I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety

When the war in Europe ended, my dad was stationed at a transit camp in Sidney, Australia waiting for onward transport to join his unit in the British Pacific Fleet. He wrote in his diary: On Tuesday 8 th May 1945 the newspapers were head-lined "It’s all over in Europe" and gave histories of the last five years. Flags were flying in Sydney but no crowds surged through the streets. We made sure our rooms were booked at the British Centre and went for a drink to celebrate Victory. A couple of drunken sailors were the only signs of the momentous day it was. At seven o’clock we were steaming out of Central Station just as the city began to warm up and celebrate. Australian trains are horrible. They are uncomfortable, slow, draughty and Heaven knows what else, in fact not a patch on the good old L.M.S. [London, Midland and Scottish Railway.] The only interesting part of the journey was an old man of 83 who got on at Penorth and who had emigrated here when h

I've recently discovered an amazing official war artist named Anthony Gross. In 1942 he was sent on a troop carrier, the m.v. Highland Monarch, from England to Egypt via Sierra Leone and the Indian Ocean. He made a series of drawings during the voyage, which took around eight weeks, which are a fantastic record of daily life on board. Some of Gross' drawings have provided me with real in-sights into my father's diary. For example, on Thursday 14 th October 1943 Norman recorded: "Transport arrived, picked us up and dumped us on the wharf alongside " S.S. Orbita " an armed merchant cruiser used as a troop carrier. Climbed the stairs (damned if I know the nautical name) and then, after finding ourselves on the top deck, tried to find our mess, which we were told was "just forrard". Eventually discovered it and found it to be a place about the size of a single tennis court where 360 of us were to eat and sleep for Heavens knows how

I was delighted to notice a few days ago that another review had been posted on the Amazon site for  I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety: The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II by N. Buckle & C. Murray. So pleased you liked the book G.P. Walker and many thanks for adding your comment to the Amazon site.  Indeed, thanks to everyone who has posted a review. If you're wondering why the price of the book has increased it's all to do with V.A.T. Until Jan 1st this year V.A.T. on ebooks in the U.K. was levied at 3%. Changes in tax rules mean that V.A.T. is now being levied at 20%. Paper books continue to be zero rated. Why ebooks are discriminated against beats me but there you are. All our ebooks are under £1 at the moment. Why not take a look at Spurwing Ebooks ?