A LIFE IN BOOKS - Part Two

The influences of the second world war were all around in the fifties and early sixties. It took a long time for a bomb damaged London to re-build; rationing was still around and simple things like oranges and bananas were something completely new to us - born during and after the war.


Both Westerns and war films dominated in the cinema while books of both genres crowded the bookshelves.




The factual books of the time like Guy Gibson's 'Enemy Coast Ahead'; Willi Frischauer and Robert Jackson's 'The Navy's Here' and Richard Collier's 'Eagle Day' brought a narrative to war books. The writing styles not only maintained interest but read like a novel. These books were far removed from the stiff and formal histories available at the time.




Authors like C.E.Lucas Phillips brought Alamein, Kohima, the raid on St.Nazaire and the exploits of the Cockleshell Heroes to life while Ralph Barker took to the skies and down into the drink with his real life stories of the R.A.F.




In turn many of the war novelists drew on their own experiences. John Harris (ex-air force) had a successful debut with 'The Sea Shall Not Have Them' about the air sea rescue team battling to find a downed bomber crew that is, unknowingly, drifting towards a minefield. This book was turned into a movie and it proved successful for John Harris was to continue writing war books. Amongst these and written in the sixties was 'Covenant With Death' about the young conscripts who answered Lord Kitchener's call during the First World War. It follows their lives and their training through the march to the front - from romanticism through to the harsh reality of the Somme 1916.






At secondary school the books to read were Derek Lambert's 'The Twenty Thousand Thieves' and the sequel 'Glory Thrown In'. The Australian Army on the march in the North African desert - Benghazi and Tobruk in the heat and dust. Officers who lived a class apart still living in a colonial past and despised by the men some of whom had worked for them. First World War attitudes clashing on the field of battle with Second World War reality.


Many others turned their wartime experiences into novels. Alexander Baron's (I have written more about this author in an earlier blog) army days are recalled in the accounts of the Scicily and Italy campaigns while Nicholas Monserrat wrote about his naval career in 'Three Corvettes' and 'The Cruel Sea'. Peter Elstob showed what life was like in a tank with the excellent 'Warriors For The Working Day'.




Another British airman was the author Elleston Trevor who wrote about the Battle Of Britain in 'Squadron Airborne'; Dunkirk with 'The Big Pick Up' and Falaise with 'The Killing Ground'. Elleston Trevor went on to more fame as 'Adam Hall' creator of the Quiller series.


The list goes on but there were two American authors who wrote about war in a completely different way. One was Irwin Shaw who wrote that brick of a book 'The Young Lions'. Of the three characters only two stand out. Christian Diestl is a pretty decent character - he's not a bad guy it is just the times and the need to survive in Nazi Germany that makes him become the way he is. Noah Ackerman, on the other hand, is a nice guy - but being Jewish doesn't work in his favour. Here Shaw cleverly shows a parallel with the Nazi way and bullying anti-Semitism of his peers. Michael Whitacre is a middle-class, fence sitter who tries to do as little as possible while handing out unwanted advice - only Noah Ackerman just will not lie down nor stay down.


The other American author, who should be better known, is ex-USAAF pilot James Salter who used his experiences during the Korean war to the fore in 'The Hunters'. Sabres vs MIGs - this wasn't anything like the 'Blackhawk' comics. The hero of 'The Hunters' is Cleve Connell who has one ambition - to be an ace pilot with five kills - but does he have what it takes? Even he has doubts about his own abilities.


These are just a few of the war novellists that I read in the late fifties and early sixties. Some may be remembered while others have been forgotten. Every book that I write about, though, is still on my bookshelf.

A LIFE IN BOOKS: Part One

A while back on Facebook blogger Pattinase asked friends to name 15 authors who had influenced them one way or another. One stipulation was that they were named without thinking about it.


Straight away there are, to me anyway, Charles McCormac, Guy Gibson, Patrick R. Reid and Paul Brickhill. Not exactly household names now but back in their day their stories were very influential.


Charles McCormac wrote a book called 'You'll Die In Singapore' - but he didn't. He escaped from Singapore and island hopped his way through Java to Australia. It was one long, harrowing journey that saw his friends die along the way.


