|
Browse categories
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 Customer Reviews
How things change!, 06 Oct 2008
I was looking forward to reading this book as I have served with a couple of lads from both 2 & 3 Para who fought in the Falklands and have worked with many other Paras in more recent years.
The book started off pretty dull about his life at school but soon got on track once he decided to join the Army, the story of life in the Army, his trip down south and what happened on his return was excellent, but then it went back to being dull again, why he chose to write about his trip to Belize is beyond me and didnt add anything to the book, I nearly stopped reading there, but then it picked up again at the end.
His attitude towards the rest of the Army is now very dated, and although there is still inter Regiment rivalry the whole whole way that we view each other has changed since his day, due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanstan where all capbadges are working and fighting together there is a lot more mutual respect and quite rightly too, check out the number of gallantry awards awarded to all Regts and Corps of the British Army.
Mark, like all who have been involved in armed conflict went through a lot both mentally and physically and I salute all who have done so, but as you read the latter part of the book, he is still in the mindset that everyone who isnt airborne is a hat and the Paras hate them, on that issue he is very much a dinosaur and out of touch.
10 out of 10. Read this Book!, 08 Sep 2008
I devoured "Sod that" in just three sittings, and that doesn't often happen to me. During the Falklands battles I was lost in the pages, until my wife told me to turn the bloody light out. I looked across and it was four o'clock in the morning!
I thought it was brilliantly and truthfully written from the heart. Mark has not tried to big himself or his buddies up, he told it like it was in every gory and moving detail, and that's what makes this account so much more readable.
Buy it. Read it, then if you have never served under fire, you may just get a hint of what it's like. You may then begin to understand why so many men struggle when they come back from war.
This doesn't apply just to the lads from 1982. Try to imagine what hundreds or maybe even thousands of very young men are going through when they come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq.
A lot though, like many of Marks friends, don't come back. This will remind you that they are not just numbers you hear on the evening news. They are people, young men with families, wives and children, someone's son. This book should put things in perspective, in order of importance in your life.
Tony
Sod that, real story-real life., 13 Feb 2008
I feel i have to write in a retort to Jayetee's reveiw. The comments about the authour being rude and abusive, although being his/her personnel opinion should not stand.
I have recently laid the book down after what i can describe as one of the most moving accounts that i have ever digested.
Mark Eyles-Thomas served with the Parachute Regiment, calling all other members of the armed forces who did not earn the Maroon beret as HATS, is what is best described as banter, mickey taking and having a massive sense of self pride. What the Paras and other elite units do is not normal, these people are close, because of what they are asked to do; by people sat in their living rooms and cosy offices. Is the reviewer so naive as to think those HATS do not have their own colourful language to describe those who call them HATS?
I can give this informed statement, as i served as a Hat for nearly ten years, i am immensley proud of my military sevice, like Mark i joined the Army as a sixteen year old, and also lost a friend during operations in Bosnia.
People should not be put off from reading this book because of Marks description of non Paras, Mark tells it like it is, sometimes people tell you the truth can hurt, read the book and understand that this is about normal young men asked to do a very abnormal job, its consequences and what makes our British Army the best on the planet.
You will not be disapointed
Excellent, 22 Jan 2008
Excellent read.
Forget the history books,this book brings home the true reality of the Falklands War as experienced by the young soldiers of 3 Para.
It brings home the true horrors and emotions of warfare.
A must read for all.
Thanks Mark for telling your story and helping us remember those who gave thier lives and those who still suffer today.
Sod That For A Game Of Soldiers, 13 Jan 2008
I found this author to be rude and abusive to any other person who was not a Para. Not at all amusing hearing other Military and civilian personel being slagged off.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Customer Reviews
How things change!, 06 Oct 2008
I was looking forward to reading this book as I have served with a couple of lads from both 2 & 3 Para who fought in the Falklands and have worked with many other Paras in more recent years.
The book started off pretty dull about his life at school but soon got on track once he decided to join the Army, the story of life in the Army, his trip down south and what happened on his return was excellent, but then it went back to being dull again, why he chose to write about his trip to Belize is beyond me and didnt add anything to the book, I nearly stopped reading there, but then it picked up again at the end.
His attitude towards the rest of the Army is now very dated, and although there is still inter Regiment rivalry the whole whole way that we view each other has changed since his day, due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanstan where all capbadges are working and fighting together there is a lot more mutual respect and quite rightly too, check out the number of gallantry awards awarded to all Regts and Corps of the British Army.
Mark, like all who have been involved in armed conflict went through a lot both mentally and physically and I salute all who have done so, but as you read the latter part of the book, he is still in the mindset that everyone who isnt airborne is a hat and the Paras hate them, on that issue he is very much a dinosaur and out of touch.
10 out of 10. Read this Book!, 08 Sep 2008
I devoured "Sod that" in just three sittings, and that doesn't often happen to me. During the Falklands battles I was lost in the pages, until my wife told me to turn the bloody light out. I looked across and it was four o'clock in the morning!
I thought it was brilliantly and truthfully written from the heart. Mark has not tried to big himself or his buddies up, he told it like it was in every gory and moving detail, and that's what makes this account so much more readable.
Buy it. Read it, then if you have never served under fire, you may just get a hint of what it's like. You may then begin to understand why so many men struggle when they come back from war.
This doesn't apply just to the lads from 1982. Try to imagine what hundreds or maybe even thousands of very young men are going through when they come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq.
A lot though, like many of Marks friends, don't come back. This will remind you that they are not just numbers you hear on the evening news. They are people, young men with families, wives and children, someone's son. This book should put things in perspective, in order of importance in your life.
Tony
Sod that, real story-real life., 13 Feb 2008
I feel i have to write in a retort to Jayetee's reveiw. The comments about the authour being rude and abusive, although being his/her personnel opinion should not stand.
I have recently laid the book down after what i can describe as one of the most moving accounts that i have ever digested.
Mark Eyles-Thomas served with the Parachute Regiment, calling all other members of the armed forces who did not earn the Maroon beret as HATS, is what is best described as banter, mickey taking and having a massive sense of self pride. What the Paras and other elite units do is not normal, these people are close, because of what they are asked to do; by people sat in their living rooms and cosy offices. Is the reviewer so naive as to think those HATS do not have their own colourful language to describe those who call them HATS?
I can give this informed statement, as i served as a Hat for nearly ten years, i am immensley proud of my military sevice, like Mark i joined the Army as a sixteen year old, and also lost a friend during operations in Bosnia.
People should not be put off from reading this book because of Marks description of non Paras, Mark tells it like it is, sometimes people tell you the truth can hurt, read the book and understand that this is about normal young men asked to do a very abnormal job, its consequences and what makes our British Army the best on the planet.
You will not be disapointed
Excellent, 22 Jan 2008
Excellent read.
Forget the history books,this book brings home the true reality of the Falklands War as experienced by the young soldiers of 3 Para.
It brings home the true horrors and emotions of warfare.
A must read for all.
Thanks Mark for telling your story and helping us remember those who gave thier lives and those who still suffer today.
Sod That For A Game Of Soldiers, 13 Jan 2008
I found this author to be rude and abusive to any other person who was not a Para. Not at all amusing hearing other Military and civilian personel being slagged off.
Excellent Book, 19 Oct 2008
I received my copy of 'Special Forces Pilot' the day after publication after having waited patiently for publication. I first heard about the book in our local newspaper (The Whitehaven News) as the author is a local resident and have been eagerly awaiting publication. The wait was not disappointing and I finished the book in two days. It is a well researched, fast paced personal account of flying operations during the Falklands War and includes, for the first time, first hand detailed information about the insertion of an SF recce patrol into mainland Argentina. I would fully recommend this book to anyone interested in military aviation, military history or just true adventure stories. Hats off to Col Hutchings DSC.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Customer Reviews
How things change!, 06 Oct 2008
I was looking forward to reading this book as I have served with a couple of lads from both 2 & 3 Para who fought in the Falklands and have worked with many other Paras in more recent years.
The book started off pretty dull about his life at school but soon got on track once he decided to join the Army, the story of life in the Army, his trip down south and what happened on his return was excellent, but then it went back to being dull again, why he chose to write about his trip to Belize is beyond me and didnt add anything to the book, I nearly stopped reading there, but then it picked up again at the end.
His attitude towards the rest of the Army is now very dated, and although there is still inter Regiment rivalry the whole whole way that we view each other has changed since his day, due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanstan where all capbadges are working and fighting together there is a lot more mutual respect and quite rightly too, check out the number of gallantry awards awarded to all Regts and Corps of the British Army.
Mark, like all who have been involved in armed conflict went through a lot both mentally and physically and I salute all who have done so, but as you read the latter part of the book, he is still in the mindset that everyone who isnt airborne is a hat and the Paras hate them, on that issue he is very much a dinosaur and out of touch.
10 out of 10. Read this Book!, 08 Sep 2008
I devoured "Sod that" in just three sittings, and that doesn't often happen to me. During the Falklands battles I was lost in the pages, until my wife told me to turn the bloody light out. I looked across and it was four o'clock in the morning!
