RIP - Cy Grant & Horace Greasley

Sadly, this month two of the authors of memoirs featured by this blog have passed away.

Cy Grant - A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race - Obituary (Daily Telegraph 15th February 2010)

Horace Greasley - Do Birds Still Sing in Hell? - Obituary (Daily Telegraph 12th February 2010)

Favourable Winds - free book to download

Favourable Winds - A Twentieth Century Odyssey tells the personal story of Gerry O'Neill, who sadly passed away last year.

Gerry was a member of the Merchant Navy during the Second World War, and while this book covers his entire life, the chapters relating to his wartime experience are of particular interest. I have extracted these from the table of contents to indicate a flavour of the content of Favourable Winds.

Growing Up in North Dublin and Going to Sea 1925-41

Canadian Pacific Steamships, 1941-42

• R.M.S. Empress of Asia
• Escape from Singapore

Irish Shipping Limited, 1942

• s.s. Irish Larch (ex Haifa Trader)
• The Matriculation Examination

British Merchant Navy, 1942-43

• s.s. Lornaston
• Air Raid on London Dockland
• Invasion of North Africa

Ministry of War Transport, 1943

• North Africa – Interpreter, Algiers and Oran
• Spared by a German Airman
• Danke Schön, Fritz, Für Unserer Leben, und Guten Reisen

Marriage and a Brief Honeymoon, 1943

• Another Welcome Respite from the War
• Du Bist Mein Ganzen Herz

Special Exercises, 1943

• Operations Mincemeat and Cockade
• We bury "The Man Who Never Was" at Huelva
• An Abortive Invasion Attempt
• Liaisons Dangereuses

Canadian Pacific Steamships, 1943-44

• R.M.S. "Empress of Australia"
• A Passage to India and the East
• A Venture into the Carpet Trade

The Loneliest Christmas I Ever Spent, 1943

• A Bleak Day in Belfast
• No Room at the Inn

Stranded in Cork, 1944-

• A Most Opportune Football Match

Farm Labourer, 1944

• A Welcome Break from Hostilities
• A Few Peaceful Days in Bangor, North Wales
  

Further Episodes on the R.M.S Empress of Australia, 1944

• Encounter with a Hurricane
• Momentous First Visit to New York

Russian Convoy, 1944

• Repatriation of Soviet Prisoners from French Labour Camps
• Inability to Save Lives at Sea
• Libera Nos a Malo

Flower Class Corvettes

• North Atlantic Convoys

North Atlantic Convoys, 1944-45

• The Toss of a Coin and the Loss of a Friend
• A Great Personal Tragedy
• Non Nobis sed Vobis

Off to War in the Pacific, 1944

• A Frightening Passage through the Panama Canal
• Russian Roulette in New Guinea

The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944

• The Most Incisive Battle of the War against Japan
• “War is too important to be left to the generals” - Winston Churchill

The Battle of Iwo Jima, 1945

• A Hard-Fought Encounter with the Japanese
  

The Last and Costliest Battle of the War – Okinawa, 1945

• Fortunate to Survive a Near Fatality

Sojourn in Honolulu, 1945

• Experience of U.S. Care and Attention

Favourable Winds is downloadable free of charge in PDF format, or you can purchase the print edition from Lulu.

A Desert Rats Scrapbook: Cairo to Berlin 1940-1945

In 1940 Ted Fogg and Ernest Webster joined The Desert Rats, one of the most famous divisions to fight in the Second World War. They were posted to the Western Desert and fought with the 7th Armoured Division against Mussolini's soldiers and Rommel's Afrika Korps. They were at Beda Fomm, Alamein and Tripoli, finally driving the Axis from Africa at Tunis. Next came Salerno and the Italian Campaign before withdrawal to Britain in readiness for D-Day. Moving through France, Belgium, Holland and on into Germany itself, they were both present at Luneburg Heath when Montgomery took the final surrender of the German Forces in north-west Europe. Eventually they took part in the great Victory Parade in Berlin in 1945.

The Desert Rats Scrapbook is the story of these two young men, told through over 180 photographs, many from the personal collection of the late Trooper Ted Fogg who was attached to TAC HQ, and the recollection of Sergeant Ernest Webster who was a tank driver and later was attached to HQ as a planner. Their friendship continued until Ted Fogg's death in 1986. Ernest Webster, at the age of 92, lives on at his home in Derbyshire. Roger Fogg, who painstakingly collated this unique record, is Ted's son.

Available from:
The History Press

First to Fight: Poland's contribution to the Allied Victory in WWII

In recent years, Polish veterans in the UK were shocked to discover young people in Britain asking whether Poland fought with Germany. To ensure that the Polish contribution to Britain's war effort is never forgotten, First to Fight has been published.

First to Fight recounts Poland’s epic six-year struggle—with some historically significant texts being published for the first time, such as the English translation of Stalin’s signed order to execute 14,736 of the Polish officer corps at Katyn Forest in 1940.

The story is brought to life with moving personal stories from Poles who fought in the air, on land and at sea, on many fronts.

