Almost Summer Catalogue #269
Posted On Oct 31, 2023 | Aviation,Military Biography,Military General,Naval,SIMMO,Special Forces and Airborne,The Great War 1914-1918,Vietnam,World War 2 1939 - 1945 | No Comments
Welcome to Catalogue 269 November 2023. Spring is really upon us with the city trees burgeoning. William Street down through China Town is a joy to behold except at night when the trees obscure the street lights. My weekend was taken up with sports with the Rugby World Cup (won by South Africa over NZ), the Rugby League Pacific championships won by Australia (over NZ) and possibly the best game of 1 day cricket ever played—Australia beat NZ by 5 runs. Over 700 runs scored in one day!! And the Matildas have just flogged the Philippines 8 nil!! They filled our 60,000 seat stadium—good to see. All in all, it wasn’t a great sporting weekend for our Kiwi mates. The World Cup was a disaster for our Wallabies who produced some mind numbingly bad rugby to go out in the pool stage. The coach Eddy Jones, has fallen on his sword as a result. Maybe now Rugby Australia will remove their digits and find a suitable replacement immediately (where’s Bob Dwyer when we need him).
And so to the business at hand—books. Some interesting titles in this list as usual. The books chosen for the cover are all SANDAKAN titles. It’s important for all of us to never forget the atrocities committed by the Japanese in WW2. Whilst there were many, SANDAKAN in Borneo, would have to top the list as the worst equaling the disgraceful conduct of the Germans on many fronts. In modern times we’ve got the Russian/Ukraine debacle and now the Israel/Hamas conflagration. We must agree that both Ukraine and Israel have the right to defend themselves. But we as humans will never learn. In the meantime, my own account of my 35 years Army service is nearing completion. I’ve been working on it for three years and, with the help of my brilliant son Toby, whose’ has just arrived from Canada, we should put it to bed very soon. I think getting it published before Christmas is probably a bit ambitious. Anyone wishing to order a pre-launch signed copy, let me know and I’ll add you to the list. We’re unsure yet whether it will be a hardback or card cover. It’s quite a hefty tome of around 40 chapters and covering everything I was involved over 35 years (27 Regular and eight Reserve). I don’t think it’s of Booker or Pulitzer Prize standard but it’s factual and written from the heart. Dr Toby has knocked it into good shape and I’m most excited to see the completion.
As usual, this list is dedicated to service men and women past and present who volunteer to stand up for us all.
Vaya con Dios
M & J