I thought it was brilliantly and truthfully written from the heart. Mark has not tried to big himself or his buddies up, he told it like it was in every gory and moving detail, and that's what makes this account so much more readable.
Buy it. Read it, then if you have never served under fire, you may just get a hint of what it's like. You may then begin to understand why so many men struggle when they come back from war.
This doesn't apply just to the lads from 1982. Try to imagine what hundreds or maybe even thousands of very young men are going through when they come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq.
A lot though, like many of Marks friends, don't come back. This will remind you that they are not just numbers you hear on the evening news. They are people, young men with families, wives and children, someone's son. This book should put things in perspective, in order of importance in your life.
Tony
Sod that, real story-real life., 13 Feb 2008
I feel i have to write in a retort to Jayetee's reveiw. The comments about the authour being rude and abusive, although being his/her personnel opinion should not stand.
I have recently laid the book down after what i can describe as one of the most moving accounts that i have ever digested.
Mark Eyles-Thomas served with the Parachute Regiment, calling all other members of the armed forces who did not earn the Maroon beret as HATS, is what is best described as banter, mickey taking and having a massive sense of self pride. What the Paras and other elite units do is not normal, these people are close, because of what they are asked to do; by people sat in their living rooms and cosy offices. Is the reviewer so naive as to think those HATS do not have their own colourful language to describe those who call them HATS?
I can give this informed statement, as i served as a Hat for nearly ten years, i am immensley proud of my military sevice, like Mark i joined the Army as a sixteen year old, and also lost a friend during operations in Bosnia.
People should not be put off from reading this book because of Marks description of non Paras, Mark tells it like it is, sometimes people tell you the truth can hurt, read the book and understand that this is about normal young men asked to do a very abnormal job, its consequences and what makes our British Army the best on the planet.
You will not be disapointed
Excellent, 22 Jan 2008
Excellent read.
Forget the history books,this book brings home the true reality of the Falklands War as experienced by the young soldiers of 3 Para.
It brings home the true horrors and emotions of warfare.
A must read for all.
Thanks Mark for telling your story and helping us remember those who gave thier lives and those who still suffer today.
Sod That For A Game Of Soldiers, 13 Jan 2008
I found this author to be rude and abusive to any other person who was not a Para. Not at all amusing hearing other Military and civilian personel being slagged off.
Excellent Book, 19 Oct 2008
I received my copy of 'Special Forces Pilot' the day after publication after having waited patiently for publication. I first heard about the book in our local newspaper (The Whitehaven News) as the author is a local resident and have been eagerly awaiting publication. The wait was not disappointing and I finished the book in two days. It is a well researched, fast paced personal account of flying operations during the Falklands War and includes, for the first time, first hand detailed information about the insertion of an SF recce patrol into mainland Argentina. I would fully recommend this book to anyone interested in military aviation, military history or just true adventure stories. Hats off to Col Hutchings DSC.
Still a poor account, 15 Oct 2008
No matter that the front cover photo has been changed this is still a lazily researched and poorly written book. The 'intelligence' of the officers means nothing - (in warfare everyman is equal and if the truth be known [and Goose Green was a very good example], Toms can rise to the occasion and in difficult circumstances produce leadership up there with anything produced at Sandhurst) - and therefore any rank or rate can provide an honest and up front commentary on their actions and those around them. I will say it again.. the official artist gets more of say than any of the 28 000 other participants, and that is sad.
Let's hope the fiftyth anniversary of this conflict brings a book with a wider collaboration.
Powerful and moving perspective of war, 24 Jun 2008
I don't normally do 5 stars so as I try to review this book, I will try to explain what makes it (in my eyes) so special.
Written in chronological order from before the start of the Falklands War this is a number of eye witness accounts so the perspective varies. This perspective is balanced with civilians and Argentines so all aspects of the conflict are presented.
I had a view of the Falklands war and specifically of the sinking of the Belgrano and I have to admit that I have changed my view upon reading this. I also learnt a great deal that I was not expecting to. Our politicians do not come out of this well (John Nott going to tell the Falkland Islanders that Britain would not come to their rescue if there was a problem - and there were Argentine officers in the room who would have taken the message straight back home) nor does Admiral Sandy Woodward who seems to have made some very poor decisions at the sharp end.
An emotional book too - the sailor who describes how he was blinded for life, the Islanders kept locked up for days, the Argentine conscript not understanding where he was being sent, or why. The injuries caused from burns because we had replaced cotton shirts with fabrics that melted into and onto the skin...The loss of life from the Paras, the Argentine civvie brothers lost on the Belgrano because they stayed on board despite the fact all they did was run a crew shop - many, many sad and brave tales that made me realise what happened all those many miles away in the middle of no-where.
I would have like to have heard from some of the Special Forces that were involved, but generally a very wide ranging and balanced view is presented.
So, why five stars? Well this is a very well written and presented account of war. It made me think and change my views and feel on an emotional level about many of the people involved. Fantastic stuff.
The Sacrificial Pawns, 26 May 2008
After 26 years, the Falklands war seems too familiar. Anyone with a TV in 1982 could learn the main events; I expected that a history of first-hand accounts might shed a new and interesting light. Now I cannot put the book down.
By formatting the narrative of each episode as a series of brief witness statements the author provides razor-sharp insight into the moods and attitudes of both sets of combatants. A single narrator can rarely match this sense of being there. It is fascinating to learn of the fear, the luck, the misfortune, the mistakes and the contrast between myth and reality. So long after the war, the protagonists are no longer afraid to speak honestly. For a example, an officer may have put on a brave show at the time but he admits that he had to go back to the manual.
Critics accuse the book of not being definitive, missing many other voices and ignoring too often the squaddy's view. In response, however he gathered his material, the author has ensured quality if not quantity. The words of the British officers ring with intelligence, humility, compassion and tactical awareness. We learn how much the navy banked their lives on technology and how they could lose the bet. There is an electrifying sense of both British and Argentines discovering the war as they went along. If, like me, you have not read a detailed account of the war then I recommend this. It also puts the record straight: admiral Woodward, knighted afterwards, does not come out well.
Has some perspectives to offer, but..., 31 Mar 2008
There are a wealth of books on the Falklands, but this one claims to be the most sustained oral history available. It certainly comes with some impressive credentials, being part of the 'Forgotten Voices' series of oral histories sponsored by the Imperial War Museum, and also drawing on other archives held by Falklands civillians and the BBC.
I think this august comapny is part of the problem. The two World Wars are gradually turning into history, and recollections come to us over the distance of at least sixty years. The Falklands, for all the restrictions of the time, was comprehensively chronicled by print, radio, film and television. Retrospectives of the conflict have taken place as recently as 1992 and 2002. Publishing has served a constant stream of accounts and memoirs over the last 26 years.
This is a worthy book, well-edited and comprehensive. The civilian experience and the Argentine perspectives are given respectful room, but the British military stories dominate, as one might expect. Oral history has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as well-publicised accounts interact and achieve a life of their own. This is not to detract from the accounts here which are in many cases vivid and chilling testimony to modern warfare: just a reminder that history is an imperfect human activity like any other.
This is a sizeable and comprehensive oral history of the Falklands war edited with sensitivity by a distinguished veteran. For a clear, objective account of the fighting and the diplomatic context, there are other books available. The major flaw with it is the label 'forgotten'; there's not enough new material to warrant the description. What's here is familiar, but no less moving for that.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Customer Reviews
How things change!, 06 Oct 2008
I was looking forward to reading this book as I have served with a couple of lads from both 2 & 3 Para who fought in the Falklands and have worked with many other Paras in more recent years.
The book started off pretty dull about his life at school but soon got on track once he decided to join the Army, the story of life in the Army, his trip down south and what happened on his return was excellent, but then it went back to being dull again, why he chose to write about his trip to Belize is beyond me and didnt add anything to the book, I nearly stopped reading there, but then it picked up again at the end.
His attitude towards the rest of the Army is now very dated, and although there is still inter Regiment rivalry the whole whole way that we view each other has changed since his day, due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanstan where all capbadges are working and fighting together there is a lot more mutual respect and quite rightly too, check out the number of gallantry awards awarded to all Regts and Corps of the British Army.
Mark, like all who have been involved in armed conflict went through a lot both mentally and physically and I salute all who have done so, but as you read the latter part of the book, he is still in the mindset that everyone who isnt airborne is a hat and the Paras hate them, on that issue he is very much a dinosaur and out of touch.
10 out of 10. Read this Book!, 08 Sep 2008
I devoured "Sod that" in just three sittings, and that doesn't often happen to me. During the Falklands battles I was lost in the pages, until my wife told me to turn the bloody light out. I looked across and it was four o'clock in the morning!
I thought it was brilliantly and truthfully written from the heart. Mark has not tried to big himself or his buddies up, he told it like it was in every gory and moving detail, and that's what makes this account so much more readable.
Buy it. Read it, then if you have never served under fire, you may just get a hint of what it's like. You may then begin to understand why so many men struggle when they come back from war.
