Author: Karen Sussex

A Winter in Belfast, a new book by Dave Ellis

A Winter in Belfast is a frank diary transcript of a young officer’s experiences in The Parachute Regiment during a tour of duty in Belfast in the winter of 1976-77. 

His hard-hitting account captures the reality of the daily lives of 10 Platoon D Company 2 PARA – the sad, the funny, the boredom and the ridiculous. Though the violence was less intense than in previous years, daily shootings and endless riots being a thing of the past, the frequent bombings and shootings meant that the toll of dead and wounded soldiers, police and civilians continued to mount. 

See this book in the ABN book list

The British Infantry – a new book by Col. Philip (‘Tom’) Cobley

Dr/Col. Philip (‘Tom’) Cobley MBE late PARA, now retired and living in USA, has most generously donated the royalties from his three books: The Final Tally, Combat Command and The British Infantry to the Airborne Charity Support our PARAs ‘in perpetuity’. This is a very generous gift and should any other ABN author wish to consider doing the same, advice as to how proceed is available from plansdir@supportourparas.org


For more details on these and other books by Airborne authors see: Books by ABN Authors

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Even the birds stopped singing: Fifty years of fun in the clouds

Charlie, an early direct entrant into the Parachute Regiment from Sandhurst in 1963, he served in 3 PARA, Recruit Company, 1 PARA and 4 PARA before taking early retirement in 1971 in order to set up a sport parachute centre in Yorkshire (he was already an accomplished skydiver) and learning to fly and instruct in light aircraft. Many exciting incidents while parachuting and flying were to follow over 50 years, all of which are amusingly recounted in his autobiography “Even the Birds Stopped Singing”.

These apart, Charlie went on to become (in addition to many other achievements) Chairman of both the Royal Aero Club and the British Parachute Association, founder and team leader of the Tiger Moth Diamond Nine Display Team, senior pilot of the Joint Services Parachute Centre at Netheravon, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.

This fascinating, well-illustrated book is available direct from Charlie by calling him on his mobile 07860-247485 for £17.50 plus £2.50 p&p in the UK. Payment can be made by credit card.

DO NOT DELETE

No Way Out: The Searing True Story of Men Under Siege

‘Fiercely immersive. Truly heroic.’ Tom Marcus, bestselling author of Soldier Spy ‘Vivid and brilliantly written: a pulsating account of the battle for Musa Qala, the Rorke’s Drift of our times.’ Martin Bell, OBE, war reporter In Helmand province in July 2006, Major Adam Jowett was given command of Easy Company, a hastily assembled and under-strength unit of Paras and Royal Irish rangers. Their mission was to hold the District Centre of Musa Qala at any cost. Easy Company found themselves in a ramshackle compound, cut off and heavily outnumbered by the Taliban in the town. In No Way Out, Adam evokes the heat and chaos of battle as the Taliban hit Easy Company with wave after wave of brutal attack. He describes what it was like to have responsibility for the lives of his men as they fought back heroically over twenty-one days and nights of relentless, nerve-shredding combat. Finally, as they came down to their last rounds and death stared Easy Company in the face, the siege took an extraordinary turn . . . Powerful, highly-charged and moving, No Way Out is Adam’s tribute to the men of Easy Company who paid a heavy price for serving their country.

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It Never Snows in September by Robert Kershaw

On the afternoon of 17 September 1944, Lieutenant Joseph Enthammer, a Wehrmacht artillery officer based in Arnhem, gazed up to the clear skies, hardly believing what he saw. White ‘snowflakes’ appeared to hang in the air. ‘That cannot be’ he thought. ‘It never snows in September! They must be parachutists!’ They were.

He was witnessing the first wave of the British parachute assault on Arnhem. The war had reached the Reich. The blow moreover had come as a total surprise. The Allies had expected operation Market-Garden to bring the collapse of the Wehrmacht in the West and shorten World War 2. But the Germans resolved to fight.

This ground-breaking military study uniquely chronicles this period of the war through the eyes of the ordinary German soldier and analyses the reasons for the eventual outcome. A major work of military history, this new paperback edition is certain to stimulate renewed debate about one of the most controversial operations of World War 2.