List of best war memoirs
Discussion
Truckosaurus said:
'Chickenhawk' by a Vietnam war helicopter pilot.
(Another vote for Milligan's books for WW2 content - also a rare example of a memoir from a lower ranked soldier, most stuff seems to be from officers or NCOs)
The pilot author was Robert Mason. Another vote for it from me.(Another vote for Milligan's books for WW2 content - also a rare example of a memoir from a lower ranked soldier, most stuff seems to be from officers or NCOs)
From one of my Mother's cousins:
It was my Birthday!!
19th April 1942 when we left Maymyo at 10.15 pm from St Michael’s School. The bombs had been dropped earlier that morning on Maymyo. We were packed into lorries on our way down to Mandalay. After stopping a few times we arrived at 2.00 am on the 20th April and slept the rest of the night at the Weslyan Girls school. We then left at 9.00 am for Amrapura an hours drive away. At 2.00pm we were taken to the foreshore at Mandalay and boarded the “Minlat” Again we were packed like sardines, no food was supplied and boiling water had to be paid for. It was a 6 day journey and we stopped off at several villages to get food. Our destination was Katha, up north of Mandalay.On 27th April we left Katha at 9.00 am by train for the Naba Evacuee camp , where we spent 5 days. Food was supplied.
1st May at 6.00 pm we were advised to send Mother and 6 of the youngest children with my Grandpa
( Mother’s father) by train to Myitkyina. The train was packed with women and children.
The following day Dad and the three eldest decided we should have kept with the family and endeavoured to board a train leaving for Myitkyina. Other family members ,Uncles and nephews joined us together with a number of friends. We were put into two steel wagons as the train was commandeered by the military! British and Chinese units withdrawing from the front line .The train left at 5.00pm and 6 miles out of Naba the train stopped with engine trouble. We shunted back to Naba and left again at 10.00 pm. Ironically we stopped at the same place .It was discovered that there were too many carriages for the train to pull up the slope. The authorities decided to uncouple some of the carriages, but forgot to put the brakes on !!! Needless to say we rolled down the slope at breakneck speed and if it was not for the thoughtful signalman in the station at Naba to switch the lines we would all have been killed in the gorge further outside Naba station. This ended with the carriages smashing into a stationary train in Naba, We were fortunate that our wagons were of steel although they were badly damaged but the occupants about 40 of us escaped with only minor injuries, The other carriages being made of wood were splintered and there were over 600 Royal Army Medical Corp killed and countless Chinese troops who were at the rear of the train and took the brunt of the accident.
3rd May we tried again to board an ambulance train going up to Myitkyina but in vain. The next day we tried again, but were unable to leave the station as there was a head-on collision 12 miles up the track
A group of us decided to take a chance and sought advice to walk to India. There were two routes to Homelin, one via Kyaungle and one via Mansi.
Route via Kyaungle:- travel through the following villages- first to Hwemaukkan, then to Nanaungpain, Kyawangon, onto Maungkaing . A distance of 39miles, then travel to Homelin another 36 miles. At Maungkaing a notice will be posted of the route to Homelin.
‘Discard all kit, make up groups of 15 and distribute your essential gear such as cooking pots. No food is available on the way but water is plentiful. Report to the police station at Homelin for further instructions’.
The Mansi route is longer but easier. Hale and hearty people are advised to take the Kyangle route ,which is marked by arrows, but do not travel by night.
5th May we agreed to stay with the Torrance family until an old friend turned up. He was a forest officer. Xavier asked us to accompany him to trek to India. We parted with the Torrance family and at 12.15 pm left Naba and arrived at Indaw Lake 9½ miles away at 7.00 pm. There were 21 in our party and we slept the night in a cowshed. The next day at 6.00 am we left for Mowteik about 9 miles away. The going was slow as we carried a lot between us for the trek ahead. That night we slept under a tree. The diary is sketchy as nothing was happening except that we had to follow our leader.