This doesn't apply just to the lads from 1982. Try to imagine what hundreds or maybe even thousands of very young men are going through when they come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq.
A lot though, like many of Marks friends, don't come back. This will remind you that they are not just numbers you hear on the evening news. They are people, young men with families, wives and children, someone's son. This book should put things in perspective, in order of importance in your life.
Tony
Sod that, real story-real life., 13 Feb 2008
I feel i have to write in a retort to Jayetee's reveiw. The comments about the authour being rude and abusive, although being his/her personnel opinion should not stand.
I have recently laid the book down after what i can describe as one of the most moving accounts that i have ever digested.
Mark Eyles-Thomas served with the Parachute Regiment, calling all other members of the armed forces who did not earn the Maroon beret as HATS, is what is best described as banter, mickey taking and having a massive sense of self pride. What the Paras and other elite units do is not normal, these people are close, because of what they are asked to do; by people sat in their living rooms and cosy offices. Is the reviewer so naive as to think those HATS do not have their own colourful language to describe those who call them HATS?
I can give this informed statement, as i served as a Hat for nearly ten years, i am immensley proud of my military sevice, like Mark i joined the Army as a sixteen year old, and also lost a friend during operations in Bosnia.
People should not be put off from reading this book because of Marks description of non Paras, Mark tells it like it is, sometimes people tell you the truth can hurt, read the book and understand that this is about normal young men asked to do a very abnormal job, its consequences and what makes our British Army the best on the planet.
You will not be disapointed
Excellent, 22 Jan 2008
Excellent read.
Forget the history books,this book brings home the true reality of the Falklands War as experienced by the young soldiers of 3 Para.
It brings home the true horrors and emotions of warfare.
A must read for all.
Thanks Mark for telling your story and helping us remember those who gave thier lives and those who still suffer today.
Sod That For A Game Of Soldiers, 13 Jan 2008
I found this author to be rude and abusive to any other person who was not a Para. Not at all amusing hearing other Military and civilian personel being slagged off.
Excellent Book, 19 Oct 2008
I received my copy of 'Special Forces Pilot' the day after publication after having waited patiently for publication. I first heard about the book in our local newspaper (The Whitehaven News) as the author is a local resident and have been eagerly awaiting publication. The wait was not disappointing and I finished the book in two days. It is a well researched, fast paced personal account of flying operations during the Falklands War and includes, for the first time, first hand detailed information about the insertion of an SF recce patrol into mainland Argentina. I would fully recommend this book to anyone interested in military aviation, military history or just true adventure stories. Hats off to Col Hutchings DSC.
Still a poor account, 15 Oct 2008
No matter that the front cover photo has been changed this is still a lazily researched and poorly written book. The 'intelligence' of the officers means nothing - (in warfare everyman is equal and if the truth be known [and Goose Green was a very good example], Toms can rise to the occasion and in difficult circumstances produce leadership up there with anything produced at Sandhurst) - and therefore any rank or rate can provide an honest and up front commentary on their actions and those around them. I will say it again.. the official artist gets more of say than any of the 28 000 other participants, and that is sad.
Let's hope the fiftyth anniversary of this conflict brings a book with a wider collaboration.
Powerful and moving perspective of war, 24 Jun 2008
I don't normally do 5 stars so as I try to review this book, I will try to explain what makes it (in my eyes) so special.
Written in chronological order from before the start of the Falklands War this is a number of eye witness accounts so the perspective varies. This perspective is balanced with civilians and Argentines so all aspects of the conflict are presented.
I had a view of the Falklands war and specifically of the sinking of the Belgrano and I have to admit that I have changed my view upon reading this. I also learnt a great deal that I was not expecting to. Our politicians do not come out of this well (John Nott going to tell the Falkland Islanders that Britain would not come to their rescue if there was a problem - and there were Argentine officers in the room who would have taken the message straight back home) nor does Admiral Sandy Woodward who seems to have made some very poor decisions at the sharp end.
An emotional book too - the sailor who describes how he was blinded for life, the Islanders kept locked up for days, the Argentine conscript not understanding where he was being sent, or why. The injuries caused from burns because we had replaced cotton shirts with fabrics that melted into and onto the skin...The loss of life from the Paras, the Argentine civvie brothers lost on the Belgrano because they stayed on board despite the fact all they did was run a crew shop - many, many sad and brave tales that made me realise what happened all those many miles away in the middle of no-where.
I would have like to have heard from some of the Special Forces that were involved, but generally a very wide ranging and balanced view is presented.
So, why five stars? Well this is a very well written and presented account of war. It made me think and change my views and feel on an emotional level about many of the people involved. Fantastic stuff.
The Sacrificial Pawns, 26 May 2008
After 26 years, the Falklands war seems too familiar. Anyone with a TV in 1982 could learn the main events; I expected that a history of first-hand accounts might shed a new and interesting light. Now I cannot put the book down.
By formatting the narrative of each episode as a series of brief witness statements the author provides razor-sharp insight into the moods and attitudes of both sets of combatants. A single narrator can rarely match this sense of being there. It is fascinating to learn of the fear, the luck, the misfortune, the mistakes and the contrast between myth and reality. So long after the war, the protagonists are no longer afraid to speak honestly. For a example, an officer may have put on a brave show at the time but he admits that he had to go back to the manual.
Critics accuse the book of not being definitive, missing many other voices and ignoring too often the squaddy's view. In response, however he gathered his material, the author has ensured quality if not quantity. The words of the British officers ring with intelligence, humility, compassion and tactical awareness. We learn how much the navy banked their lives on technology and how they could lose the bet. There is an electrifying sense of both British and Argentines discovering the war as they went along. If, like me, you have not read a detailed account of the war then I recommend this. It also puts the record straight: admiral Woodward, knighted afterwards, does not come out well.
Has some perspectives to offer, but..., 31 Mar 2008
There are a wealth of books on the Falklands, but this one claims to be the most sustained oral history available. It certainly comes with some impressive credentials, being part of the 'Forgotten Voices' series of oral histories sponsored by the Imperial War Museum, and also drawing on other archives held by Falklands civillians and the BBC.
I think this august comapny is part of the problem. The two World Wars are gradually turning into history, and recollections come to us over the distance of at least sixty years. The Falklands, for all the restrictions of the time, was comprehensively chronicled by print, radio, film and television. Retrospectives of the conflict have taken place as recently as 1992 and 2002. Publishing has served a constant stream of accounts and memoirs over the last 26 years.
This is a worthy book, well-edited and comprehensive. The civilian experience and the Argentine perspectives are given respectful room, but the British military stories dominate, as one might expect. Oral history has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as well-publicised accounts interact and achieve a life of their own. This is not to detract from the accounts here which are in many cases vivid and chilling testimony to modern warfare: just a reminder that history is an imperfect human activity like any other.
This is a sizeable and comprehensive oral history of the Falklands war edited with sensitivity by a distinguished veteran. For a clear, objective account of the fighting and the diplomatic context, there are other books available. The major flaw with it is the label 'forgotten'; there's not enough new material to warrant the description. What's here is familiar, but no less moving for that.
Pretty good stuff , 07 Mar 2008
There has been plenty of books written about what happened 'down south' to keep all those Falklands buffs. But this one stands out nicely. Sure some of Spud's views are a little rough around the edges but that is also part of the books charm. If you're looking for a book that is conciliatory and polictically correct then look elsewhere. But it is one of the few books to come close to Vince Bramley's excellent Excursion to Hell and the only one like that to cover Goose Green and Wireless Ridge. The only disappointment is the way the book fizzled out once Spud joined the SAS, from a literary point of view it would have great if he hadn't left the regiment before the Gulf War. Overall though it is a cracking read and a great insight not only into Goose Green but into the guys that fought it - well our guys anyway.
Brilliant - Nigel Ely Takes You by the Balls into the Heat of Battle!, 28 Dec 2007
If you want an honest, no holds barred account of the Falklands War written by a 'Tom' on the ground in the thick of it, you won't find better than Nigel 'Spud' Elys' "For Queen and Country" Nigel takes the reader into the frightening realms of close quarter battle. This should be at the top of every Soldier's Book Collection.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Customer Reviews
How things change!, 06 Oct 2008
I was looking forward to reading this book as I have served with a couple of lads from both 2 & 3 Para who fought in the Falklands and have worked with many other Paras in more recent years.
The book started off pretty dull about his life at school but soon got on track once he decided to join the Army, the story of life in the Army, his trip down south and what happened on his return was excellent, but then it went back to being dull again, why he chose to write about his trip to Belize is beyond me and didnt add anything to the book, I nearly stopped reading there, but then it picked up again at the end.
His attitude towards the rest of the Army is now very dated, and although there is still inter Regiment rivalry the whole whole way that we view each other has changed since his day, due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanstan where all capbadges are working and fighting together there is a lot more mutual respect and quite rightly too, check out the number of gallantry awards awarded to all Regts and Corps of the British Army.
