Mountain Gunner

In October 1939, eighteen-year-old Tony Fowle took a day off school to enlist. Twelve years later, he was a decorated officer in the Royal Artillery, winning the Military Cross for gallantry in war-torn Korea.

This extraordinary memoir - drawn from Tony's own vivid letters - traces his transformation from raw recruit to seasoned soldier. In 1942, he narrowly survived the brutal Battle of Knightsbridge in the Western Desert, before an unexpected posting to the Indian Army opened up a life of astonishing contrasts: desert warfare, Himalayan frontiers, and riding with mountain artillery units that seemed torn from the pages of Kipling.

From dusty camps to palatial bungalows, and from 'scraps' in Kashmir to the bitter cold of Korea, Tony's story is one of personal liberation, loyalty and adventure on a truly global scale. Along the way, it sheds fresh light on two of the 20th century's lesser-known conflicts - and on a life lived with courage and curiosity in equal measure.

Rupert Willoughby is a freelance historian and Classicist. His works include A Head of his Time: The Life and Opinions of Ernest Golledge, Reforming Headmaster, 1872 - 1951, the best-selling Life in Medieval England for Pitkin, and a series of histories of places, including Chawton: Jane Austen's Village, and the whimsical yet scholarly Basingstoke and its Contribution to World Culture; one reviewer described this as 'a most entertaining and enlightening enterprise. It makes you want to visit Basingstoke, and that is quite some achievement'.

Rupert has published numerous articles, contributes regular obituaries to The Daily Telegraph, undertakes private research commissions, occasionally broadcasts to the nation and is an experienced lecturer (accredited to The Arts Society), with an extensive practice both at home and abroad. He lives in London and Berkshire.