More than 30;000 British troops fought in Korea between 1950 and 1953 and more than 3;000 died; with over 1;000 being captured and held in atrocious conditions by the Chinese or Koreans. At least half of those captured died in prison camps. More than 70 per cent of those who fought were 18-19 year olds doing national service. They were poorly trained and ill-equipped; fighting much of their time in snowy trenches. This book; for the first time; tells the story of these ordinary soldiers; as well as sailors and airmen; in their own words. It has the full backing of the British Korean Veterans Association; which has over 5;000 members. Most of the veterans are now in their eighties and this will be the last chance for them to tell their tale. So soon after the Second World War; this was a war Britain did not need but she remained steadfast by the side of the Americans; fighting in a hostile environment more than 6;000 miles away in a country nobody could point to on a map. The ‘Special Relationship’ may be a joke to some now – it wasn’t then.
#3396316 in Books The History Press 2005-05-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.07 x 6.00l; 1.28 #File Name: 0750936541256 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The story they don't teach us in school here in AmericaBy D. CorbishleyI should say I know the author from working with him on another book and we talked about this one day at lunch in London. At school we are taught about the Pilgrims coming to what is now America but like most things we don't get the accurate store. They didn't come here for religious freedom; they already had it in Holland; they didn't want to mix with their Dutch neighbors. So they moved to where they could keep their group intact without mixing with those outside the group.Good job Christopher!14 of 14 people found the following review helpful. The Complete StoryBy John MatlockThe story of the Mayflower and the voyage of the pilgrams to the new world has been told many times; but usually only in the shortest of ways. In this book Mr. Hilton has carefully researched the pilgrims; their travels and activities once they reached America. He tells the tale with knowledge; respect and a writing style that really leaves you wondering if they will survive the next problem.Beyond the basic history; he provides some very interesting commentary on the long term effects of the document they all signed; the Mayflower Compact. He traces the sentiments; even some of the wording in the compact to the constitutions of other states; even to the United States Constitution. This was an aspect that I had never seen before.There is some puzzlement with why they landed in Massachusetts. One document that I have heard of says that it was because they were out of beer on board. The brewing process kills all pathogens in dirty water. This is one way to clean the water for a sea voyage. I have no idea if this is true; but it's a very good story.