Mark, like all who have been involved in armed conflict went through a lot both mentally and physically and I salute all who have done so, but as you read the latter part of the book, he is still in the mindset that everyone who isnt airborne is a hat and the Paras hate them, on that issue he is very much a dinosaur and out of touch.
10 out of 10. Read this Book!, 08 Sep 2008
I devoured "Sod that" in just three sittings, and that doesn't often happen to me. During the Falklands battles I was lost in the pages, until my wife told me to turn the bloody light out. I looked across and it was four o'clock in the morning!
I thought it was brilliantly and truthfully written from the heart. Mark has not tried to big himself or his buddies up, he told it like it was in every gory and moving detail, and that's what makes this account so much more readable.
Buy it. Read it, then if you have never served under fire, you may just get a hint of what it's like. You may then begin to understand why so many men struggle when they come back from war.
This doesn't apply just to the lads from 1982. Try to imagine what hundreds or maybe even thousands of very young men are going through when they come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq.
A lot though, like many of Marks friends, don't come back. This will remind you that they are not just numbers you hear on the evening news. They are people, young men with families, wives and children, someone's son. This book should put things in perspective, in order of importance in your life.
Tony
Sod that, real story-real life., 13 Feb 2008
I feel i have to write in a retort to Jayetee's reveiw. The comments about the authour being rude and abusive, although being his/her personnel opinion should not stand.
I have recently laid the book down after what i can describe as one of the most moving accounts that i have ever digested.
Mark Eyles-Thomas served with the Parachute Regiment, calling all other members of the armed forces who did not earn the Maroon beret as HATS, is what is best described as banter, mickey taking and having a massive sense of self pride. What the Paras and other elite units do is not normal, these people are close, because of what they are asked to do; by people sat in their living rooms and cosy offices. Is the reviewer so naive as to think those HATS do not have their own colourful language to describe those who call them HATS?
I can give this informed statement, as i served as a Hat for nearly ten years, i am immensley proud of my military sevice, like Mark i joined the Army as a sixteen year old, and also lost a friend during operations in Bosnia.
People should not be put off from reading this book because of Marks description of non Paras, Mark tells it like it is, sometimes people tell you the truth can hurt, read the book and understand that this is about normal young men asked to do a very abnormal job, its consequences and what makes our British Army the best on the planet.
You will not be disapointed
Excellent, 22 Jan 2008
Excellent read.
Forget the history books,this book brings home the true reality of the Falklands War as experienced by the young soldiers of 3 Para.
It brings home the true horrors and emotions of warfare.
A must read for all.
Thanks Mark for telling your story and helping us remember those who gave thier lives and those who still suffer today.
Sod That For A Game Of Soldiers, 13 Jan 2008
I found this author to be rude and abusive to any other person who was not a Para. Not at all amusing hearing other Military and civilian personel being slagged off.
Excellent Book, 19 Oct 2008
I received my copy of 'Special Forces Pilot' the day after publication after having waited patiently for publication. I first heard about the book in our local newspaper (The Whitehaven News) as the author is a local resident and have been eagerly awaiting publication. The wait was not disappointing and I finished the book in two days. It is a well researched, fast paced personal account of flying operations during the Falklands War and includes, for the first time, first hand detailed information about the insertion of an SF recce patrol into mainland Argentina. I would fully recommend this book to anyone interested in military aviation, military history or just true adventure stories. Hats off to Col Hutchings DSC.
Still a poor account, 15 Oct 2008
No matter that the front cover photo has been changed this is still a lazily researched and poorly written book. The 'intelligence' of the officers means nothing - (in warfare everyman is equal and if the truth be known [and Goose Green was a very good example], Toms can rise to the occasion and in difficult circumstances produce leadership up there with anything produced at Sandhurst) - and therefore any rank or rate can provide an honest and up front commentary on their actions and those around them. I will say it again.. the official artist gets more of say than any of the 28 000 other participants, and that is sad.
Let's hope the fiftyth anniversary of this conflict brings a book with a wider collaboration.
Powerful and moving perspective of war, 24 Jun 2008
I don't normally do 5 stars so as I try to review this book, I will try to explain what makes it (in my eyes) so special.
Written in chronological order from before the start of the Falklands War this is a number of eye witness accounts so the perspective varies. This perspective is balanced with civilians and Argentines so all aspects of the conflict are presented.
I had a view of the Falklands war and specifically of the sinking of the Belgrano and I have to admit that I have changed my view upon reading this. I also learnt a great deal that I was not expecting to. Our politicians do not come out of this well (John Nott going to tell the Falkland Islanders that Britain would not come to their rescue if there was a problem - and there were Argentine officers in the room who would have taken the message straight back home) nor does Admiral Sandy Woodward who seems to have made some very poor decisions at the sharp end.
An emotional book too - the sailor who describes how he was blinded for life, the Islanders kept locked up for days, the Argentine conscript not understanding where he was being sent, or why. The injuries caused from burns because we had replaced cotton shirts with fabrics that melted into and onto the skin...The loss of life from the Paras, the Argentine civvie brothers lost on the Belgrano because they stayed on board despite the fact all they did was run a crew shop - many, many sad and brave tales that made me realise what happened all those many miles away in the middle of no-where.
I would have like to have heard from some of the Special Forces that were involved, but generally a very wide ranging and balanced view is presented.
So, why five stars? Well this is a very well written and presented account of war. It made me think and change my views and feel on an emotional level about many of the people involved. Fantastic stuff.
The Sacrificial Pawns, 26 May 2008
After 26 years, the Falklands war seems too familiar. Anyone with a TV in 1982 could learn the main events; I expected that a history of first-hand accounts might shed a new and interesting light. Now I cannot put the book down.
By formatting the narrative of each episode as a series of brief witness statements the author provides razor-sharp insight into the moods and attitudes of both sets of combatants. A single narrator can rarely match this sense of being there. It is fascinating to learn of the fear, the luck, the misfortune, the mistakes and the contrast between myth and reality. So long after the war, the protagonists are no longer afraid to speak honestly. For a example, an officer may have put on a brave show at the time but he admits that he had to go back to the manual.
Critics accuse the book of not being definitive, missing many other voices and ignoring too often the squaddy's view. In response, however he gathered his material, the author has ensured quality if not quantity. The words of the British officers ring with intelligence, humility, compassion and tactical awareness. We learn how much the navy banked their lives on technology and how they could lose the bet. There is an electrifying sense of both British and Argentines discovering the war as they went along. If, like me, you have not read a detailed account of the war then I recommend this. It also puts the record straight: admiral Woodward, knighted afterwards, does not come out well.
Has some perspectives to offer, but..., 31 Mar 2008
There are a wealth of books on the Falklands, but this one claims to be the most sustained oral history available. It certainly comes with some impressive credentials, being part of the 'Forgotten Voices' series of oral histories sponsored by the Imperial War Museum, and also drawing on other archives held by Falklands civillians and the BBC.
I think this august comapny is part of the problem. The two World Wars are gradually turning into history, and recollections come to us over the distance of at least sixty years. The Falklands, for all the restrictions of the time, was comprehensively chronicled by print, radio, film and television. Retrospectives of the conflict have taken place as recently as 1992 and 2002. Publishing has served a constant stream of accounts and memoirs over the last 26 years.
This is a worthy book, well-edited and comprehensive. The civilian experience and the Argentine perspectives are given respectful room, but the British military stories dominate, as one might expect. Oral history has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as well-publicised accounts interact and achieve a life of their own. This is not to detract from the accounts here which are in many cases vivid and chilling testimony to modern warfare: just a reminder that history is an imperfect human activity like any other.
This is a sizeable and comprehensive oral history of the Falklands war edited with sensitivity by a distinguished veteran. For a clear, objective account of the fighting and the diplomatic context, there are other books available. The major flaw with it is the label 'forgotten'; there's not enough new material to warrant the description. What's here is familiar, but no less moving for that.
Pretty good stuff , 07 Mar 2008
There has been plenty of books written about what happened 'down south' to keep all those Falklands buffs. But this one stands out nicely. Sure some of Spud's views are a little rough around the edges but that is also part of the books charm. If you're looking for a book that is conciliatory and polictically correct then look elsewhere. But it is one of the few books to come close to Vince Bramley's excellent Excursion to Hell and the only one like that to cover Goose Green and Wireless Ridge. The only disappointment is the way the book fizzled out once Spud joined the SAS, from a literary point of view it would have great if he hadn't left the regiment before the Gulf War. Overall though it is a cracking read and a great insight not only into Goose Green but into the guys that fought it - well our guys anyway.
Brilliant - Nigel Ely Takes You by the Balls into the Heat of Battle!, 28 Dec 2007
If you want an honest, no holds barred account of the Falklands War written by a 'Tom' on the ground in the thick of it, you won't find better than Nigel 'Spud' Elys' "For Queen and Country" Nigel takes the reader into the frightening realms of close quarter battle. This should be at the top of every Soldier's Book Collection.
