two months near Novara. As the Germans entered the area, he made for Switzerland, across the Alps, but was recaptured just outside the Swiss border.

Transported to Innsbruck in cattle trucks, then by passenger train (after being placed in chains) to Germany, he ended up after one week of travel at Stalag XIB at Fallingbostel near Hannover. In 1945 he escaped yet again when the prisoners from Fallingbostel were marched further into Germany to escape the invading Allies (again!) near the end of the war.

Available from:
Pleasure Boat Studio
Amazon UK (the site contains extracts from the book - it is cheaper to buy it direct from the publisher than via Amazon)

Further reading:
Fallingbostel Military Museum - Stalag XIB

We Remember D Day

Frank and Joan Shaw compiled a small number of books in the 1990s, all compiled from personal recollections of momentous occasions during the Second World War.

We Remember D Day contains the stories of over 130 men and women, from many of the Britsh regiments that landed on Gold and Sword Beaches on the 6th June 1944. Members of the 6th Airborne Division, VAD Nurses, RAF pilots, Royal Navy sailors, US Army soldiers, Resistance fighters, and many more individuals provided their memories for this book. It was produced so all profits would go to Normandy veterans (the Normandy Veterans Association and the Royal British Legion).

A slight criticsm is that some of the stories are a bit on the short side, however they all include information on the individuals arm of service (in most cases regiment or ship), so this helps to put them into context. There are a large number of period photos, and 'then and now' photos of the contributors which bring a human face to the stories. This is an excellent book to read alongside one of the numerous overviews of D Day that have been published, although it is now out of print.

Available:
Believed to be out of print.
Amazon

New and Forthcoming - 25th March

The new and forthcoming titles this week include School of the Sea - the story of a Merchant Navy sailor, The Russian Patriot - a unique recollection of a Russian soldier who fought with Vlasov's Russian Army of Liberation alongside German forces, and Escape from St. Valery-en-Caux - the escapades of a British Army officer during the Battle of France in 1940 and his subsequent escapes from German and Vichy imprisonment.


School of the Sea
by Stephen Richardson (Whittles Publishing)

Based on his daily diary entries, Stephen Richardson recounts his development as a merchant mariner starting with his apprenticeship from 1937-41 on Elysia, a passenger ship on the India run. For the remainder of the Second World War, he served as an officer on cargo ships, where he experienced episodes such as seeing ships sunk in convoy, hearing bombs drop beside the ship when in port during heavy air raids and the horrific experience of being torpedoed. The extremes of nature - winter storms on the North Atlantic; navigating in convoy through floe ice and avoiding icebergs; fog and the ever-present danger of collision; the extreme heat experienced in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, without air conditioning are all accurately described. He also relates the problems encountered when sailing on worn-out ships that would normally have been scrapped had it not been for the war.

Available from:
Whittles Publishing


The Russian Patriot
-->A Red Army soldier’s service for his Motherland and against Bolshevism
by Sigismund Diczbalis (The History Press)

The only personal memoir of a rank and file Russian-born veteran of the Russian Army of Liberation to be published in English, this looks like an intriguing title.

Sigismund Diczbalis, a committed young communist, was originally a member of the Red Army. Captured and imprisoned by the Germans, he was offered a way out from almost certain death by being ordered to infiltrate an anti-partisan unit. Soon he became an anti-Bolshevik, joining General Vlasov’s Russian Army of Liberation that was devoted to toppling Stalin and restoring social democracy in Russia. The following year Sigismund was re-captured by Soviet spy-hunters, SMERSH, which meant an automatic death sentence but somehow managed to escape.

Sigismund Diczbalis was born in Saratov, Central Russia in 1922. He now lives in Australia.

Update February 2011:
Sadly Sigismund Diczbalis died this month in Brisbane, aged 89.
Source: Nick Holdsworth (Co-Author, The Russian Patriot)

Available from:
The History Press


Escape from St. Valery-en-Caux
The Adventures of Captain Bradford
by Andrew Bradford (The History Press)

The dramatic story of Captain Berenger Colborne Bradford, Adjutant of the 1st Battalion Black Watch, compiled by his son using diaries and letters, coded messages and correspondence between his family and the War Office in their desperate effort to hear news of his safety. This book tells of Captain Bradford's experiences between 1939 and 1941, during which time he was in the thick of the action in France, leading up to the surrender of the Highland Division at Saint Valery-en-Caux in June 1940. While being marched into captivity Capt. Bradford managed to escape once from the Germans and then seven further times from the Vichy French. This account details his journey to safety in Gibraltar, spanning France, Spain and North Africa, including a night crossing of the Pyrenees and an astonishing 700-mile voyage in a 17ft sailing boat.

