A Servant of my Country

by Wendy White

Overview

This is a personal journey from beginning to end of World War II as seen through the eyes of one man, an ordinary British soldier. George “Douglas” Smith of the Gordon Highlanders, London Scottish Regiment, kept a meticulous log of his daily life throughout this period. In the form of a diary he tells his personal story; that of a conscripted young soldier leaving home and family for the first time. Initially Douglas protected his country's coastline in Kent before being deployed to the Middle East in preparation for war abroad. He writes about the long sea voyage from Scotland to India via South Africa; of living in the Iraqi desert, training in camps outside of Egypt and Palestine before heading to the front lines. He relates the horrors of the battle fields during the Sicily and Italian Campaigns and his time spent peacekeeping in Tito's fledgling Yugoslavia before going home. Douglas sent letters home and many survive; these give an insight into the day to day lives of his family living and working in war-torn suburban London. It encompasses the experiences of The Common Man – and Woman – both on the battle field and living on the home front during a time of war in Europe. It is a dark telling of families torn apart and the unimaginable horrors of war that this generation lived (and died) through. It is also an account of a staunch spirited generation determined to stand together, keep their collective chins up, and make the most of the little they had.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015129069
Publisher:	2 Moon Press LLC
Publication date:	09/05/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	430
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Wendy Warwick-White grew up in London, England in a large family home inhabited by two parents; two grandparents; two maiden aunts and three cats. The only child of her parent's generation it was decided an all girls boarding school would be an ideal place for Ms Warwick-White to grow up. It was not. During her working life Warwick-White has had several careers, initially as a ballet dancer. This was cut short by a back injury; but not before reaching her goal of dancing with Fonteyn and Nureyev. Warwick-White chose to remain in the theater but behind the scenes. Technically inclined, she found employment as a lighting board operator at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. Simultaneously she took classes at the Guildhall School of Music (voice and piano), plus electrical engineering courses at Paddington Technical college. Warwick-White became a chief (master) electrician, technical director, and lighting and sound designer working in several West End theaters on some of London's most prestigious shows... then she changed careers again.
Following, her father's heart attack, Warwick-White decided to train as a registered nurse. She became the oldest member of her class at the Newham School of Nursing (now part of the Royal London Hospital School of Nursing). Warwick-White married an American in 1990 and, in 1991, gave up nursing to become a stay at home mother. Her then husband's position with the Associated Press brought the family to the Washington D.C. area in 1995. It was at this time Warwick-White began writing and researching, specializing in early and silent film. She also published articles in sci-fi magazines and wrote celebrity profiles for other publications. She has worked as a freelance photographer covering sporting events in the Washington D.C. area and as a celebrity photographer gleaning images for her film related articles and interviews. Warwick-White’s first book was a biography of silent film comedian Ford Sterling.
Warwick-White continues to work as a researcher, not exclusively for her own print and internet articles, but also for other writers. Since moving to Arizona in 1999 Warwick-White has worked as assistant production manager for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic and, at time of writing, is assistant adoption manager for Sun Cities 4 Paws Rescue. She resides in a quiet, if not leafy, bedroom community just west of Phoenix with her three cats Mrs. Gloria Teasdale, Tallulah Bank, and Jazz