Read This Book, 24 Mar 2008
I have read, recently, both this book (twice) and Sandy Woodward's book (100 days...). The different characters of the authors and the stresses and strains of their respective positions in the war, come through very clearly in both books. If you want to understand what it really FEELS like to Command a warship at war, and to lose that ship, then read this intensely personal account from David Hart-Dyke.
Disappointing, 12 May 2007
Considering that this is supposed to be providing the reader with an insight to the loss of a ship, I found this book to be very poor. [...]
Very little is written about the ship's company, and when compared with other similar tomes (Through Fire And Water for example) I was left wondering whether the Captain actually knew many of his crew at all. Very little is written about life onboard, and it was finally brought home to me when he admits to keeping himself apart from the crew once onboard Stromness just when his crew needed to see him providing leadership from the front.
I wanted to read about the ship, and for that it needs a lot more build-up to the events in May and especially events of 14-25th May. Instead, I was presented with a load of history about both the writer and his wife's historical links with the navy, which had very little bearing on the events in May, and especially the day of the loss.
In my view, this would have been better kept as a personal memoire.
From June 2007 review in Navy News, 24 Apr 2007
VETERANS of the 1982 conflict in the South Atlantic often complain that their ship was the `forgotten' ship of the war.
Others grabbed the glory, or the headlines, but their ship made the decisive contribution to victory.
It is a claim Captain David Hart-Dyke would never make on behalf of HMS Coventry, but it's probably fair to say her role in the Falklands war has often been overlooked.
She wasn't the first ship to be lost in the war; she would not be the last. She did not blow up spectacularly for the cameras like Antelope. She did not venture into Bomb Alley like Ardent. She did not survive an Exocet hit like Glamorgan.
She did, however, fight with supreme distinction and bravery - and made the supreme sacrifice, as her former commanding officer describes in the outstanding Four Weeks in May (Atlantic, £18.99 ISBN 978-1-84354-590-3).
The emotions, the nerves, the strain the Coventry men felt were identical to those felt by their predecessors 40 years before. The previous Coventry was subjected to repeated enemy air attack in the Mediterranean; like her successor, she fought with distinction but the odds were against her.
The sailors talked of home, of loved ones, they drifted oft silently into thought, tears rolling down their cheeks, they turned to God - irrespective of whether they were religious or not. And if the worst came, they prepared to die. "You know, sir, some of us are not going to get back to Portsmouth," Hart-Dyke's XO confided him as the war dragged on.
This was the real war, too honest to be trumpeted in the jingoistic press or to be reported to loved ones in letters home. For his daughters Miranda and Alice, David Hart-Dyke sketched a cartoon of Coventry blasting enemy an patrol boat out of the water and an enemy aircraft out of the sky.
It was something the destroyer was particularly adept; on the final day of her life, May 25 1982, Coventry had dispatched three Argentine Sea Darts.
Fate was against her as the day waned; HMS Broadsword's Seawolf played up, Coventry's own Sea Dart couldn't get a lock on Argentine Skyhawk jets, whose pilots showed undeniable bravery as they raced in towards the destroyer.
Coventry's crew responded with equal bravery; every machine-gun fired, the 4.5in main gun blasted away, the Oerlikons chattered (until one jammed); the sailors even tried to blind the Argentine pilots by shining the beam from the bridge wing signaling projector in their faces.
It was, sadly, to no avail. Three bombs tore into the side of the ship and tore her heart out.
The operations room where David Hart-Dyke had been directing the battle ceased to exist as he knew it. His headset and microphone had vaporised, his anti-flash hood and gloves were in tatters. And yet he was one of the lucky ones.
"I looked to my left and saw a sheet of orange flame leap out of the hatch down into the computer room below and envelop a man as he attempted to climb up into the operations room," recalls Coventry captain.
"He had nearly reached the top of the ladder and someone had stretched towards him and tried to catch his hand. It was too late: consumed by fire, he could go no further and fell back with a final, despairing cry for help."
Seven men were burned alive in the computer room - or were killed by the blast of one of the bombs. A dozen of their comrades were also lost.
The author paints a vivid picture of Coventry's final moments, drawing upon the accounts of numerous former comrades. Survivors of the Barham, Prince of Wales, Gloucester, Repulse and countless more vessels will identify strongly with the scenes in the destroyer in her death throes.
Training reaped dividends. There was no panic, no selfishness. Each man helped the next to escape the stricken Coventry. Some 250 of them survived.
His crew, Hart-Dyke wrote just a few days after the sinking, had been "nothing short of heroes" . Many of the heroes struggled to adjust to life after the Falklands. It took Coventry's captain perhaps 18 months to come around. He regards himself as one of the lucky ones; he never suffered flashbacks or nightmares like some of his former shipmates.
And it was only back in the UK that the captain realised the scale of Coventry's contribution to victory.
"I really had taken part in a momentous event in the country's history," he writes. "The conflict was not just something to be played down as having been merely in the line of duty."
Fifteen years ago, reviewers praised Sandy Woodward for the frankness of his account of the campaign, and in particular the strain of command.
David Hart-Dyke gives you the `business end' of that conflict, the story of the sailors in harm's way. It is one of the most moving, honest and vivid memoirs of life - and war - at sea you will ever pick up.
A superb book, thoroughly recommended.., 19 Apr 2007
I have just finished reading this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a riveting read, I found it difficult to put down and is written in an easy and highly informative way, but also from a very human perspective.
It made me feel like I was there in the action, and believe the book to be a high testiment to the dedication, professionalism and bravery of the crew of HMS Coventry.
Excellent read, 13 Apr 2007
A brilliant history of one ship's contribution to the campaign to liberate the Falkland Islands and never falls into the trap that other similar works have of concentrating too much on either the overall conduct of the war or of the minutiae of day to day life onboard ship.
The book stands out for me in two ways; first of all the Captain manages to keep it centred on Coventry while filling in enough background about what is happening to other ships to ensure you are always aware what part Coventry is playing. Secondly, the account of the final fateful half hour of the ship's life is obviously the result of a great deal of research which must have been painful. As the son of a crew member, I was familiar with Coventry only from a few visits as a child - I well remember running up and down corridors and occasionally getting lost deep inside the ship. I am humbled to read the accounts of the heroics of the crew that searched through that complex interior with smoke, fire, holes blasted by bombs and a rapidly increasing list turning it into an inferno that any sane man would want to get out of immediately.
An excellent work that is a fine tribute to the heroes of the day, and the crew members who remain forever on patrol Down South.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Customer Reviews
How things change!, 06 Oct 2008
I was looking forward to reading this book as I have served with a couple of lads from both 2 & 3 Para who fought in the Falklands and have worked with many other Paras in more recent years.
The book started off pretty dull about his life at school but soon got on track once he decided to join the Army, the story of life in the Army, his trip down south and what happened on his return was excellent, but then it went back to being dull again, why he chose to write about his trip to Belize is beyond me and didnt add anything to the book, I nearly stopped reading there, but then it picked up again at the end.
His attitude towards the rest of the Army is now very dated, and although there is still inter Regiment rivalry the whole whole way that we view each other has changed since his day, due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanstan where all capbadges are working and fighting together there is a lot more mutual respect and quite rightly too, check out the number of gallantry awards awarded to all Regts and Corps of the British Army.
Mark, like all who have been involved in armed conflict went through a lot both mentally and physically and I salute all who have done so, but as you read the latter part of the book, he is still in the mindset that everyone who isnt airborne is a hat and the Paras hate them, on that issue he is very much a dinosaur and out of touch.
10 out of 10. Read this Book!, 08 Sep 2008
I devoured "Sod that" in just three sittings, and that doesn't often happen to me. During the Falklands battles I was lost in the pages, until my wife told me to turn the bloody light out. I looked across and it was four o'clock in the morning!
I thought it was brilliantly and truthfully written from the heart. Mark has not tried to big himself or his buddies up, he told it like it was in every gory and moving detail, and that's what makes this account so much more readable.
Buy it. Read it, then if you have never served under fire, you may just get a hint of what it's like. You may then begin to understand why so many men struggle when they come back from war.
This doesn't apply just to the lads from 1982. Try to imagine what hundreds or maybe even thousands of very young men are going through when they come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq.
A lot though, like many of Marks friends, don't come back. This will remind you that they are not just numbers you hear on the evening news. They are people, young men with families, wives and children, someone's son. This book should put things in perspective, in order of importance in your life.
Tony
Sod that, real story-real life., 13 Feb 2008
I feel i have to write in a retort to Jayetee's reveiw. The comments about the authour being rude and abusive, although being his/her personnel opinion should not stand.
I have recently laid the book down after what i can describe as one of the most moving accounts that i have ever digested.
Mark Eyles-Thomas served with the Parachute Regiment, calling all other members of the armed forces who did not earn the Maroon beret as HATS, is what is best described as banter, mickey taking and having a massive sense of self pride. What the Paras and other elite units do is not normal, these people are close, because of what they are asked to do; by people sat in their living rooms and cosy offices. Is the reviewer so naive as to think those HATS do not have their own colourful language to describe those who call them HATS?