Guy Gibson told the story of his life, in 'Enemy Coast Ahead' as a bomber pilot up to and including the destruction of the Moehne Dam that flooded the factories in the Ruhr Valley. After his death while attempting to breach the final dam, Paul Brickhill took up the story in 'The Dambusters'.


It was not just 'The Dambusters' that Paul Brickhill was known for. He had organised the stooges that kept watch over the forgers of the X organisation behind 'The Great Escape' from Stalag Luft 3. It was his book that inspired the movie.
One of my 'heroes' when I was young was Douglas Bader, the legless Battle Of Britain fighter pilot and subject of Brickhill's 'Reach For The Sky'. Like Brickhill, Bader spent time at Stalag Luft 3 and that other 'escape proof' prison camp Colditz Castle.


Colditz Castle was not as escape proof as many thought as Patrick R Reid was to prove and related in the book 'The Colditz Story'. This was followed by 'The Latter Days At Colditz'. In 1984 Pat Reid brought out a third volume 'Colditz:The Full Story' that added the 'secret' stuff that he had not been able to reveal in the first two books.


Four authors who influenced me in my younger years.
Not that they encouraged me to write but more to 'imagine' and 'see' what they were writing about. And to understand.


The common thread to these books is about never giving up; armed with determination, self-belief and hope (in some cases) what seems to be impossible can be achieved.


Although the list showed just four non-fiction writers there were so many others like Richard Hillary's 'The Last Enemy'; a fighter pilot shot down and was disfigured with burns but who climbed back into the cockpit.


These and other wartime true stories became my staple reading diet from (believe it or not) the age of eight - and would be read and re-read over the years. The first book that I bought cost 2/-d (two shillings or 10p). It was Pat Reid's 'The Colditz Story'. That Pan edition still exists today tucked away in a bureau - the pages are brittle and tanned and the spine taped up.


My wife reckons that I will be buried with it - well, I hope so otherwise I would have to plan my own escape.

THE LONE RANGER - 2013

Just got around to watching the Johnny Depp Show - after all he was the star despite hiding beneath fifty shades of grey make up.


In many ways it was a pity that everyone managed to miss a trick and leave a mess of a movie that didn't know whether it was a comedy or a spoof or something else. And I felt sorry at the way Armie Hammer was wasted as he was pretty good when Johnny 'Tonto' Depp wasn't around.


Despite having a negative feel towards the movie there were parts that brought back memories of the original series. For example the massacre of the Rangers in which it may be recalled was the only time that we saw Clayton Moore without his mask.


Lurking beneath it all was a plotline that should have been the centre attraction with two well crafted villains one of which, Butch Cavendish, bore  a striking resemblance to the comic book character Jonah Hex.


Although I was left disappointed by the movie my grandchildren thoroughly enjoyed it. And, therein lies a different aspect.
Like many that I know - we grew up with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. They set the bar and when people talk about 'The Lone Ranger' that is the image that we see. No one can match them but we do expect to see a kind of image that thrills us.
My grandchildren, fans of 'Pirates Of The Caribbean', see this western in a similar vein. In fact all one of them wanted for their birthday was a complete cowboy outfit. So if 'The Lone Ranger' can do that for him so much for the better.


However, I suggest that Disney heeds the last words uttered by Johnny Depp's Tonto to The Lone Ranger - "Don't ever do that again."

THE UNDERTAKER: Here Endeth The Streak

Wrestlemania 30 was a mistake. At least, that is my personal view.
Over the past few years my interest in wrestling has waned and when it does spark up then I have a preference for TNA.


But - or should that be BUT - once a year my attention goes to Wrestlemania - not so much for anything else other than the streak.
The Undertaker's winning streak stood at 21-0 until last night when a part-timer; a former WWE champion no less; Brock Lesner ended it all with an F-5.


For all his stage presence Brock Lesner (and I don't deny him his win here) just wasn't the right choice. If The Undertaker's streak was going to end then the honour should have gone to Kane or to someone who could build a career on the victory - as John Cena did after defeating Chris Jericho and Big Show.


Then again what about the real clash of the titans - The Phenom against the equal legend that is Sting? Neither could in all honesty win that match - it would have to be a double k.o.