7th May we left for Kywegongyi 10¼ miles away; that night we slept in a deserted Burmese hut. Kyandaw was our next stop 11miles and there we bunked down in a paddy field. Then on to Pinbon ,another 11 miles and sheltered for the night in a cowshed. Our next stop was Hwemankkan 12 miles on where we rested in a forest officer’s bungalow. We were now running out of water! At Nanaing Pong 14miles along we stayed under a tree. At this point our guide commandeered two elephants from the locals and we were now climbing into hilly country and there was still no water. We were sipping condensed milk. Made our way to Kyawangon 8 miles away and stayed the night in a forest bungalow. That night it rained and we gathered as much water as we could , filling all our containers.
The elephants carried most of our packs and as we had one lady in the party, a doctor, she was privileged to ride on the elephant. The next day we trekked on to MaingKaing 18 miles on, staying once more in a deserted hut.
14th May we rested all day in the hut, then moved on to Maungpa-aung 17 miles away . We were at the rivers edge and got the locals to build us two rafts. Two days was spent on the raft and the journey was treacherous. Looking back on that, it was like shooting the rapids!!
Eventually we arrived at Tonhe. This was the start of our trek through Naga country. There were local government officers on a boat who invited us to help ourselves to as much silver coinage (rupees) as we could carry. This enabled us to pay the Naga porters, who refused to take any paper notes. The reason was because paper notes burnt!! We left Tonhe for a waterhole 8 miles away and this is where the climb began. We slept under trees that night.
On the 19th we departed for the next part of our ascent to a Naga village 12 miles up. Along the way we passed many bodies of trekkers who had died of fatigue ,starvation and some at the hands of the head-hunting Naga tribesmen. Some had arrows through them, and were left along the track to their fate. I am unable to name the next lot of villages we passed through, one was 16 miles, the other 12 miles, then to one called Mollin 11miles away, further along was Yaripoke 10 miles. During this treachous climb, the Naga porters carried our packs and they scuttled along way ahead of us arriving hours before we got there. Sadly it was on the climb that one of our party died. He was suffering from asthma and the rarified atmosphere was too much for the poor man.
We moved on the next day to a military camp we found 4 miles away and boarded a bus for the Assam town of Dimmapore where we stopped to have a well earned rest and a good nights sleep. Imphal was only 28 miles from there. At Dimmapore we boarded a bus for Imphal but it ran out of petrol soon after, so we borrowed a gallon and got stranded again 15 miles from Imphal!! We tried in vain to persuade the military to send us back to Dimmapore, so we walked a further 2½ miles towards Imphal when a car picked us up and took us to a camp 7 miles from Imphal. Here the party split up, but we caught a train, paying our own fares, and headed for Calcutta. Crossed the river and caught another train to Parbatipur, changed trains again for Calcutta arriving at 2.45 pm, then took a taxi to Loretta House.
Alas we enquired about my Mother and the family and were told that they had not made it to India and were last seen at Myitkyina. My grandfather had died in the bombing of the aerodrome.
It was my Birthday!!
19th April 1942 when we left Maymyo at 10.15 pm from St Michael’s School. The bombs had been dropped earlier that morning on Maymyo. We were packed into lorries on our way down to Mandalay. After stopping a few times we arrived at 2.00 am on the 20th April and slept the rest of the night at the Weslyan Girls school. We then left at 9.00 am for Amrapura an hours drive away. At 2.00pm we were taken to the foreshore at Mandalay and boarded the “Minlat” Again we were packed like sardines, no food was supplied and boiling water had to be paid for. It was a 6 day journey and we stopped off at several villages to get food. Our destination was Katha, up north of Mandalay.On 27th April we left Katha at 9.00 am by train for the Naba Evacuee camp , where we spent 5 days. Food was supplied.
1st May at 6.00 pm we were advised to send Mother and 6 of the youngest children with my Grandpa
( Mother’s father) by train to Myitkyina. The train was packed with women and children.
The following day Dad and the three eldest decided we should have kept with the family and endeavoured to board a train leaving for Myitkyina. Other family members ,Uncles and nephews joined us together with a number of friends. We were put into two steel wagons as the train was commandeered by the military! British and Chinese units withdrawing from the front line .The train left at 5.00pm and 6 miles out of Naba the train stopped with engine trouble. We shunted back to Naba and left again at 10.00 pm. Ironically we stopped at the same place .It was discovered that there were too many carriages for the train to pull up the slope. The authorities decided to uncouple some of the carriages, but forgot to put the brakes on !!! Needless to say we rolled down the slope at breakneck speed and if it was not for the thoughtful signalman in the station at Naba to switch the lines we would all have been killed in the gorge further outside Naba station. This ended with the carriages smashing into a stationary train in Naba, We were fortunate that our wagons were of steel although they were badly damaged but the occupants about 40 of us escaped with only minor injuries, The other carriages being made of wood were splintered and there were over 600 Royal Army Medical Corp killed and countless Chinese troops who were at the rear of the train and took the brunt of the accident.
