Censored: The Personal War Travelogue of a WWII Artillery Officer in the Middle East, Africa & Italy

CENSORED gives a fascinating and detailed glimpse into the daily life of a British WWII officer in the 8th Army through over 100 letters written back home from 1939 to 1945. This is some of the best descriptive writing you will find from a 21 year old. Published by his daughter, Pat's letters describe how he made the most of being in the war, experiencing everything he could, and taking advantage of the opportunity to travel. In many of the letters it is hard to believe that a war was actually going on, as he describes sumptuous dinners and elaborate parties, frequent dances, classical concerts and operas and romantic encounters with a rotation of Italian girlfriends. All this is interspersed with minutely detailed live action accounts of the battles he participated in. For example, the major landing at Salerno, Italy, Monte Cassino and the whole Italian campaign, as well as anecdotes of various mishaps and antics that transpired during his travels. This is a must read for every WWII history buff. The events are described through 6 years of letters to his mother in Scotland and from his personal diaries beginning with how the British Army built camps from scratch in England, trained their troops and received evacuees from Dunkirk. There are letters about being drafted, trained, commissioned as an officer, and finally sent off to fight in 1942.He traveled from Liverpool to Basra via Cape Town, then to Cairo and on to Tunisia for the battle of Enfidaville and finally to Italy where he fought in the Italian Campaign and at the Battle of Salerno. The end of the war saw him running a German POW camp near Venice and playing bridge with the German generals. These letters record every detail of a day in the life of an officer. They offer a rare opportunity to experience this period in history. REVIEW: "Censored is a must read for anyone interested in knowing more about WWII and the intimate everyday details of an active-duty English soldier's life. The letters are chock full of details that bring humor and insight to what otherwise could be another dismal story of war". Sher Davidson: Author of Under the Salvadoran Sun.