Sadly, the ending of The Undertaker's streak is equal to killing a golden goose. Next year I won't be watching because someone pulled the plug on the magic.

THE PATIENCE OF THE IMPATIENT PATIENT by Ray Foster

THE PATIENCE OF THE IMPATIENT PATIENT

 

   In big red digital letters the screen reads: ‘Patients who are ten minutes late for their appointment may not be seen.’

   So, if I’m late the doctor has the right to refuse to see me – what reciprocal right do I have? I mean if he’s ten minutes late for the appointment can I fine him? Go home and demand another appointment?

   No, it’s all self-defeating.

   All the rights go one way. Argue and you can be arrested, kicked out and find yourself doctorless. And why? Because there is another sign that says that staff and doctor’s have the right not to suffer abuse at the hands of aggrieved patients.

   Well, my appointment was for 4pm and I arrived 5 minutes ago – now it is ten past 4.

    Should have brought a book.

    Still, there is plenty to read – like the reassuring posters on the wall. ‘Free hearing test if you are over fifty five’: ‘That Pain Could Have A Name’: ‘Blood in your poo – talk to a doctor before it is too late’ and the adverts for things like MacMillan Trust and Specsavers.

    Then there are the magazines. Bella, Best, My Weekly, and Take A Break – I’d be in my element if I was a woman. But who reads things like ‘My Mother Sold Me For A Packet Of Fags’ or ‘I thought my father was really my husband’ – a mistake easily made I suppose though I have no desire to find out which he was.

    Buried amongst all this is a ‘National Graphic’ magazine. Great article on Angel Fish with lots of pretty pictures. If I wanted to look at Angel Fish then I’d buy an aquarium.

    Quarter past 4.

     The TV screen invites me to see a nurse for a check for Chlamydia; followed by a spooky silent film about depression. And then there is the message that there has been a road accident on the A146. All of these things put together reminds me of a song – yes, ‘Reasons To Be Cheerful’. Ian Dury and The Blockheads.

     I start humming ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ to angry glares.

     If I was a kid I could go rooting around in the toy box at the back of the waiting room.

     The screen lights up: Mr John Smith to Room J – Nurse Annie.

     Lucky Mr Smith.

     Reminds me of a book .What was her name? Rosie Dixon, Night Nurse that was it – Rosie Dixon the female version of Timothy Lea who’s Confessions Of A Window Cleaner was widely read by many a young schoolboy – and watched by men in long raincoats in the cinema.

   A thought that provokes a laugh – but I don’t share the joke with the grim faced audience that is either engrossed in magazines or watching one of the screens.

4:20 and my doctor is ready to see Linda Green.

I am tempted to demand that the doctor makes a new appointment with me – one that he can keep.

    Someone does go to the desk to complain.

    The doctor is running behind – an attack of diahorea, maybe? No further explanation is forthcoming. The receptionist glares at the elderly patient daring her to kick off. She backs down and shuffles back to take her seat. The receptionist returns to her crossword puzzle.

    4:25 and Linda Green is out. That was a quick in and out – just like that – and she has a big smile on her face. One satisfied patient, then.

    Then nothing.

    5 minutes pass....time enough for another reminder that patients shouldn’t use the doctor’s parking spaces. A misplaced apostrophe has me questioning just how many parking spaces the doctor needs.

    The thought crosses my mind that maybe the doctor’s having a quick fag outside in one of his parking spaces. Might need a bit of down time after the last patient.

Okay – thinking process getting a little out of hand.

There goes that Chlamydia advert again....bad timing.

4:31 and Elsie Jones is invited into the doctor’s office.

I watch her shuffle slowly, her metal walking stick chinking away. It has taken her two minutes to get from her seat at the back to disappear through the door leading to the various surgeries.

The waiting room is empty.

I am the last patient.

After 50 minutes waiting for the 4pm appointment, I walk into the doctor’s surgery.

“Hi, Mr Balcombe,” the doctor beams at me. “How are you today?”

Inanely, I reply: “Fine.”

What a stupid thing to say. If I was fine then what was I doing there.

“So what’s the problem?” he wonders out loud as he studies my notes on a computer screen.