3rd May we tried again to board an ambulance train going up to Myitkyina but in vain. The next day we tried again, but were unable to leave the station as there was a head-on collision 12 miles up the track
A group of us decided to take a chance and sought advice to walk to India. There were two routes to Homelin, one via Kyaungle and one via Mansi.
Route via Kyaungle:- travel through the following villages- first to Hwemaukkan, then to Nanaungpain, Kyawangon, onto Maungkaing . A distance of 39miles, then travel to Homelin another 36 miles. At Maungkaing a notice will be posted of the route to Homelin.
‘Discard all kit, make up groups of 15 and distribute your essential gear such as cooking pots. No food is available on the way but water is plentiful. Report to the police station at Homelin for further instructions’.
The Mansi route is longer but easier. Hale and hearty people are advised to take the Kyangle route ,which is marked by arrows, but do not travel by night.
5th May we agreed to stay with the Torrance family until an old friend turned up. He was a forest officer. Xavier asked us to accompany him to trek to India. We parted with the Torrance family and at 12.15 pm left Naba and arrived at Indaw Lake 9½ miles away at 7.00 pm. There were 21 in our party and we slept the night in a cowshed. The next day at 6.00 am we left for Mowteik about 9 miles away. The going was slow as we carried a lot between us for the trek ahead. That night we slept under a tree. The diary is sketchy as nothing was happening except that we had to follow our leader.
7th May we left for Kywegongyi 10¼ miles away; that night we slept in a deserted Burmese hut. Kyandaw was our next stop 11miles and there we bunked down in a paddy field. Then on to Pinbon ,another 11 miles and sheltered for the night in a cowshed. Our next stop was Hwemankkan 12 miles on where we rested in a forest officer’s bungalow. We were now running out of water! At Nanaing Pong 14miles along we stayed under a tree. At this point our guide commandeered two elephants from the locals and we were now climbing into hilly country and there was still no water. We were sipping condensed milk. Made our way to Kyawangon 8 miles away and stayed the night in a forest bungalow. That night it rained and we gathered as much water as we could , filling all our containers.
The elephants carried most of our packs and as we had one lady in the party, a doctor, she was privileged to ride on the elephant. The next day we trekked on to MaingKaing 18 miles on, staying once more in a deserted hut.
14th May we rested all day in the hut, then moved on to Maungpa-aung 17 miles away . We were at the rivers edge and got the locals to build us two rafts. Two days was spent on the raft and the journey was treacherous. Looking back on that, it was like shooting the rapids!!
Eventually we arrived at Tonhe. This was the start of our trek through Naga country. There were local government officers on a boat who invited us to help ourselves to as much silver coinage (rupees) as we could carry. This enabled us to pay the Naga porters, who refused to take any paper notes. The reason was because paper notes burnt!! We left Tonhe for a waterhole 8 miles away and this is where the climb began. We slept under trees that night.
On the 19th we departed for the next part of our ascent to a Naga village 12 miles up. Along the way we passed many bodies of trekkers who had died of fatigue ,starvation and some at the hands of the head-hunting Naga tribesmen. Some had arrows through them, and were left along the track to their fate. I am unable to name the next lot of villages we passed through, one was 16 miles, the other 12 miles, then to one called Mollin 11miles away, further along was Yaripoke 10 miles. During this treachous climb, the Naga porters carried our packs and they scuttled along way ahead of us arriving hours before we got there. Sadly it was on the climb that one of our party died. He was suffering from asthma and the rarified atmosphere was too much for the poor man.
