Harrow felt like a very big school with its 11 houses and 650 pupils (Eton is virtually twice the size) but Holmwood House, my Prep school, managed just 65. It had a certain charm, an old house, a family run entreprise with strong moral values, firm discipline and what I suppose would be termed an … More Byron, Churchill and I.
The posting was to the First Battalion in Pirbright. I had been promoted to Captain and was to be the Second in Command of number 2 Company (affectionately known as “Taggy 2”). On operations in Northern Ireland (NI), that role included being the Company Intelligence Officer and NI was where we were going on a … More Under Pressure
The imminent independence of the Gold Coast, the fact that I was reaching school age and that my father had found useful and tax free employment with P&O (the cruise liners employed a ship’s surgeon on all their ships) meant that we were moving to England. Up until then England had been a Christmas in … More Into France and an Independent Spirit
I start this chapter for Francis, a friend from school who asked that I speak a bit more of Africa. I think in his question lies a broader question about who I am. I have been the subject of many reports during my soldiering days and I have written many CVs and Biographies that I … More Out of Africa
Chapter 9 – England arrived chaotically into our lives. After a rush up to Leeds to collect stuff from our little play home, we moved briefly into Tom and Sue’s house in Pirbright in Surrey. I had to do some soldiery stuff at the Guards’Depot in preparation for my Officer training at Sandhurst in September. … More A Soldier’s Wife’s Life is Terrible Hard
My Darling Girl, There is an instant in what we call time where I first saw you. I have always been drawn first to a person’s eyes and yours were jaw droppingly beautiful, exotic, so dark, so big, so beautifully shaped and so soulful. They spoke of honesty and kindness; they declared profound intelligence and … More A Letter to a Girl without a Name, a Girl Called Ana.
The wedding ceremony was like a dream. The bride looked more beautiful, lovelier than I had ever seen her. And in her expressions I saw the solemn and I saw the joyous. We exchanged rings saying to each other: “Recibe esta alianza en señal de mi amor y fidelidad a ti” (Receive this ring as a … More Flowers on the Sands of Cala Blanca
So as Ana’s wedding dress was being made while she continued to help her father with the hotel, I was trying to sort stuff out in England. First I had to undergo my Roman Catholic preparation which basically meant 3 lessons with a priest and then a promise to let Ana bring up the children … More Love on a Balearic Island
Adios Benidorm, Guten Tag Zurich As the end of August approached so the time was coming for me to depart. Our time in Benidorm together had been lovely. Yes the odd explosion but that could hardly be unexpected: Spanish girl, English man, Taurus girl, Aries man. Passion and emotion would always be a part of … More Love in a perfect storm
Our Paris in our Springtime Ana had returned in early March and we had lived our very own Parisian dream, exploring Paris and all it had to offer, which was a lot. She did not pick up her History of Art course as the gap had been too long and so we were pretty much … More Saving her life, saving our life
A Spanish Girl and Her English Soldier - A Love Beyond Boundaries 