I avoid the temptation to tell him that I think that I have Chlamydia. Just able to check myself as I realise that for 50 minutes I have been brainwashed into a state of hypochondria.

“I’m here about the results of the tests,” I prompt instead. “I did phone but was told to make an appointment.”

He peers closer at the screen; fiddles with the mouse and highlights something. He frowns; glances seriously at me.

I prepare for the worst....but then he smiles.

“All clear,” he grins. “You’re fit as a fiddle.”

And I waited 50 minutes for something that he could have told me over the phone.

50 minutes of my life wasted.

Next time I’m coming armed with a book and an iPod – and you can bet that before I’ve plugged in the ear phones and started on page one the sign will light up with ‘The doctor will see you now’.

First broadcast on Felixstowe Radio 19th March 2014

Copyright Ray Foster 2013

THE GREAT ESCAPE: 70 years on

On the night of 24th/25th March 1944 76 airmen made their way to a tunnel nicknamed 'Harry' in what was to become one of the most famous escape stories of the Second World War. Of the 76 escapers from Stalag Luft 3 fifty three would not return. Of those two Norwegians and one Dutchman made home runs while the other fifty were executed on the orders of Heinrich Himmler.


Stalag Luft 3 was reputed to be escape proof but even as Roger Bushell (Big X) was planning for the mass breakout another escape was under way. Overshadowed by later events the amazing escape by Eric Williams, Michael Codner and Oliver Philpot using a roughly made vaulting horse made what is regarded as the first successful escape from the east compound the previous October.


The original plan for the great escape itself was designed to cause the greatest amount of disruption to the Germans as possible. Yes, 250 men just walking down the road was Bushell's vision. Roger Bushell had been a British ski champion and barrister - a ski-ing accident had left him with a scarred drooping eye. He had been shot down near Dunkirk in May, 1940 and was a thorn in the enemy's side ever since.


The escape took over 600 men to organise - from forging, scavenging, digging, dispersal and security. The author, and Australian pilot, Paul Brickhill who wrote the book 'The Great Escape' in 1950, was in charge of the 'stooges' that protected the forgers. Although offered a place in the escape he was declared unfit due to his claustrophobia.


However, the tunnel was just a few yards short of the trees when the first escapee broke out this resulted in a hastily contrived contingency plan. In the end only 76 men made it out and fifty of those were destined to die.


Yet, 70 years on and The Fifty are still remembered.
In the woods near Zagen (Sagen back then) there are still remains of the hut foundations, the cooler (made famous by Steve McQueen in the movie) and the line of the tunnel can be seen and a newly erected guard tower shows how close it was to the tunnel.


The Great Escape was a mammoth achievement in both engineering and organisation - and Bushell's plan to cause disruption worked but it cost him his life and that of 49 others. But those who ordered and carried out those executions ended up at Nuremburg, several others have been caught up with over the years.

REBEL RUN by Jack Giles

I am pleased to say that this 1985 'western' novel is now available to download. A Kindle version is available via Amazon.


The reason that I use the term 'western' is that while set in the era it is, perhaps, an eastern.


The story of REBEL RUN is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. The hero is a Confederate Artillery Sergeant with the Virginia (Rockbridge) Battery who, on the 9th August 1862, is captured during the retreat from Cedar Run.


Van Essen is a habitual escaper who is sent to an island prison camp that is reputed to be escape proof. The camp commander has no love of artillerymen nor do the group of Confederate cavalrymen to whom he is attached. They have plans of their own that do not include the newcomer.


This is not just an escape yarn but one that rides the rapids and develops into a running battle against the Federal Army.


I must have enjoyed writing this book as it embraces things that I do remember. Influences of the escape stories that I read when I was young like Colditz, Stalag Luft 3, 'The Wooden Horse' escape by Eric Williams and the First World War classic 'The Road To En-Dor'. Combine all that with an interest in the American Civil War and, I guess it would be inevitable that 'REBEL RUN' would happen. Although fiction the Regiments and Civil War events are factual.


This book was the one that I was reading when my wife, gently, told me that I had written it. For those new to my blog a stroke left me missing 30 years of memories. While Van Essen was captured on the 9th August by  a weird coincidence that was also the date of that stroke.