We moved on the next day to a military camp we found 4 miles away and boarded a bus for the Assam town of Dimmapore where we stopped to have a well earned rest and a good nights sleep. Imphal was only 28 miles from there. At Dimmapore we boarded a bus for Imphal but it ran out of petrol soon after, so we borrowed a gallon and got stranded again 15 miles from Imphal!! We tried in vain to persuade the military to send us back to Dimmapore, so we walked a further 2½ miles towards Imphal when a car picked us up and took us to a camp 7 miles from Imphal. Here the party split up, but we caught a train, paying our own fares, and headed for Calcutta. Crossed the river and caught another train to Parbatipur, changed trains again for Calcutta arriving at 2.45 pm, then took a taxi to Loretta House.
Alas we enquired about my Mother and the family and were told that they had not made it to India and were last seen at Myitkyina. My grandfather had died in the bombing of the aerodrome.
I found Montgomery’s interesting, although perhaps more than Churchill he puts himself in a very good light. Nonetheless, he has an interesting view on leadership under pressure.
One Hundred Days by Sandy Lyle also very interesting I thought, on managing the politics alongside the military campaign (in the Falklands for those unaware).
Not sure either of those are ‘best’ but definitely interesting.
One Hundred Days by Sandy Lyle also very interesting I thought, on managing the politics alongside the military campaign (in the Falklands for those unaware).
Not sure either of those are ‘best’ but definitely interesting.
First Light by Geoffrey Wellum (Squadron Leader)
Can't really sum this book up to give it an honest appraisal, it's probably one of the most honest personal first person perspectives of a young the youngest Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot, from the loss of friends to the lonely solitude in the skies, a harrowing inner dialogue, desperation and almost surreal cognitive dissonance to get through the life and death daily routine, one minute they're making tea and toast the next they're fighting for their lives if they can find the target and land again, losing friends, making mistakes, fog, fuel, wrong directions. It's a book that really leaves you speechless and in awe of their bravery and perhaps youthful ignorance to almost certain death and rolling the dice with their lives, they don't make them like that anymore.
Can't really sum this book up to give it an honest appraisal, it's probably one of the most honest personal first person perspectives of a young the youngest Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot, from the loss of friends to the lonely solitude in the skies, a harrowing inner dialogue, desperation and almost surreal cognitive dissonance to get through the life and death daily routine, one minute they're making tea and toast the next they're fighting for their lives if they can find the target and land again, losing friends, making mistakes, fog, fuel, wrong directions. It's a book that really leaves you speechless and in awe of their bravery and perhaps youthful ignorance to almost certain death and rolling the dice with their lives, they don't make them like that anymore.
ChevronB19 said:
Any war - go for it.
I’ll start with:
Spike Milligan - Hitler, my part in his downfall (and subsequent books in the series). Both immensely funny and immensely sad.
Spike's books are great memoirs but it's interesting that he rarely mentions details of actual combat until he suffers the effects. Being an artilleryman probably did keep him away from the worst of the conflict - not wishing to demean his contribution, god forbid.I’ll start with:
Spike Milligan - Hitler, my part in his downfall (and subsequent books in the series). Both immensely funny and immensely sad.
TomTheTyke said:
One Hundred Days by Sandy Lyle also very interesting I thought, on managing the politics alongside the military campaign (in the Falklands for those unaware).
Not sure either of those are ‘best’ but definitely interesting.
It's an interesting read but I preferred the books by Mike Clapp and Julian Thompson; they seem to have had an easier war, at least in the sense of not having Northwood leaning over their shoulder as much.Not sure either of those are ‘best’ but definitely interesting.
Halmyre said:
Spike's books are great memoirs but it's interesting that he rarely mentions details of actual combat until he suffers the effects. Being an artilleryman probably did keep him away from the worst of the conflict - not wishing to demean his contribution, god forbid.
WW2 artillerymen would still have had it very rough I reckon. Whenever possible gun batteries would have been subjected to enemy counter battery fire once their position had been identified, or prior to an enemy assault. Spike would have had plenty of experience of being shelled by artillery - one can only imagine the sheer terror of being subjected to a heavy artillery bombardment.Experiences of posting WWII Germans being forced to leave their homes aren't well known (and some of the stories will have you crying like a baby, especially if there's a connection there). Over 7million people transplanted.
Gunter Nitsch's "Weeds Like Us" is one of those stories. WWII in Europe didn't end in April 1945
Gunter Nitsch's "Weeds Like Us" is one of those stories. WWII in Europe didn't end in April 1945
ChevronB19 said:
Any war - go for it.
