War alistair

FIVE GREAT WAR STORIES - ALISTAIR MACLEAN!! Leatherette binding Reprint London Collins pages. Collins Collector's Choice Series; 5 Great and well known war stories in one volume, some have film tie-ins. Minor wearing to spine, edges and corners of dust jacket. Cover in navy leatherelle with gold decorative edges to front cover and along length of spine.     "Collins Collector"s Choice" series. Very solid and tight copy, navy blue imitation leather with gilt lettering. Book in very good condition - Dust jacket slightly damaged and writing on front page Heavy book 1.6kg postage R    

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 6 - 13 working days Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders, captured by the Japanese in Singapore. Forced into manual labor as a POW, he survived 750 days in the jungle working as a slave on the notorious "Death Railway" and building the Bridge on the River Kwai. Subsequently, he moved to work on a Japanese "hellship," his ship was torpedoed, and nearly everyone on board the ship died. Not Urquhart. After five days adrift on a raft in the South China Sea, he was rescued by a Japanese whaling ship. His luck would only get worse as he was taken to Japan and forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki. Two months later, he was just ten miles from ground zero when an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In late August , he was freed by the American Navy--a living skeleton--and had his first wash in three and a half years. This is the extraordinary story of a young man, conscripted at nineteen, who survived not just one, but three encounters with death, any of which should have probably killed him. Silent for over fifty years, this is Urquhart's inspirational tale in his own words. It is as moving as any memoir and as exciting as any great war movie. Features Summary * An extraordinary and moving tale by an ex-POW and last surviving member of the Gordon Highlanders regiment that was captured by the Japanese in Singapore... Author Alistair Urquhart Publisher Abacus Release date Pages 312 ISBN ISBN

2008 paperback edition with 318 pages brand new and unread. Signed by author on title page. R46 postage in SA.  Hoare is now 97 years old and lives in South Africa. Hoare was born in Ireland. He spent his early days in India and was educated in England. He served in North Africa and Italy as an officer in the London Irish Rifles during World War II, and achieved the rank of Captain. After the war, he completed his training as a chartered accountant, and qualified in 1948. He emigrated to Durban, Natal Province, Union of South Africa, where he ran safaris and became a soldier-for-hire in various African countries.Congo crisis - During the Congo Crisis Mike Hoare organized and led two separate mercenary groups:1960¿1961. Major Mike Hoare's first mercenary action was in Katanga, a province trying to break away from the newly independent Congo. The unit was called "4 Commando." During this time he married Phyllis Simms, an airline stewardess.1964. Congolese Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe hired "Major" Mike Hoare to lead a military unit called 5 Commando ANC (later led by John Peters) made up of about 300 men most of whom were from South Africa. His second in command was a fellow ex-British Army officer, Commandant Alistair Wicks. The unit's mission was to fight a revolt known as the Simba Rebellion. Later Hoare and his mercenaries worked in concert with Belgian paratroopers, Cuban exile pilots, and CIA-hired mercenaries who attempted to save 1,600 civilians (mostly Europeans and missionaries) in Stanleyville from the Simba rebels in Operation Dragon Rouge. This operation saved many lives. Hoare was later promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in the ANC and 5 Commando expanded into a two-battalion force. Hoare commanded 5 Commando from July 1964 to November 1965.

2008 paperback edition with 318 pages brand new and unread. Signed by author on title page. R60 postage in SA.  Hoare is now 98 years old and lives in South Africa. Hoare was born in Ireland. He spent his early days in India and was educated in England. He served in North Africa and Italy as an officer in the London Irish Rifles during World War II, and achieved the rank of Captain. After the war, he completed his training as a chartered accountant, and qualified in 1948. He emigrated to Durban, Natal Province, Union of South Africa, where he ran safaris and became a soldier-for-hire in various African countries.Congo crisis - During the Congo Crisis Mike Hoare organized and led two separate mercenary groups:1960¿1961. Major Mike Hoare's first mercenary action was in Katanga, a province trying to break away from the newly independent Congo. The unit was called "4 Commando." During this time he married Phyllis Simms, an airline stewardess.1964. Congolese Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe hired "Major" Mike Hoare to lead a military unit called 5 Commando ANC (later led by John Peters) made up of about 300 men most of whom were from South Africa. His second in command was a fellow ex-British Army officer, Commandant Alistair Wicks. The unit's mission was to fight a revolt known as the Simba Rebellion. Later Hoare and his mercenaries worked in concert with Belgian paratroopers, Cuban exile pilots, and CIA-hired mercenaries who attempted to save 1,600 civilians (mostly Europeans and missionaries) in Stanleyville from the Simba rebels in Operation Dragon Rouge. This operation saved many lives. Hoare was later promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in the ANC and 5 Commando expanded into a two-battalion force. Hoare commanded 5 Commando from July 1964 to November 1965.