1 AB Div - Tunisia, Sicily, Arnhem and after

[Mike Jackson]

Although it is a novel, the book The Patriots by James Barlow, published 1960 contains some powerful descriptive writing of the experiences of a member of an unidentified (Y Bn) battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Tunisia, Sicily and Arnhem (and captivity). If you are interested in the Regiment or the battle it's worth reading - if you can find a copy. ISBN 0 14 00.1684 8 might help your local library. Or currently on eBay for 99 pence!

[NEMO]

The ` Patriots ` is quite simply the best fictional book I have ever Read about the british army
( perhaps apart from The Dead the Dying and the Damned ).

The general thrust of the book is life in post war Britain evolving around two ex paras both very bitter and angry how the world has become how their deeds were soon forgotten and their mates that did not return .

The book has a very synical thread -very similar to all the post Vietnam biographies that came out in the 1980`s, which seams very at odds with what history wants us to believe that all service men enjoyed the war and couldnt do enough for King and Country and the folks back home.......

Over the years I have met and interviewed many WW2 vets who quite openly said " five bloody years wasted of my life " to go back to work in the same factories with people that never went away stopped at home earned a fortune and the formans / managers job .......

The very best bits are the chapters written in ` flash back` covering Anhem , Sicily and North Africa ,some of the technical detail is superb if not harrowing,
trying to fire a Bren with a burnt out barrel, the compasses sewn in to the lapels of their battle dress , the parachute deaths in training due to poor equipment
throwing the dead and the WOUNDED out of the burning Dakota to get rid of weight and keep it in the air , hand to hand fighting with the Germans in the Cork tree forrests in Tunisia .......... it goes on and on.


Arnhem sept 1944

`It had all begun so well .......
In perfect air and with out a faulty chute and the feeling this time the numbers are on our side and air power and there wont be the usual F%&k up.`

`On the high ground above Arnhem the only high ground in Holland where the dear walk and the turf is soft and the children now play - you can see Germany and that is the daring of the plan but it needs luck and the luck starts to run out with in minutes - even before the first transport planes have left the runway .....`

`The Bren thudded against his shoulder as the lorries raced over the bridge that Monday morning and the jerry infantry fell and ran and doubled up screaming and were neatly massacred and the `six pounders` further back in the Market place knocking the Sh&te out of the following armoured cars .........`




This does not read like a boys own comic let me make that clear it is so realistic and descriptive and I was truly stunned and sad when I found out it was a ` work of fiction ` however having owned this book for 30 odd years I believe the war time episodes to be true ( wont tell ya the post war adventures will really spoil it for you ) Im led to believe the story was told to the author James Barlow whilst he was a prison vistor or in some way connected with the prison service ?

Just superb

[Mike Jackson]

Rave reviews! I'm pleased I mentioned it now - and regret that it was never filmed.
A Dutch lady watching the prisoners being assembled by the SS - "....The grass will grow high over the German graves and they will take their bodies away in shame, but our children and our children's children will put flowers on your friends"
Mike

[NEMO]

if ......any one wants to borrow my copy ....and promises to send it back ............

[NEMO]

Originally Posted by Mike Jackson

Rave reviews! I'm pleased I mentioned it now - and regret that it was never filmed.
A Dutch lady watching the prisoners being assembled by the SS - "....The grass will grow high over the German graves and they will take their bodies away in shame, but our children and our children's children will put flowers on your friends"
Mike

Just perfect

[BWEF]

Originally Posted by Mike Jackson

Rave reviews! I'm pleased I mentioned it now - and regret that it was never filmed.
A Dutch lady watching the prisoners being assembled by the SS - "....The grass will grow high over the German graves and they will take their bodies away in shame, but our children and our children's children will put flowers on your friends"
Mike

Although it was never filmed, the film rights were sold but the film was cancelled due to the Great Train Robbery, according to the authors daughter Gillian Barlow:

"...the film rights of The Patriots were bought around 1960/61 by Lord Brabourne and the film was very nearly ready to go with Stanley Baker cast as Reg Mills, but then the great train robbery happened and they cancelled the film feeling that it would appear to be cashing in on misfortune so it was never made. Whoever inherited from Lord Brabourne will have inherited the rights. I hope that one day a film is made as it is a cracking, but very human novel. It was certainly felt to be his best."

Source:

http://ageofuncertainty.blogspot.co....es-barlow.html

[appie_b]

A Dutch lady watching the prisoners being assembled by the SS - "....The grass will grow high over the German graves and they will take their bodies away in shame, but our children and our children's children will put flowers on your friends"

And they have done since 1945, and will keep doing it for years to come....lest we forget.

Albert

[Frank Kelley]

Hello Albert,
I'm with you as regards the "moffen" field grey slugs with bad manners!
It is very nice to see photographs like the one you show here, they are remembered for their efforts 69 years ago.
Kind regards Frank

Originally Posted by appie_b

A Dutch lady watching the prisoners being assembled by the SS - "....The grass will grow high over the German graves and they will take their bodies away in shame, but our children and our children's children will put flowers on your friends"

And they have done since 1945, and will keep doing it for years to come....lest we forget.

Albert

[NEMO]

Stanley Baker as Reg Mills ....... now that would have been superb he would have captured Mills moody sullen atitude to perfection -if only , considering the second part of the `Patriots ` book its quite Ironic he played a train robber .....?

[Chacal]

Originally Posted by appie_b

A Dutch lady watching the prisoners being assembled by the SS - "....The grass will grow high over the German graves and they will take their bodies away in shame, but our children and our children's children will put flowers on your friends"

And they have done since 1945, and will keep doing it for years to come....lest we forget.

Albert

Albert

And they still do ...

Graham

[BWEF]

Originally Posted by Frank Kelley

Hello Albert,
I'm with you as regards the "moffen" field grey slugs with bad manners!
It is very nice to see photographs like the one you show here, they are remembered for their efforts 69 years ago.
Kind regards Frank

There is even a connection between the "slugs with bad manners" and the Lord Brabourne who was going to make the film.

I looked him up and found that he became 7th Baron Brabourne on the death of his elder brother, the 6th Baron, who was executed by the SS in 1943.

"Norton Cecil Michael Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne (11 February 1922 – 15 September 1943) was a British peer and soldier, the son of Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne.

Lieutenant Knatchbull, educated at Eton College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, served in the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War. He was wounded and captured by the Germans in Italy in 1943. On his way to captivity in Germany he tried to escape from the prison train at Bronzolo, a village in South Tyrol, together with Lt Arnold Guy Vivian, a fellow officer in the 6th Battalion, Grenadier Guards. Both were recaptured and executed by the SS in Bronzolo on 15 September 1943".

[Mike Jackson]

Further to the final paragraph above - In the Battle of the Horseshoe in Tunisia 16/17 Mar 43 the 45 officers of 6th Bn Grenadier Guards sustained the following casualties:

14 KIA, 5 WIA and 5 made POW. Of the latter, two were wounded prior to capture and two, as mentioned above, were shot during or after an escape attempt in Italy.

Other rank casualties in the same action were 63 KIA, 88 WIA and 114 POW.

The Officers in happier days in Syria in late 1942:
6 Gren Gds Nathanya.jpg

[BWEF]

I have finally "caught up with myself" and obtained a copy of "The Patriots" via Abebooks.

It was not at all expensive. In fact, the postage was more than the cost of the actual book!

If anybody else is interested, there are a large number of copies of the book available from a number of sellers on Abebooks:

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Se...n=The+Patriots