I’ll start with:
Spike Milligan - Hitler, my part in his downfall (and subsequent books in the series). Both immensely funny and immensely sad.
I'm reading this at the moment. I was thinking about his 3 wartime memoirs a few weeks ago, then a couple of days later a bloke at the bus stop had a book full of bags, and a complete volume of the 3 was on top. I asked what he was doing with it, and he said he was donating them all to a charity shop. He gave me Spike's book, which was nice of him.I’ll start with:
Spike Milligan - Hitler, my part in his downfall (and subsequent books in the series). Both immensely funny and immensely sad.
I remember reading these as a kid and pissing myself laughing; this time round, probably 40 years later, I have still laughed out loud a few times, but now I can appreciate the underlying sadness of losing friends. Worth a read.
mac96 said:
Truckosaurus said:
'Chickenhawk' by a Vietnam war helicopter pilot.
(Another vote for Milligan's books for WW2 content - also a rare example of a memoir from a lower ranked soldier, most stuff seems to be from officers or NCOs)
The pilot author was Robert Mason. Another vote for it from me.(Another vote for Milligan's books for WW2 content - also a rare example of a memoir from a lower ranked soldier, most stuff seems to be from officers or NCOs)
I’d also recommend Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds-
and Lancaster Target by Jack Currie
Oberheim said:
Halmyre said:
Spike's books are great memoirs but it's interesting that he rarely mentions details of actual combat until he suffers the effects. Being an artilleryman probably did keep him away from the worst of the conflict - not wishing to demean his contribution, god forbid.
WW2 artillerymen would still have had it very rough I reckon. Whenever possible gun batteries would have been subjected to enemy counter battery fire once their position had been identified, or prior to an enemy assault. Spike would have had plenty of experience of being shelled by artillery - one can only imagine the sheer terror of being subjected to a heavy artillery bombardment.“An officer present, Noel Burdett, hearing Teske and me stating that we must have actually fired at each other that day, said, “Your survival indicates you must both be bloody awful shots.” Later Hans Teske dispelled the belief that Germans had no sense of humour by inscribing my menu “Dear Spike, sorry I missed you on February 26, 1943.”
'Wings on My Sleeve' by Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, Hon FRAeS
"In 1939, Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else. During his lifetime he made a record-breaking 2,407 aircraft carrier landings and survived eleven plane crashes. One of Britain's few German-speaking airmen, he went to Germany in 1945 to test the Nazi jets, interviewing (among others) Hermann Goering and Hanna Reitsch. He flew the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane, and tested the first British jets."
ISBN13 reference 9780753822098
"In 1939, Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else. During his lifetime he made a record-breaking 2,407 aircraft carrier landings and survived eleven plane crashes. One of Britain's few German-speaking airmen, he went to Germany in 1945 to test the Nazi jets, interviewing (among others) Hermann Goering and Hanna Reitsch. He flew the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane, and tested the first British jets."
ISBN13 reference 9780753822098
cookie1600 said:
'Wings on My Sleeve' by Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, Hon FRAeS
"In 1939, Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else. During his lifetime he made a record-breaking 2,407 aircraft carrier landings and survived eleven plane crashes. One of Britain's few German-speaking airmen, he went to Germany in 1945 to test the Nazi jets, interviewing (among others) Hermann Goering and Hanna Reitsch. He flew the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane, and tested the first British jets."
ISBN13 reference 9780753822098
Best to give this one a swerve!"In 1939, Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else. During his lifetime he made a record-breaking 2,407 aircraft carrier landings and survived eleven plane crashes. One of Britain's few German-speaking airmen, he went to Germany in 1945 to test the Nazi jets, interviewing (among others) Hermann Goering and Hanna Reitsch. He flew the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane, and tested the first British jets."
ISBN13 reference 9780753822098
'Winkle: The Extraordinary Life of Britain’s Greatest Pilot' by Paul Beaver is a much better book, 'wings on my sleeve' was ghost written (without consent iirc) and Eric Brown distanced himself from it as he felt there were more than a few inaccuracies and embellishments
ETA picture
Edited by Tango13 on Wednesday 16th April 19:19
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