Available from:
The History Press

A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race: WW2 Experiences of a former RAF Navigator & POW

Cy Grant, born in British Guyana, was one of about 400 Caribbean men who joined the RAF as aircrew in the Second World War.

He came to Britain and joined the RAF in 1941, qualifying as a navigator, and was posted to 103 Squadron. As part of the crew of an Avro Lancaster, his plane was shot down during a raid on Gelsenkirchen in June 1943. It was only his third operational mission. Bailing out, he landed in Holland, where he was captured and sent first to Amsterdam - where his photo was taken by the Germans. It was later to appear in the newspaper Volkischer Beobachter, with the caption 'A member of the RAF of indeterminate race'.

Imprisoned in Stalag Luft III until 1945, the camp was evacuated before the invading Russians, and Cy and his fellow prisoners were sent to Stalag IIIA at Lukenwalde, where they were liberated by Soviet troops (although not actually release for a number of weeks!).

Cy Grant's memoir provides a unique perspective on the war, coming from a Caribbean volunteer with the RAF and POW. Cy states that the only racism he encountered while serving was the institutional form, from within some of the higher echelons of the RAF, and none from any of the rank and file Canadian and British airmen who he served with.

Obituary: Cy Grant (from The Daily Telegraph 15th February 2010)

Available from:
Woodfield Publishing

Welsh Sailors of the Second World War

Welsh Sailors of the Second World War is predominantly a book of first-hand accounts of the experiences of Welsh men and women serving in the Merchant Navy, the Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, dockyards and naval bases during the Second World War.

The book also contains chapters focusing on particular snapshots of the war at sea - the contribution of one Welsh Port, Barry, to the Merchant Navy; the sinking of the Anglo Saxon by the German raider Widder and the survival of two of her crew members after 51 days adrift in the Atlantic; the sinking of the SS Elwyn; and the story of the war service of the seven Hortop brothers.

The personal recollections recall service on a large number of Royal Navy and Merchant Navy ships and Fleet Air Arm Squadrons including (but not limited to) 767 Squadron and HMS Ark Royal (sinking of the Bismark); HMS Swift; Merchant Aircraft Carriers; LCTs at D Day, Merchant Navy crewmen on the Russian and Atlantic convoys; the sinking of the MV Empire Cromwell; HMS Jamaica; HMS Catterick; a DEMS Gunner on the Empire Prince; HMS Talent; MV Dolius; LST 165; 206 Squadron (Coastal Command); Baron Oglivy; HMS Glasgow; MV Empire Confidence; HMS Warspite; HMS Frobisher; MTB 469; and the Royal Navy Patrol Service.

At over 400 pages, this is a considerable book - the coverage is comprehensive, and is going to be of interest to anyone with an interest in the Royal and Merchant Navies during the war.

Available from:
Glyndwr Publishing

Further reading:
Barry Merchant Seamen

New & Forthcoming - 16th March

I've received some information on a few recent and forthcoming books from The History Press and Stackpole books:

Red Star Under the Baltic: A Soviet Submariner in World War II by Viktor Korzh (Stackpole Books).

The author served on a Soviet submarine during the war, and this memoir describes his experiences hunting German shipping in the shallow waters of the Baltic. Originally published in Russian in 1966, this is a rare book that covers the war from the angle of a Soviet submariner. The author died in 1993.

Available from:
Amazon
Pen & Sword (UK Edition)



Burma 1942: Memories of a Retreat
The Diary of Ralph Tanner, 2nd Battalion The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

by Ralph Tanner and David Tanner (The History Press)

Burma 1942 is taken in part from the diary and maps kept by Ralph Tanner, who served as a Second Lieutenant with 2nd Battalion The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry during the fighting retreat to the Indian border, and from the official Battalion war diary by Major Chadwick. It includes information on the Battalion in 1941, who they were, their equipment and what they were trained for, and considers the series of disasters at Moulmein, Sittang, Toksan and Yenangyaung which left them increasingly unable to fight as a unit. It serves as a tribute to the strength of the men of the battalion - most of whom were conscripts - and of whom a fifth were killed and have no known grave.

