| Edition |
First North American edition. |
| Description |
228 pages ; 24 cm |
| Summary |
"Once a Hussar is a vivid account of the wartime experiences of Ray Ellis, a gunner who in later life recorded this well-written, candid, and perceptive memoir of the conflict he knew as a young man seventy years ago. As an impressionable teenager, filled with national pride, he was eager to join the army and fight for his country. He enlisted in the South Notts Hussars at the beginning of World War II and started a journey that would take him through fierce fighting in the Western Desert, the deprivation suffered in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp, and a daring escape to join the partisan forces in the Apennines. His story is an honest and moving memoir that relays graphic eyewitness accounts of the horrors of warfare, but it also reveals the surprising triumphs of the human spirit in times of great hardship. Ellis's self-deprecating humor skillfully counters the harsh realities related in a personal recollection of a war that claimed so many young lives. Featuring twenty-six rare photographs from Ellis's life and experiences, Once a Hussar is a compelling and deftly told account of one soldier's life in World War II"--Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
In the beginning -- In sunny Palestine -- Mersa Matruh : a first taste of war -- In action near Sidi Barani -- Gennia -- Suez -- Tobruk : the first battle -- Life during the Siege of Tobruk -- The break-out from Tobruk -- In the Nile Delta -- The Battle of Knightsbridge -- First days as a prisoner of war -- A nightmare journey -- The winter at camp 53 -- A bid for freedom -- Running free -- Massa Fermana -- A journey to the mountains -- One of the family -- Repatriation. |
| Subject |
Ellis, Ray, 1920-
|
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Great Britain. Army. South Notts Hussars.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, British.
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Soldiers -- Great Britain -- Biography.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Africa, North.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Italian.
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Prisoner-of-war escapes -- Italy -- History -- 20th century.
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Guerrillas -- Italy -- Apennines -- Biography.
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| ISBN |
9781628737295 |
|
1628737298 |
|
