The loss of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942, was a foregone conclusion. Winston Churchill realised this but politically challenged to defend Singapore, he moved the gold and silver reserves from Hong Kong and Singapore to a safer place, and sent last minute reinforcements to Singapore. They arrived as the Japanese crossed the border into Malaya and were rushed forward up-country, to the stem the advance of the Japanese invasion force. Amongst the reinforcements was Colonel Cary's Owtram's 137th field Regiment. Captured when the Singapore Garrison surrendered, Colonel Owtram kept a secret diary, hidden and later retrieved forms the basis of this story: '1000 Days on the River Kwai' He tells a revealing story of the collapse of the front line, which allowed the Japanese invasion force, to over-run Malaya and seize Singapore. Thousands of captured Dutch, British and Empire soldiers were sent to Siam to build the infamous 'Death Railway'. Slaves of the Japanese, many died and rib-showing.. Read more
Richard Gough - Military Author and historian
The loss of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942, was a foregone conclusion. Winston Churchill realised this but politically challenged to defend Singapore, he moved the gold and silver reserves from Hong Kong and Singapore to a safer place, and sent last minute reinforcements to Singapore. They arrived as the Japanese crossed the border into Malaya and were rushed forward up-country, to the stem the advance of the Japanese invasion force. Amongst the reinforcements was Colonel Cary's Owtram's 137th field Regiment. Captured when the Singapore Garrison surrendered, Colonel Owtram kept a secret diary, hidden and later retrieved forms the basis of this story: '1000 Days on the River Kwai' He tells a revealing story of the collapse of the front line, which allowed the Japanese invasion force, to over-run Malaya and seize Singapore. Thousands of captured Dutch, British and Empire soldiers were sent to Siam to build the infamous 'Death Railway'. Slaves of the Japanese, many died and rib-showing.. Read more
Richard Gough - Military Author and historian
The British press, especially in 1940, had a wonderful way of expressing bad news in such a way that the public almost believed we did well. Dunkirk and the soldiers rescued from the beaches is a classic example. The news of loss of the British Expeditionary Force was overshadowed by stirring stories of the soldiers rescued from the beaches. Little was said about thousands more, including the Gordon Highlanders who made a heroic stand at St Valery. Attempts to rescue them was abandoned because of fog. While many units were ordered to surrender, for others, who had become separated from their companies, it became every man for himself. These, and individuals who escaped from their German captors made the way across occupied France, over the mountains to Spain. Eventually to Gibraltar and home. Many were captured! Stewart Mitchell weaves a well researched story of the fate of these escapers and the Highlanders who became prisoners of war. Previous books and films have mainly described Officer.. Read more
Richard Gough - Military Author and historian
The British press, especially in 1940, had a wonderful way of expressing bad news in such a way that the public almost believed we did well. Dunkirk and the soldiers rescued from the beaches is a classic example. The news of loss of the British Expeditionary Force was overshadowed by stirring stories of the soldiers rescued from the beaches. Little was said about thousands more, including the Gordon Highlanders who made a heroic stand at St Valery. Attempts to rescue them was abandoned because of fog. While many units were ordered to surrender, for others, who had become separated from their companies, it became every man for himself. These, and individuals who escaped from their German captors made the way across occupied France, over the mountains to Spain. Eventually to Gibraltar and home. Many were captured! Stewart Mitchell weaves a well researched story of the fate of these escapers and the Highlanders who became prisoners of war. Previous books and films have mainly described Officer.. Read more
Richard Gough - Military Author and historian
As featured in.
The Daily Mail 24/2/17
As featured in.
The Daily Mail 24/2/17
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The Daily Mail 20/2/17
As featured in.
The Daily Mail 20/2/17
Just as gripping as The Great Escape , shows where determination can get you . A excellent read from start to finish .
Paul Woodward, Amazon Reviewer
Just as gripping as The Great Escape , shows where determination can get you . A excellent read from start to finish .
Paul Woodward, Amazon Reviewer
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Facing Fearful Odds
On 22 May 1940 Alec Jay arrived in Calais with his Battalion, the Queen Victoria Rifles. After four days of intense fighting, he was taken prisoner of war along with those of his colleagues who were not killed. The Calais Garrison was not evacuated. His situation as a POW was exceptionally perilous as he was a Jew. Made to wear distinctive clothing,… Read more...
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Behind the Wire
Philip Kaplan presents us here with a riveting account of the Allied experience behind enemy lines, detailing the trials and tribulations experienced by the British and American airmen who were shot down in European skies during World War Two, to be incarcerated 'behind the wire' in enemy camps. With eloquence and a clear enthusiasm for the subject… Read more...
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A Talent for Adventure
Books on prison camps, daring escapes and life with the Resistance abound. Pat Spooner's story is different and more compelling in one important respect. It recounts the gripping and dramatic rescue of two senior British generals (one a VC) and an air vice marshal from occupied Italy by the author and his companion who had themselves both escaped from… Read more...
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Prisoner of the Gestapo
Tom Firth begins his extraordinary memoir by describing his unusual childhood in Japan and the devastating Yokohama earthquake in 1923. In 1930 the family settled in his mother’s native Poland only to split up when Poland was overrun by the Nazis and the Russians in 1939. Whilst his father and older brother were in England, Tom found himself trapped… Read more...
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Gunther Pluschow
Gunther Plüschow of the German Imperial Navy holds a unique place in history - during the First World War he was the only German prisoner of war ever to escape from the British mainland and make it all the way back to the Fatherland. Yet, although his daring break for freedom in 1915 is astonishing in its own right, Plüschow was much more than simply… Read more...
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The Devil's Workshop
One of the most remarkable episodes of WWII was the Nazi attempt to forge currency and trigger the economic collapse of the Allies. The counterfeit operation was one of the largest the world has ever seen and lead to the postwar reissue of sterling. At the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin, 144 Jewish prisoners of 13 different nationalities… Read more...
Once a Hussar is a vivid account of the wartime experiences of Ray Ellis, a gunner who in later life recorded in this well-written, candid and perceptive memoir the conflict he knew as a young man seventy years ago. As an impressionable teenager, fired with national pride, he was eager to join the army and fight for his country. He enlisted in the… Read more...
