Romy Wyeth publishes new book Through Fire, Shot and Shell

The book, written by Romy Wyeth, is the third book in the trilogy which started with Over the Hills and Far Away and continued with Over the Hills and O’er the Main.

The book of soldiers stories takes readers from the trenches of France and Flanders, to the training camps of Salisbury Plain, onto the Normandy beaches and beyond, to the stifling deserts of the Middle East, to Mesopotamia, Abyssinia, Palestine and Egypt.

And finally, to one soldier’s baptism of fire on the streets of Northern Ireland, to Berlin during the Cold War and to the inhospitable Falkland Islands.

Romy, who lives in Codford, said: “The search for great stories often leads in unexpected directions, when some seemingly insignificant detail turns into something quite extraordinary. This time researching Palestine became a detective story, the tale of two remarkable men, allies in wartime and on opposite sides in the final days of the British Mandate.”

“I had started with a former Wiltshire Police Sergeant John Bosley who had been one of the youngest paratrooper’s to go into Arnhem, wounded and in a POW camp I had told his story in ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’. I knew he had been in Palestine during the final days of the British Mandate so interviewed him then I researched this chapter to see what else was happening in the 18 months he was in country.

“When looking at the Acre Prison break in May 1947 I discovered that Dov Cohen the Irgun military commander who led the raid was a former British Commando . He had volunteered for the British Army in Palestine , and was one of only 300 men who were selected for one of the three Middle East Commando units formed specifically for raiding in the Middle East theatre of operations. He had fought in Abysinia and been awarded a Military Medal for gallantry.

“Simultaneously, while looking at the role of the Palestine Police Force, I inadvertently uncovered a little- known episode in the history of the Holy Land during the Second World War. An Irishman who had lied about his age to join the Connaught Rangers in 1912 and fought in the Balkan Campaign then settles in Palestine as a member first of the British Gendarmerie and later in the Palestine Police. In 1942 he is a British Inspector Commandant of Mazra Internment Camp near Akko/Acre and I have his story.

“In conversation with various people I have realised that for a generation very few people I met are aware of what happened during this period leading up to the birth of the state of Israel.”

Romy spent almost a year researching and gathering stories for the book.

On what readers can expect, she said: “A collection of exciting soldiers stories that open a window into a specific period of their lives. Among the stories first hand accounts from Mesopotamia as the Great War is ending ; a soldier from the East Yorks on D Day; being AWOL in the Canal (Suez) Zone; National Service in Egypt in 1947 ; a young recruit in Northern Ireland, Berlin & the Falklands; and, a comprehensive and fascinating story of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War.”

Any book shop can order Through Fire and Shot and Shell’, which is priced £15.

It is available at Smiths Budgens in Codford or contact Romy on 01985 850325 or email rosemarywyeth@btinternet,com