Available from:
The History Press


Armoured Guardsmen: A War Diary from Normandy to the Rhineby Robert Boscawen (Stackpole Books)

Shortly after D-Day, Robert Boscawen, fresh from Cambridge and Sandhurst, found himself in Normandy with his Coldstream Guards tank unit. During the months that followed, he kept a diary recording the Guards Armoured Division's almost constant activity in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany until, having already had three tanks shot from under him, he suffered severe burns and had to be evacuated, one of only two survivors of his crew. Following a lengthy convalescence after the war and a career in business, he served in Parliament from 1970 to 1992.

Available from:
Amazon

A Long Night for the Canteen Boat - The Story of HMS Cassandra

A Long Night for the Canteen Boat is subtitled 'The Torpedoing and Salvage of HMS Cassandra December 11th 1944.

HMS Cassandra was torpedoed by the U-387 during the night of the 11th December 1944 while part of a convoy from Murmansk. 62 members of her crew were lost. HMS Cassandra was towed back to Kola Inlet and was later returned to the UK.

This interesting little book is a compilation of the recollections of 16 members of HMS Cassandra's crew, describing the torpedoing, their experiences marooned in Murmansk while the ship was repaired and interaction with the Russians, and their return to the UK. While the book covers a very specific incident, it provides an enlightening insight into the experiences of Royal Navy crews who escorted the convoys from the Shetlands to Russia.

Available
From the publisher Arcturus Press

Further reading
HMS Cassandra memorial and Roll of Honour
HMS Cassandra information on naval-history.net
Photos of HMS Cassandra

Memories of World War II - Volume 2

Memories of World War II - Volume 2 is a collection of first hand accounts from members of the Dorset 84 Branch of the Normandy Veterans Association. Published in 2004 it contains approximately 40 stories of varying lengths, all of which describe experiences from D Day to VE Day in Europe.

They include the story of LCT 628 at D Day by a member of the crew; the experiences of a soldier with the 53rd Medium Regt Royal Artillery & 3rd Regiment RHA at Dunkirk, North Africa, Salerno and in Normandy; memories of a tank commander on Gold Beach with the 114th Royal Armoured Corps; a description of Operation Varsity (crossing the Rhine) with the 6th Airborne Division; and the story of a member of the RASC from Normandy to the end of the war in Germany.

A number of the stories in Memories of WWII are quite brief, however the stories listed above go over several pages. The book is a paperback, in A4 format, and contains a small number of photographs, mostly of the authors. It also contains a nice fold out map of the landing beaches and the order of battle on D Day & during the battle of Normandy.

If you have enjoyed reading books from the 'Forgotten Voices' series, then Memories of WWII will be of interest to you.

Available:
Believed to be out of print.
As the book was locally published, the cheapest copies will probably be found in Dorset secondhand bookshops. Online, it is available at:
Abebooks
Amazon

Further reading:
Return to Normandy - a story by a member of the Dorset 84 Branch of the NVA

What Price Bushido?

Alf 'Blackie' Baker was captured by the Japanese in Singapore in February 1942. 'What Price Bushido?' is his story of his treatment as a FEPOW.

However, while a considerable number of stories have been published by FEPOWs about the treatment in POW camps in Thailand (the 'Death Railway'), Alf Baker's story is very different.

He was one of the 600 Artillerymen who were transported to Rabaul, New Britain (now Papua New Guinea - see Google Map) in October 1942. When the war ended three years later, only 18 men remained alive. 517 of these men were taken to Ballale in the Solomon Islands, from which none returned alive - a terrible incident which seems to have been lost in history.

Before I read this book I had no idea about what happened at Rabaul and Ballale. Alf Baker's book includes a Roll of Honour of both the lost and the survivors. It is a fitting tribute to the men who lost their lives while POWs of the Japanese.

Available:
Believed to be out of print, although I have seen copies in secondhand bookshops in Devon.
Amazon

Further reading:
The story of Alfred William Burgess (killed at Ballale)