Specifically, British army memoirs from WW2. I prefer reading about the war from a personal perspective rather than the strategic overviews.
I have just finished “The Impossible Victory” by Brian Harpur, about the Italian campaign.
Have you read Spike Milligan’s war autobiography?
I can’t say I have- is it worth a read? Somehow I had the impression that he was involved in entertainment during the war.
Not at all. He was a gun bunny, flaggie and occasional OP with the Royal Artillery from 1939 (?) until invalided out in 1944 (?).
Very funny books, but quite sad in places as well.
The Black Bull: From Normandy to the Baltic with the 11th Armoured Division
Patrick Delaforce
One for a taster
It is a great pity that the Library Service in the UK is run by local Councils - this has seen 99% of books about conflict being removed over the past 20 years, due to PC attitudes & domination of the service by women.
Mills & Boon is seen as more important than nasty stuff about historical facts.
My local Library has never failed to get a book for me and quickly too. You have a good point about the Military Books dissapearing off the shelf ad a quick search of my local Libraries archived books gave literaly hundreds of titles that they had removed to store (including Winnies complete volumes on ww2).
Try a search on your local libraries website and see if you get the same results.
Spike milligans books are definitely worth a read. He got in to entertainment late on after service in N.Africa. He ends up in a holding camp full of “loonies” as he calls them, even the OC of this establishment is a bit bomb happy. These blokes are no longer combat effective and are stored here until they can be dealt with, but from this camp Spike enters a new era of his life as an entertainer of the troops.
One sad note is when he finally leaves Italy, leaving an Italian girl behind. Very sad, I was sort of routing for him to marry her and live happily ever after, in Italy if needed. We definitly lost a great man when he finally passed away.
Spike it is then- and I will have to look out for The Black Bull.
I have pretty much given up on my local public library. They are so keen on multimeeja I get the impression books are almost a nuisance to them.
Try ‘Hill 112’ can’t remeber who its by (i know poor skills and drills) but it’s about the British advance on Caen, well worth a read.
Sounds good!
Max Hastings gives a pretty good account of the Caen operation in his book “Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy”
Hi,
Any of Patrick Delaforce’s books are well worth reading.
A quick list (of the ones I’ve on my shelf, - not all of them,.yet)
Montys Maruaders 4th and 8th Armoured Brig
Montys Highlanders 51st Highland Div
Montys Ironsides 3rd Div. Normandy beachs to Bremen
The Black Bull 11th Armoured Div. Normandy to baltic
Churchills Desertrats 1&2 7th Armoured Div. Italyand Normandy
Polar Bears 49th Div. Normandy to relief of holland
Marching to the sound of gunfire North west europe '44/45
The good thing is that he served with RHA 11th Armoured as a troop laeder in normandy, then as FOO in holland and germany, during ww2,so he writes with experience,…and some humor, at times.
Other writers worth looking out for, - in my opinion, are,
Ken Ford, Battleaxe Div, africa to italy with 78th div '42-45
Ken Tout, Anything he’s written. (he served in 1st bat nothants
yeomanry, fighting in Shermans)
If you’ve any specific area’s of interest, post them, I’m sure other posters have groaning bookshelfs, as well as me :lol:
On the library front, I find my local brilliant, the district computerised system, has yielded up many titles I’d never seen, or read.
All the best.
Andy
Cheers Andy,
I am especially interested in reading accounts by those who served, it helps to balance up the “big picture” history books.
Much the same, here; Trooper.
Andy
Hi Trooper, me, again;…just finished a Brilliant book,(from the libary,.natch lol) Poor Bloody Infantry, by Charles Whiting.
Well worth looking out for…
Andy
Thanks…!
I have just read “By tank into Normandy”. The memoirs of a young lad who finds himself a Troop Leader in one of the Yeomanry Regiments on D day. An excellent account.
Hi Trooper!
From new books I recommend Matthew Parker’s “Monte Cassino”.
Somewhat written close to Ambrose’s style - a lot of personal accounts and war from the perspective of a single trooper rather than generals.
Cheers,
Lancer44
Trooper,Hi, yes, read that one, a while ago,.as you say, a good readable account, from a personal perspective.
A few books similar, worth looking out for,in my opinion, below…
Armoured Guardsmen, a war diary,june '44 - apr '45. Robert Boscawen
(pen and sword books. isbn 0 85052 748 1)
Guns Have Eyes, one mans story of the normandy landings. Peter Ryder
(robert hale. isbn 0 7090 1894 0)
My Moving Tent. diary of a desert rat. (light aid detachment driver) A.A. Nicol
(the pentland press. isbn 1 85821 180 8 )
Commando Despatch Rider, from D-Day to Deutschland '44-'45. R. Mitchell
(pen and sword books. isbn 0 85052 797 X )
A lot of the unit/div histories are worth looking at,…some of them are not as dry as one would expect, LOL.
Is the reading about WWII where your interest lies,- or are you a vehicle owner - reenactor. ??
Nope, just army barmy 
from a very eary age.
Nowt wrong with that,…:lol:
Peter White, “With The Jocks”