I can give this informed statement, as i served as a Hat for nearly ten years, i am immensley proud of my military sevice, like Mark i joined the Army as a sixteen year old, and also lost a friend during operations in Bosnia.
People should not be put off from reading this book because of Marks description of non Paras, Mark tells it like it is, sometimes people tell you the truth can hurt, read the book and understand that this is about normal young men asked to do a very abnormal job, its consequences and what makes our British Army the best on the planet.
You will not be disapointed
Excellent, 22 Jan 2008
Excellent read.
Forget the history books,this book brings home the true reality of the Falklands War as experienced by the young soldiers of 3 Para.
It brings home the true horrors and emotions of warfare.
A must read for all.
Thanks Mark for telling your story and helping us remember those who gave thier lives and those who still suffer today.
Sod That For A Game Of Soldiers, 13 Jan 2008
I found this author to be rude and abusive to any other person who was not a Para. Not at all amusing hearing other Military and civilian personel being slagged off.
Excellent Book, 19 Oct 2008
I received my copy of 'Special Forces Pilot' the day after publication after having waited patiently for publication. I first heard about the book in our local newspaper (The Whitehaven News) as the author is a local resident and have been eagerly awaiting publication. The wait was not disappointing and I finished the book in two days. It is a well researched, fast paced personal account of flying operations during the Falklands War and includes, for the first time, first hand detailed information about the insertion of an SF recce patrol into mainland Argentina. I would fully recommend this book to anyone interested in military aviation, military history or just true adventure stories. Hats off to Col Hutchings DSC.
Still a poor account, 15 Oct 2008
No matter that the front cover photo has been changed this is still a lazily researched and poorly written book. The 'intelligence' of the officers means nothing - (in warfare everyman is equal and if the truth be known [and Goose Green was a very good example], Toms can rise to the occasion and in difficult circumstances produce leadership up there with anything produced at Sandhurst) - and therefore any rank or rate can provide an honest and up front commentary on their actions and those around them. I will say it again.. the official artist gets more of say than any of the 28 000 other participants, and that is sad.
Let's hope the fiftyth anniversary of this conflict brings a book with a wider collaboration.
Powerful and moving perspective of war, 24 Jun 2008
I don't normally do 5 stars so as I try to review this book, I will try to explain what makes it (in my eyes) so special.
Written in chronological order from before the start of the Falklands War this is a number of eye witness accounts so the perspective varies. This perspective is balanced with civilians and Argentines so all aspects of the conflict are presented.
I had a view of the Falklands war and specifically of the sinking of the Belgrano and I have to admit that I have changed my view upon reading this. I also learnt a great deal that I was not expecting to. Our politicians do not come out of this well (John Nott going to tell the Falkland Islanders that Britain would not come to their rescue if there was a problem - and there were Argentine officers in the room who would have taken the message straight back home) nor does Admiral Sandy Woodward who seems to have made some very poor decisions at the sharp end.
An emotional book too - the sailor who describes how he was blinded for life, the Islanders kept locked up for days, the Argentine conscript not understanding where he was being sent, or why. The injuries caused from burns because we had replaced cotton shirts with fabrics that melted into and onto the skin...The loss of life from the Paras, the Argentine civvie brothers lost on the Belgrano because they stayed on board despite the fact all they did was run a crew shop - many, many sad and brave tales that made me realise what happened all those many miles away in the middle of no-where.
I would have like to have heard from some of the Special Forces that were involved, but generally a very wide ranging and balanced view is presented.
So, why five stars? Well this is a very well written and presented account of war. It made me think and change my views and feel on an emotional level about many of the people involved. Fantastic stuff.
The Sacrificial Pawns, 26 May 2008
After 26 years, the Falklands war seems too familiar. Anyone with a TV in 1982 could learn the main events; I expected that a history of first-hand accounts might shed a new and interesting light. Now I cannot put the book down.
By formatting the narrative of each episode as a series of brief witness statements the author provides razor-sharp insight into the moods and attitudes of both sets of combatants. A single narrator can rarely match this sense of being there. It is fascinating to learn of the fear, the luck, the misfortune, the mistakes and the contrast between myth and reality. So long after the war, the protagonists are no longer afraid to speak honestly. For a example, an officer may have put on a brave show at the time but he admits that he had to go back to the manual.
Critics accuse the book of not being definitive, missing many other voices and ignoring too often the squaddy's view. In response, however he gathered his material, the author has ensured quality if not quantity. The words of the British officers ring with intelligence, humility, compassion and tactical awareness. We learn how much the navy banked their lives on technology and how they could lose the bet. There is an electrifying sense of both British and Argentines discovering the war as they went along. If, like me, you have not read a detailed account of the war then I recommend this. It also puts the record straight: admiral Woodward, knighted afterwards, does not come out well.
Has some perspectives to offer, but..., 31 Mar 2008
There are a wealth of books on the Falklands, but this one claims to be the most sustained oral history available. It certainly comes with some impressive credentials, being part of the 'Forgotten Voices' series of oral histories sponsored by the Imperial War Museum, and also drawing on other archives held by Falklands civillians and the BBC.
I think this august comapny is part of the problem. The two World Wars are gradually turning into history, and recollections come to us over the distance of at least sixty years. The Falklands, for all the restrictions of the time, was comprehensively chronicled by print, radio, film and television. Retrospectives of the conflict have taken place as recently as 1992 and 2002. Publishing has served a constant stream of accounts and memoirs over the last 26 years.
This is a worthy book, well-edited and comprehensive. The civilian experience and the Argentine perspectives are given respectful room, but the British military stories dominate, as one might expect. Oral history has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as well-publicised accounts interact and achieve a life of their own. This is not to detract from the accounts here which are in many cases vivid and chilling testimony to modern warfare: just a reminder that history is an imperfect human activity like any other.
This is a sizeable and comprehensive oral history of the Falklands war edited with sensitivity by a distinguished veteran. For a clear, objective account of the fighting and the diplomatic context, there are other books available. The major flaw with it is the label 'forgotten'; there's not enough new material to warrant the description. What's here is familiar, but no less moving for that.
Pretty good stuff , 07 Mar 2008
There has been plenty of books written about what happened 'down south' to keep all those Falklands buffs. But this one stands out nicely. Sure some of Spud's views are a little rough around the edges but that is also part of the books charm. If you're looking for a book that is conciliatory and polictically correct then look elsewhere. But it is one of the few books to come close to Vince Bramley's excellent Excursion to Hell and the only one like that to cover Goose Green and Wireless Ridge. The only disappointment is the way the book fizzled out once Spud joined the SAS, from a literary point of view it would have great if he hadn't left the regiment before the Gulf War. Overall though it is a cracking read and a great insight not only into Goose Green but into the guys that fought it - well our guys anyway.
Brilliant - Nigel Ely Takes You by the Balls into the Heat of Battle!, 28 Dec 2007
If you want an honest, no holds barred account of the Falklands War written by a 'Tom' on the ground in the thick of it, you won't find better than Nigel 'Spud' Elys' "For Queen and Country" Nigel takes the reader into the frightening realms of close quarter battle. This should be at the top of every Soldier's Book Collection.
Read This Book, 24 Mar 2008
I have read, recently, both this book (twice) and Sandy Woodward's book (100 days...). The different characters of the authors and the stresses and strains of their respective positions in the war, come through very clearly in both books. If you want to understand what it really FEELS like to Command a warship at war, and to lose that ship, then read this intensely personal account from David Hart-Dyke.
Disappointing, 12 May 2007
Considering that this is supposed to be providing the reader with an insight to the loss of a ship, I found this book to be very poor. [...]
Very little is written about the ship's company, and when compared with other similar tomes (Through Fire And Water for example) I was left wondering whether the Captain actually knew many of his crew at all. Very little is written about life onboard, and it was finally brought home to me when he admits to keeping himself apart from the crew once onboard Stromness just when his crew needed to see him providing leadership from the front.
I wanted to read about the ship, and for that it needs a lot more build-up to the events in May and especially events of 14-25th May. Instead, I was presented with a load of history about both the writer and his wife's historical links with the navy, which had very little bearing on the events in May, and especially the day of the loss.
In my view, this would have been better kept as a personal memoire.
From June 2007 review in Navy News, 24 Apr 2007
VETERANS of the 1982 conflict in the South Atlantic often complain that their ship was the `forgotten' ship of the war.
Others grabbed the glory, or the headlines, but their ship made the decisive contribution to victory.
It is a claim Captain David Hart-Dyke would never make on behalf of HMS Coventry, but it's probably fair to say her role in the Falklands war has often been overlooked.
She wasn't the first ship to be lost in the war; she would not be the last. She did not blow up spectacularly for the cameras like Antelope. She did not venture into Bomb Alley like Ardent. She did not survive an Exocet hit like Glamorgan.
She did, however, fight with supreme distinction and bravery - and made the supreme sacrifice, as her former commanding officer describes in the outstanding Four Weeks in May (Atlantic, £18.99 ISBN 978-1-84354-590-3).
