Books by ABN Members

With the Paras in Helmand is an account of the 2008 tour and a percentage of each book sold will go towards the Afghan Trust

Biography of three artists closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites whose letters give a vivid insight into the dramas of their personal life.

In this informative book, Edward Cartner has gathered the reminiscences of former personnel of No.1 Parachute Training School RAF to create an informal history of what he has dubbed an ‘oddball’ RAF unit.

In April 1978 Edward Cartner was serving his fifth tour of duty as an officer at the Royal Air Force’s No.1 Parachute Training School* when it was announced that HRH the Prince of Wales, accompanied by his brother Prince Andrew would be attending to train as military parachutists.

Patrick Champenois est entré dans l'armée avec l'unique ambition de devenir chef de section parachutiste. Ayant atteint son objectif, il nous fait partager ce qu'il a vécu en sautant à la tête d'une section, d'une compagnie, d'un régiment de parachutistes puis au commandement de l'Ecole des troupes aéroportées.

Dessinateur et aquarelliste, ses textes et ses images évoquent avec une simplicité empreinte de poésie la réalité vécue, de l'inconnu des premiers sauts aux exigences de la chute opérationnelle.

Stumbling from a university anarchist meeting into a career in the army, Chip Chapman is aware of how consciously incompetent he is.

This book is a detailed study into Countering the Physiological and Psychological Effects of Combat on Infantry Soldiers and as such it has been my life's-work.

First, during my 41 years (1969-2010) as an active duty infantry soldier and then during this last six years as I have endeavoured to unlock the secrets of how to better prepare our next generation of infantry soldiers for their own first shock of combat. The fact is that soldiers are our nation's most precious resource and this author would argue that our infantry soldiers are the most precious of all.

The story of a modern centurion: Tom Cobley's excellent and comprehensive account of his 40 years of service has much to tell the reader. His service took him from Australia and the Pacific Islands, to Britain and Northern Ireland, to the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, and places in between.

In the years leading up to World War I, the rugby grounds of Britain became training grounds for war. This book plays tribute to the pivotal role rugby played in the Great War by following the poignant stories of 15 men who played for Rosslyn Park, London.

They came from diverse backgrounds, with players from Australia, Ceylon, Columbia, Ireland, and South Africa, but they were united by their love of the game and their courage in the face of war. This history follows them from London to the Western Front, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Italy, and Dublin, through some of the war's fiercest battles. The Final Whistle is a must-read for any rugby enthusiast or World War I historian.

When Britain’s empire went to war in August 1914, rugby players were the first to volunteer: they led from the front and paid a disproportionate price. When the Armistice came after four long years, their war game was over; even as the last echo of the guns of November faded, it was time to play rugby again.

As Allied troops of all nations waited to return home, sports occupied their minds and bodies. In 1919, a grateful Mother Country hosted a rugby tournament for the King’s Cup, to be presented by King George V at Twickenham Stadium. It was a moment of triumph, a celebration of military victory, of Allied unity and of rugby values, moral and physical. This is the story of rugby’s journey through World War I to its first World Cup, and how those values endure today.

Prepare yourself for a violent journey through the strife torn streets of Belfast in the early seventies where bombings, shootings and riots are everyday events.

Then with a mercenary force to Africa bent on getting hidden loot whatever the cost. Sergeant Frank Britton is kicked out of the Paras for assaulting an officer who has caused the death of a soldier through incompetence. Paul Van Der Borgh goes on the run from the Army after murdering a civilian in Belfast. Paul is a sadistic psychopath who ends up in the central African state of Karuda.

Through twisted cunning he sets off a chain of events to propel him to the very top of the Karudan Army. Frank Britton meanwhile is recruited by the mysterious Major Pern who wants a mercenary force to infiltrate Karuda and "liberate" a horde of hidden loot worth millions. Story telling at its very best from a man who spent over twenty years in the Paras serving all over the Globe including Belfast and Rhodesia / Zimbabwe and the Falklands War.

It is not a catologue of facts and figures. It is a story of the people and events that have shaped the way in which the club was founded and developed over the past 171 yrs. It is written against the background of the rise and fall of an Empire, two world wars and a host of so called minor wars besides, and of significant political, economic and social change. It reveals something of the way in which the Club has been managed over the years, the successes and failures and the high drama of certain events.

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.

In this landmark work of history and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Joseph J. Ellis explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals: Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation

 An illuminating book on one man's military career. The son of a Yorkshire policeman, his first job was deep undergrouind as an electrician in a colliery. After a brief spell in the army he made a career change and sampled police work for a time. Wanting more from life, he re-joined the parachute regiment as a 'Tom'. From there on there was never a dull moment. A fascinating story. A fascinating life.

The contribution made to Britain's wealth by its Caribbean colonies is well known. Far less known - indeed dismissively ignored - are the contributions made over the centuries by West Indians to Britain's hard-won military victories, most notably in the two World Wars. At last this injustice has been redressed.

From the preface: I was asked by Brigadier John Hooper to write a history of 9 Independent Airborne/Parachute quadron RE, from 1948 when it became an independent airborne squadron within the newly formed 16 Independent Parachute Brigade Group, to 1977 when it lost its independence and came under the command of 36 Engineer Regiment, based at Maidstone........

On 23rd April 1943, the War Office laid down a phased programme for the formation of what was to become one of the most renowned divisions in the history of airborne forces: the 6th Airborne. Based on a wide variety of sources, including eyewitness accounts by former members of the division, this superbly and profusely illustrated volume covers in detail the history of this remarkable force and the equally remarkable men who served in it. The 6th Airborne Division was one of the most famous fighting formations of the British Army. "Go To It" is the gripping account of a story which has not been told - until now.

To buy: email John at: jjhhdalati@aol.com All proceeds to the Star & Garter Home

General Sir Mike Jackson's illustrious career in the British Army has spanned almost 45 years and all that time he has shown loyalty, courage and commitment to the British army whilst also being an undeniable media attraction. A man of substance where foreign policy is concerned, he has served in theatres from the Artic to the jungle but is perhaps best known for his role in charge of the British troops to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, for assembling the British ground component of the coalition that toppled the Taliban, for equipping and organising the army we dispatched to defeat in Iraq and for re-organising the British army with aplomb.

His drive, enthusiasm and dominating personality were always popular with his soldiers and drove him right to the top of his profession. He may have been a general but he never stopped caring about the men and women in his charge, despite the politics. Soldier: The Autobiography exhibits all the qualities for which Jackson is admired; his professionalism, his honesty, his directness, his exuberance and his sense of humour. Most of all it gives a vivid sense of what modern soldiering entails.

This is well written account of the battles along the Utrechtseweg, including some great descriptive passages on urban anti-tank operations by PIAT wielding paratroops.

The airborne landing at Arnhem was immortalizing in the film A Bridge to Far, but this is the first account making extensive use of German sources.