An Average War
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I’ve recently finished reading “An Average War”, by Mike Peyton. It’s the story of his life in the British army during the second world war.
War stories aren’t even close to the type of genre i normally read, but Mike’s the father of a couple of very old friends of mine and he was kind enough to give me a copy of his book. And i’m glad he did, as i really enjoyed reading it. It’s well written, in a very casual sort of way, and the story of his wartime adventures is gripping.
Mike was called up in 1940, when he joined the Northumberland Fusiliers and trained as a machine gunner. Then he was shipped out to Africa, where he fought and was taken prisoner in the Western Desert.
Mike travelled to Africa on the same ship as the Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie. He remembers him as a tiny bearded man in a black cloak, who they often saw walking around on the upper decks for exercise. Selassie, also known as Ras Tafari, was the man who the Rastafarian religion is built around. I’m sure Mike would get a few drinks bought for him if he told that story in a pub in Brixton or Hackney!
After being taken prisoner by the Germans in the Western Desert, Mike spent long periods in prisoner of war camps in Italy and Germany. Towards the end of the war, he managed to escape and ended the war fighting with the Russian Red Army.
Even if, like me, you’re not a fan of war stories, this book’s definitely worth a read. Mike’s writing style draws you into it immediately and it’s hard to put it down from then on!
Unfortunately, though, Mike published it himself and it’s not available from booksellers. If you’d like a copy, though, you can contact me through my contact page and i can arrange to send you one. They cost GBP10 each, plus postage.
Mike Peyton is a cartoonist, photographer and journalist – his articles, cartoons and photos are published regularly in British yachting magazines and you can see his cartoons in the New Scientist.
If you’re interested in reading more about this book, The Spectator published a review of it in 2006.
4 Responses to “An Average War”
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Less a review, more a series of extracts? And your link points to page 3?
Ah, yeah. Thanks for pointing that out. It’s fixed now.
It’s always nice to have Rob around to point out your mistakes, eh? You’re going to have to be more accurate in future!
sounds really interesting, i’ll order one off you when i’m a bit more financial!