The emotions, the nerves, the strain the Coventry men felt were identical to those felt by their predecessors 40 years before. The previous Coventry was subjected to repeated enemy air attack in the Mediterranean; like her successor, she fought with distinction but the odds were against her.
The sailors talked of home, of loved ones, they drifted oft silently into thought, tears rolling down their cheeks, they turned to God - irrespective of whether they were religious or not. And if the worst came, they prepared to die. "You know, sir, some of us are not going to get back to Portsmouth," Hart-Dyke's XO confided him as the war dragged on.
This was the real war, too honest to be trumpeted in the jingoistic press or to be reported to loved ones in letters home. For his daughters Miranda and Alice, David Hart-Dyke sketched a cartoon of Coventry blasting enemy an patrol boat out of the water and an enemy aircraft out of the sky.
It was something the destroyer was particularly adept; on the final day of her life, May 25 1982, Coventry had dispatched three Argentine Sea Darts.
Fate was against her as the day waned; HMS Broadsword's Seawolf played up, Coventry's own Sea Dart couldn't get a lock on Argentine Skyhawk jets, whose pilots showed undeniable bravery as they raced in towards the destroyer.
Coventry's crew responded with equal bravery; every machine-gun fired, the 4.5in main gun blasted away, the Oerlikons chattered (until one jammed); the sailors even tried to blind the Argentine pilots by shining the beam from the bridge wing signaling projector in their faces.
It was, sadly, to no avail. Three bombs tore into the side of the ship and tore her heart out.
The operations room where David Hart-Dyke had been directing the battle ceased to exist as he knew it. His headset and microphone had vaporised, his anti-flash hood and gloves were in tatters. And yet he was one of the lucky ones.
"I looked to my left and saw a sheet of orange flame leap out of the hatch down into the computer room below and envelop a man as he attempted to climb up into the operations room," recalls Coventry captain.
"He had nearly reached the top of the ladder and someone had stretched towards him and tried to catch his hand. It was too late: consumed by fire, he could go no further and fell back with a final, despairing cry for help."
Seven men were burned alive in the computer room - or were killed by the blast of one of the bombs. A dozen of their comrades were also lost.
The author paints a vivid picture of Coventry's final moments, drawing upon the accounts of numerous former comrades. Survivors of the Barham, Prince of Wales, Gloucester, Repulse and countless more vessels will identify strongly with the scenes in the destroyer in her death throes.
Training reaped dividends. There was no panic, no selfishness. Each man helped the next to escape the stricken Coventry. Some 250 of them survived.
His crew, Hart-Dyke wrote just a few days after the sinking, had been "nothing short of heroes" . Many of the heroes struggled to adjust to life after the Falklands. It took Coventry's captain perhaps 18 months to come around. He regards himself as one of the lucky ones; he never suffered flashbacks or nightmares like some of his former shipmates.
And it was only back in the UK that the captain realised the scale of Coventry's contribution to victory.
"I really had taken part in a momentous event in the country's history," he writes. "The conflict was not just something to be played down as having been merely in the line of duty."
Fifteen years ago, reviewers praised Sandy Woodward for the frankness of his account of the campaign, and in particular the strain of command.
David Hart-Dyke gives you the `business end' of that conflict, the story of the sailors in harm's way. It is one of the most moving, honest and vivid memoirs of life - and war - at sea you will ever pick up.
A superb book, thoroughly recommended.., 19 Apr 2007
I have just finished reading this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a riveting read, I found it difficult to put down and is written in an easy and highly informative way, but also from a very human perspective.
It made me feel like I was there in the action, and believe the book to be a high testiment to the dedication, professionalism and bravery of the crew of HMS Coventry.
Excellent read, 13 Apr 2007
A brilliant history of one ship's contribution to the campaign to liberate the Falkland Islands and never falls into the trap that other similar works have of concentrating too much on either the overall conduct of the war or of the minutiae of day to day life onboard ship.
The book stands out for me in two ways; first of all the Captain manages to keep it centred on Coventry while filling in enough background about what is happening to other ships to ensure you are always aware what part Coventry is playing. Secondly, the account of the final fateful half hour of the ship's life is obviously the result of a great deal of research which must have been painful. As the son of a crew member, I was familiar with Coventry only from a few visits as a child - I well remember running up and down corridors and occasionally getting lost deep inside the ship. I am humbled to read the accounts of the heroics of the crew that searched through that complex interior with smoke, fire, holes blasted by bombs and a rapidly increasing list turning it into an inferno that any sane man would want to get out of immediately.
An excellent work that is a fine tribute to the heroes of the day, and the crew members who remain forever on patrol Down South.
Watching Men Burn is a life saver., 27 Sep 2007
This is the first review I have ever done for a book but I have never had my live changed before like it was after reading Tony's story. My story is very similar apart from I was a Royal Marine as apposed to a Gunner and we both fought in the South Atlantic and N.I. For many years like lots of other servicemen who have witnessed War first hand I got on with my civilian life until the War in 1982 caught up with me again and I suffered a breakdown, my wife left me and I started to drink heavily and self harm typical PTSD symptoms I am told. On the way to a funeral of an old boot neck friend who I found this book at the railway station, I was attracted to its cover, as like Tony I had also watched men burn at Fitzroy. I read nearly half of it on the train and the rest as I went home after the funeral. I realised that it was OK to talk about your problems and I got professional help. I was diagnosed with PTSD this year and I am now a lot happier that I have tried to come to terms with this condition. Who knows what might have happened especially after a funeral. I believe the Gods were looking down on me that day and pointed me in the direction of Tony's book. It has literally saved my life. I hope Tony can also find some peace after his service, thank you Great book for anyone interested in the Falklands War written by an very brave and modest human being.
The Reality Of War And Its Aftermath, 15 Sep 2007
This is a pretty odd review for me, mainly because so much in the book is so similar to my own life.
We grew up in a similar area, the Author in Dalton-in-Furness, I grew up in Ulverston, we both joined the Army Cadets, we both went through the Junior Leader Regiment Royal Artillery, the only real difference is in age, and then we are only just less than four years different, we may even have seen each other at Cadets. I still have memories of the cadets in Dalton meeting at what is now Chequers, a restaurant and motel.
If things had been slightly different we may even have ended up in the same unit, I certainly wanted to go 12AD, it was my local regiment and they had visited us in Ulverston while I was a cadet.
The first thing I have to say is that this book isn't written by a professional writer, it is a book about the life of a soldier, written by a soldier. Yet it is a book written by someone who knows how to tell a story.
I felt my adrenalin levels go up as I read about the deployment overlooking Fitzroy Bay, as soon as he mentioned the system fault tone sounding I knew what was coming and the hairs went up on the back of my neck.
I wasn't there, but my experiences in the Army make me well aware of how the author probably felt at the moment he pressed the Fire button, as he tracked the the inbound aircraft and got the fault tone.
It takes 120 pages to get to that point in the book, 120 pages of a normal person going through life and ending in the Rapier operators seat. You then have 124 pages outlining his fall into a mental hell and his harsh journey back to normality, a journey he knows he hasn't finished yet, a journey he acknowledges he may never finish.
I can't say much more, it isn't that I want to spoil the plot, but I don't want to spoil the book for someone reading it for the first time.
Anyone who watched the pictures on TV of the forces landing at San Carlos, who stared dumbstruck at the pictures of HMS Antelope exploding, or watched the tragedy unfold as the Sir Galahad burned should read this book. They should read it to understand that the casualties coming ashore from the Galahad weren't the only ones that day, and they should understand that some of the worst injuries that day will never be visible to the naked eye.
Tony McNally was let down by everyone who should of supported him, they failed him completely and the lessons still haven't been taken in. His book should be required reading for every senior NCO and officer leading troops in operational duties.
Watching Men Burn, 13 Aug 2007
I was an American soldier in Germany from 1953 to 1956, Tony's memoirs bring back many memories of being in a peace time army in Germany, being in the artillery in a foreign land, probably painting the same stupid rocks he did. I first ran into Tony's writings when I was doing research for an article about PTSD for a foreign web fly fishing magazine, then at an inflated price I had his book shipped all the way from the UK. If you were a soldier, if you know a soldier, if you want to ever be a soldier do not fail to read this book. PTSD is an insidious disease that effects not only the soldier but their families as well. After you read this book you will only be able to do as I did, wish Tony well.
Trying to carry all of it alone - doesn't work that way., 25 Jun 2007
Those who know war live it not only once in the actual engagement in combat and its immediate aftermath, but know it for the rest of their lives at gut, heart, mind, and soul level.
As so many young do, Tony "Mack" McNally signed up to serve his country to find the exuberance of youth often conflicting with the discipline of life in the military.
But then, the reality of service, the reality of war, became that of Mack and his mates when they were shipped thousands of miles away from the United Kingdom to the South Atlantic to fight a war against the attempted take-over of the Falkland Islands by Argentina.
Mack's specialty was Rapier missiles - high tech, anti-aircraft missiles that require very careful handling, very careful transport, and constant re-calibration by technical experts.
