2017-01-29
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one – an autobiography of an artilleryman didn’t seem to promise, but again, I bought it for just 99p. What I got was one of the most amazing and detailed WWII accounts I’ve read to date.
Over half of the book is involved in the early years of the North African campaign, first fighting just the Italians, then being pushed back when the Germans arrive. We have a long and intense chapter about the 8-month siege of Tobruk, which Ellis was caught in.
The sheer intensity of the Axis onslaught comes across as the British forces were pushed back toward Egypt. However, before Montgommery changes the tide at El Alamein, Ray Ellis’s unit is destroyed and he is captured.
We then spend a number of chapters with him as a POW in Italy, then escaping and ending up living with an Italian family, before escaping back to Allied lines.
What really stands out about this book is the details – little things that never get in the way of the narrative, but always enrich it. I ended up making quite a lot of notes for my own chronicles series. Later on, his account of his time in Italy was translated into Italian because it captured a way of life, now gone, that was little written about.
Overall, an outstanding book – so much so, that I’m going to chase down the sequel about his post-war life.
Rating: 5/5