VICTORIA CROSS WINNERS OF THE KOREAN WAR; & FIGHTING HITLER FROM DUNKIRK TO D-DAY

◗ S. Wynn; and J. Haward MM with N. Barber ◗ Pen and Sword (2021)

◗ £14.99 each

◗ 126, and 174, pages (softbacks)

◗ ISBN:9781526713315; and 9781399013871

◗ pen-and-sword.co.uk

These are two lively accounts of wartime experiences.

The first title actually covers the two George Cross medals as well as the four Victoria Crosses, including an interview with Bill Speakman, VC, plus a number of other citations for battlefield gallantry and sheer endurance in captivity. It follows the similar‘ homely’ style in the author’s other titles on what it was like to be a soldier, especially a National Serviceman, on active service. There is relatively little on tactics and strategy, but it ‘tells a story’.

The second (reprint) title describes the experiences of a Vickers machine-gunner in the Middlesex Regiment, encompassing NW Europe 1940, the Desert War, Sicily, and Normandy onwards. There are some interesting details on the operating methods of the gun and its usage in action, but the main strength of this book is its description of incidents on and off the battlefield: the author has that soldierly blend of humour, selfdeprecation, resistance to overbearing authority, and a sharp eye for the good and the bad in his fellow soldiers. A very attractive read.