For example, the myth of Polish cavalry charging German Panzers is addressed: yes they did charge, but to good effect as recounted by Lieutenant Andrzej Zylinski. Leading the 4th Squadron of the Polish 11th Uhlan Regiment they charged with sabres drawn, breaching the German defences of Kaluszyn. After fierce fighting the town was captured with the almost complete destruction of the German 44th Regiment, whose commander committed suicide.

The book is available on Amazon but at a vastly inflated price - order it directly from the publishers.

Available from:
The Polish Armed Forces Memorial

In the Prison of His Days: The Memoirs of a Captured World War Two Gunner

When Gunner George Norman Davison returned to his hometown of Sheffield, England, upon the conclusion of the Second World War, he used the diary he had carried with him to write a vivid first-hand account of his experiences.

These included the former insurance clerk's initial training in the UK and posting to North Africa; his immediate separation from Irene, his newlywed wife; his subsequent capture and imprisonment in the desert camps of Libya; the seemingly endless, lonely and hungry minutes dreaming of food and home; his re-transportation to Italy; the cruelty and kindness of his captors there; and - finally - his escape with the aid of the Italian resistance across the border on Lake Como into Switzerland.

Job done, Davison then put his remarkable story to one side before typing it up in manuscript form shortly before his death in 1986, whereupon it was rediscovered in a dusty attic by his only son, John. Alongside it was a battered old suitcase which contained yet more fascinating items, including each and every letter that Norman and Irene Davison had written to one another in those dark days from 1939 to 1946.

Published by Scratching Shed Publishing.

Available from:
Amazon

Free extract from "Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII" by Lois Herr

Lois Herr has kindly provided an extract from her new book “Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII”. Lois has also written an introduction to the piece, which I hope you will find of interest:

In “Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII” I’ve compiled together a variety of the letters mom and I stumbled across in the attic written to dad, with pictures, scrapbook clippings, newspaper articles and a wide variety of historical information from the time to paint a picture of what life must have been like for these small-town college men and women as not only their country went into war, but so did their friends and family. I hope you enjoy the following excerpt from Chapter 5 of “Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII” entitled “Campus Exodus” and featuring the events that occurred with Coach and his Elizabethtown College athletes during the year 1942.

“Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII” excerpt from Chapter 5 – Campus Exodus

“In 1942, Coach hears from his athlete soldiers in Maryland, California, Alabama, Arakansas, Virginia, New York, Arizona, Louisiana, and North Carolina. Spread around the country, they still follow the fortunes of Elizabethtown College teams and try to keep playing ball themselves, though Gene Shirk confesses he plays more ping-pong than baseball. Having heard about Coach’s new daughter, he starts his first letter of 1942,

Say, how does it feel to be a Pap? Did you pass out cigars yet? I was asked today when I am going to pass out the cigars because I made PFC December 10. I now have a First and fourth with total $51.00 a month. Not bad only I sure wish I could have made Corporal. Maybe I will by the time the war is over.

Many of the athlete soldiers mark time, waiting while Uncle Sam figures out what to do with all the new recruits. There’s even star entertainment while things get organized, according to Rudy Rudisill, who sees a three-hour show at Hamilton Field – Kay Kyser’s orchestra with Lucille Ball, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Phil Reagan, Desi Arnez, and Linda Darnell. Emory Stouffer and Rudisill hold jobs where they work with troop deployments, and both are getting busy; still they make time to stay in touch and both are stationed close to home. Stouffer writes,

Ft. Belvoir, Va.

January 11, 1942

Dear Kathryn, Ira, and the Daughter,

How is everyone? Haven’t heard from you in a long time…

Since Christmas a lot of activity took place in this Training Center. Troops, troops and more troops in and out, all ready for a new experience. We transferred all of last group during the week of Christmas, and during the past week we got another group of 200 or more. This time we will have all available rooms taken up and in fact maybe we’ll start stacking beds. We expect another hundred men in the morning and 6:00 A.M. Our capacity is supposed to be 250 including cadre [staff] but the way it looks we’ll have over 300. Beds were moved closer together and all vacant rooms are being activated. Rooms that normally have two men will have three, etc, so you know the U.S. means business…

How are the basketball teams Coach? Of course, the girls should be winning as usual and make the boys feel a bit blue.

Well folks, it’s getting late and I still have to write my few lines to the “Round Robin” letter. The Round Robin is the roommates of 212 last year – John, Charlie, Perry, and Bob. Just heard from them so I’ll have to pass it on to the next receiver.

Best wishes to all.

Love,

Emory

The chapter continues on featuring letters from not only Emory but several of his fellow athletes now deployed to various air fields, training centers, etc. Their words to my dad, Coach Ira Herr, paint a picture of what life must have been like for these small-town college men and women as not only their country went into war, but so did their friends and family. I hope you have as enlightening of a time reading “Dear Coach” as I did writing it.

Follow the rest of Lois Herr’s virtual book tour by stopping by her official blog to see where she’s headed next.

Free extract from Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII

On the 11th November I will be posting a free extract from a new book by Lois Herr - Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII.

Dear Coach features letters that were sent to Lois's father, sports coach Ira Herr, during WWII. The letters were written by various students, friends and family members who once played for the coach at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

The book gives an inside look at not only the impact of the war on a small college community in the US, but also that of multiple heartfelt player and coach relationships.

The book can be purchased via the author's website.