VINTAGE ROGER: LETTERS FROM THE POW YEARS

A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE QUIRKY MIND OF A CAPTURED BRITISH OFFICER

Writer: Charlie Mortimer Publisher: Constable Price: £16.99

Roger Mortimer’s life in the Coldstream Guards was a comfortable and predictable one, until he was taken prisoner while serving with the British Expeditionary Force in 1940. Spending the rest of the war as a POW would tax his easygoing nature and wry sense of humour, but this collection of letters, edited by his son, Charles, reveals an extraordinarily strong character.

Life as a POW could be stultifyingly dull, and letters received from home, along with whatever people chose to send out, were lifelines in a very literal sense. For this reason, he treasured the letters received from his friend Peggy Dunne, who wrote regularly and entertainingly to whatever camp Mortimer was being held in. She also sent books, which he was delighted to discuss with her.

The intimacy of the letters is sometimes surprising. Despite admitting in one early letter that he was a “comparative stranger” to Peggy, he went on to describe a visit to a brothel, although it appears to have been more farcical than lascivious.

Always self-deprecating (he describes his tastes as “distinctly lowbrow”, going on to claim that “it is difficult to tell where my hair stops and my eyebrows begin”) it is nevertheless clear that he is incredibly grateful for the distraction that Peggy’s letters offer. From one camp he writes, “I’ve had five letters from you today so I am counterattacking with two letters and a postcard.”

Revealing, poignant and at times moving, Mortimer’s letters are always entertaining and give a valuable insight into the experiences of a World War II POW.