The missiles did not get the first two all so important types of care in transport on their trans-Atlantic voyage. There would be heavy human cost to pay for that neglect.
Mack speaks to the intrusive question so often asked of Veterans - What does it feel like to kill someone? It is the question he, like most of them, walk away from.
But about the question - What does it feel like when you are the Rapier gunner and the enemy aircraft are closing in on the Sir Galahad which is still packed with troops who could have disembarked hours before - What does it feel like when you push the button to launch the missile and all you hear is the noise that comes with a malfunction?
What does it feel like when men you were there to protect begin to scream as they begin to die?
What does it feel like to watch men burn?
Mack tells you.
Britain won the engagement - took the victory. Her soldiers celebrated; let off tension, sometimes in ways inexplicable to those who have not know war; inexplicable to those who in engaged in post combat acts that they would later not even begin to comprehend their part in; inexplicable behavior then which developed into mental, spiritual, and psychic disabilities. Like many Veterans, Mack and his mates were not even aware at first that their "not normal" behaviors, night terrors, fears, traumas were common post-war experiences that we have come to know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
PTSD equals tortured lives unless properly treated. It can be diagnosed early on - it too, too often isn't because many war Veterans are unaware that it has existed since we first picked up clubs; because if it is known there is the feeling that there is a "stigma" attached to having pieces of soul splintered by war; because governments would rather not fund the care of their Veterans.
After the Falklands, Mack left the service, tried civilian life, only to re-up and volunteer for soldiering in Northern Ireland where, once again, he witnessed savage act perpetrated by people upon other people.
In Watching Men Die, Mack tells an honest and deeply personal story of the impact of PTSD on his life and thus, on that of thousands of others. He speaks to horrific nightmares, "aberrant" behaviors; sleeping in outside trenches, overuse of alcohol for release. His experience of PTSD is known by countless others. Mack brings it to the non-military public to taste the horror of.
His story is not unique to the UK; it is a story known to soldiers in all times, in all places that too often falls on deaf government ears; that too often is unknown at all to those who have not "been there."
But not only does Mack tell his story so vividly, he gifts his readers with entries from his personal journal offering eye opening terror by sharing some of his traumatic suffering. Other Veterans will know the truth there - civilians must open their eyes to the truths there.
He gives us the UK Court ruling that puts the onus of the burden of PTSD suffering on the Veterans, who again, often do not know why they suffer rather than on the military that knows, without doubt, that PSD is often a concomitant of service in the war; that knows, if diagnosed, it can be treated if understood as a normal reaction to not normal, mind-bending, experiences.
Tony McNally gives us a great truth - read it - feel it and then answer this question:
What does it feel like to know, up close and quite personal, that this is what we, no matter our country, allow to continue - lack of treatment; lack of respect; lack of gratitude; understaffed and closed Veterans hospitals; long waiting lists for treatments; and lack of pre-combat teaching of what combat can do to the heart, mind, and soul so that Veterans understand when the night terrors come from whence they come.
What does it feel like to really know this from Mack's story and to not close ranks with those who have served and demand what is right and just?
What does it feel like to let Veterans minds, hearts, and souls burn?
How much better would you feel if you launched your voice and vote "missiles" and demand what is right?
Read the gift of truth that Tony McNally has given you; learn his truths and launch those voices and votes toward the right targets so we can watch our Veterans heal - all over the world.
Remy Benoit.
STANDING SIDE TO SIDE, 27 May 2007
Can I say that having served in the Falklands with T bty (call sign 33 Charlie)The book gives a mirror experience of what I went through at this time NB:The journey south, D Day and sailing in the Sir Galahad and that WAIT until we got off at Fritzroy on 08-06-82! it does bring it back! Tony has written a very interesting and at times disturbing story, which relate to his problems which started during and continued after the war and onto civvy street. From my point of view a book that tells the story in parts of Rapier operators and gunners of T Bty, 12 Regt during the 1970`s and 1980`s.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Customer Reviews
How things change!, 06 Oct 2008
I was looking forward to reading this book as I have served with a couple of lads from both 2 & 3 Para who fought in the Falklands and have worked with many other Paras in more recent years.
The book started off pretty dull about his life at school but soon got on track once he decided to join the Army, the story of life in the Army, his trip down south and what happened on his return was excellent, but then it went back to being dull again, why he chose to write about his trip to Belize is beyond me and didnt add anything to the book, I nearly stopped reading there, but then it picked up again at the end.
His attitude towards the rest of the Army is now very dated, and although there is still inter Regiment rivalry the whole whole way that we view each other has changed since his day, due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanstan where all capbadges are working and fighting together there is a lot more mutual respect and quite rightly too, check out the number of gallantry awards awarded to all Regts and Corps of the British Army.
Mark, like all who have been involved in armed conflict went through a lot both mentally and physically and I salute all who have done so, but as you read the latter part of the book, he is still in the mindset that everyone who isnt airborne is a hat and the Paras hate them, on that issue he is very much a dinosaur and out of touch.
10 out of 10. Read this Book!, 08 Sep 2008
I devoured "Sod that" in just three sittings, and that doesn't often happen to me. During the Falklands battles I was lost in the pages, until my wife told me to turn the bloody light out. I looked across and it was four o'clock in the morning!
I thought it was brilliantly and truthfully written from the heart. Mark has not tried to big himself or his buddies up, he told it like it was in every gory and moving detail, and that's what makes this account so much more readable.
Buy it. Read it, then if you have never served under fire, you may just get a hint of what it's like. You may then begin to understand why so many men struggle when they come back from war.
This doesn't apply just to the lads from 1982. Try to imagine what hundreds or maybe even thousands of very young men are going through when they come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq.
A lot though, like many of Marks friends, don't come back. This will remind you that they are not just numbers you hear on the evening news. They are people, young men with families, wives and children, someone's son. This book should put things in perspective, in order of importance in your life.
Tony
Sod that, real story-real life., 13 Feb 2008
I feel i have to write in a retort to Jayetee's reveiw. The comments about the authour being rude and abusive, although being his/her personnel opinion should not stand.
I have recently laid the book down after what i can describe as one of the most moving accounts that i have ever digested.
Mark Eyles-Thomas served with the Parachute Regiment, calling all other members of the armed forces who did not earn the Maroon beret as HATS, is what is best described as banter, mickey taking and having a massive sense of self pride. What the Paras and other elite units do is not normal, these people are close, because of what they are asked to do; by people sat in their living rooms and cosy offices. Is the reviewer so naive as to think those HATS do not have their own colourful language to describe those who call them HATS?
I can give this informed statement, as i served as a Hat for nearly ten years, i am immensley proud of my military sevice, like Mark i joined the Army as a sixteen year old, and also lost a friend during operations in Bosnia.
People should not be put off from reading this book because of Marks description of non Paras, Mark tells it like it is, sometimes people tell you the truth can hurt, read the book and understand that this is about normal young men asked to do a very abnormal job, its consequences and what makes our British Army the best on the planet.
You will not be disapointed
Excellent, 22 Jan 2008
Excellent read.
Forget the history books,this book brings home the true reality of the Falklands War as experienced by the young soldiers of 3 Para.
It brings home the true horrors and emotions of warfare.
A must read for all.
Thanks Mark for telling your story and helping us remember those who gave thier lives and those who still suffer today.
Sod That For A Game Of Soldiers, 13 Jan 2008
I found this author to be rude and abusive to any other person who was not a Para. Not at all amusing hearing other Military and civilian personel being slagged off.
Excellent Book, 19 Oct 2008
I received my copy of 'Special Forces Pilot' the day after publication after having waited patiently for publication. I first heard about the book in our local newspaper (The Whitehaven News) as the author is a local resident and have been eagerly awaiting publication. The wait was not disappointing and I finished the book in two days. It is a well researched, fast paced personal account of flying operations during the Falklands War and includes, for the first time, first hand detailed information about the insertion of an SF recce patrol into mainland Argentina. I would fully recommend this book to anyone interested in military aviation, military history or just true adventure stories. Hats off to Col Hutchings DSC.
Still a poor account, 15 Oct 2008
No matter that the front cover photo has been changed this is still a lazily researched and poorly written book. The 'intelligence' of the officers means nothing - (in warfare everyman is equal and if the truth be known [and Goose Green was a very good example], Toms can rise to the occasion and in difficult circumstances produce leadership up there with anything produced at Sandhurst) - and therefore any rank or rate can provide an honest and up front commentary on their actions and those around them. I will say it again.. the official artist gets more of say than any of the 28 000 other participants, and that is sad.
Let's hope the fiftyth anniversary of this conflict brings a book with a wider collaboration.
Powerful and moving perspective of war, 24 Jun 2008
I don't normally do 5 stars so as I try to review this book, I will try to explain what makes it (in my eyes) so special.
Written in chronological order from before the start of the Falklands War this is a number of eye witness accounts so the perspective varies. This perspective is balanced with civilians and Argentines so all aspects of the conflict are presented.
I had a view of the Falklands war and specificall | | |