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DESERT RAIDS WITH THE SAS
Our pick of the latest military history books
THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF ONE MAN’S EXPLOITS DURING WWII – FROM FINLAND TO NORTH AFRICA AND ITALY – AS TOLD BY HIS SON
British infantry at Mersa Matruh in Egypt, June 1940. Hough was captured during the North Africa campaign and taken to Italy as a POW
Author: Gerald Hough Publisher: Pen & Sword Price: £14.99 (Paperback) Released: Out now
Major Anthony Hough rarely talked about his war, to the regret of his son Gerald. So he used a diary found after his father’s death as the starting point to reconstruct the story of his service in North Africa with The Rifles Brigade and the SAS, and his subsequent escape from a POW camp in Italy. In doing so he embarked upon a journey of personal awakening and discover y about the exploits of a man who he says had been “emotionally absent” during his youth. But how to tell the story of a man who didn’t like to talk? Gerald also used letters, conversations his father had with family members and unit records to piece together a narrative, alongside two journeys to Italy to explore his father’s escape route. Unusually, he opted to write in the first person, writing as if his father were telling his own story and reflecting on his experiences.