Boys of Gold

by George Brinley Evans

Overview

Examining the relationships between families, coal-mining colleagues, and soldiers at war, this collection of seven short essays features several tales set against the partly-autobiographical backdrop of the author's life as a coal miner in the Neath Valley and as a soldier in Burma during World War Two. Also included is an essay on writer B. L. Coombes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781914595264
Publisher:	Parthian Books
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

At 96 years old George Brinley Evans has lived a full and impressive life. At age 14 he worked in Banwen Colliery before joining the army 4 years later to serve in Burma with the 856 Motor Boats, first with the 15th Indian Corps then the 12th Army. George returned to Banwen Colliery after the war, married Peggy Jones and raised a family together. After losing an eye in an accident in the Cornish Drift, George began practicing as a sculptor and painter, as well as writing scripts for independent television and the BBC. George still lives and works in Banwen.

Editorial Reviews

"Boys of Gold displays a mural of memories that illustrate his life, comradeship, compatriots, kindred spirits as colliers and warriors." —Roy Noble

From the Publisher

This slight, though affecting collection of seven partially linked short stories appears to be the fragmentary fictional autobiography of its Welsh author (also a noted painter and sculptor), whose wartime service in Burma and experiences as a coal miner are transcribed in such terse vignettes as "The End of Summer" (which describes a boy's first day in the mines) and the vivid title story, in which a young soldier's plaintive recall of boyhood adventures immediately precedes his death on the battlefield. Nothing here that surprises—but the author's painter's eye and flair for homely dialogue makes it all intensely real.

Kirkus Reviews