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“And so at last we came to Tobruk.  No one told us, but we had a pretty shrewd idea that we would not be retreating past this point.  If the enemy wanted to bypass us it was up to them.  On the outskirts of Tobruk we passed through a knife rest barrier of barbed wire which the Australians were manning.  As we drove through Joe leaned out of his cab and shouted “Close the door, mates.  We’re in.”  I don’t think that he realised that we would be in for nearly eight months.”

Len Tutt’s personal memoir Gentlemen Soldiers describes his time with 414 Battery throughout World War 2.  He recounts the Regiment’s part in the battles of the North Africa campaign facing both the Italian Army and Rommel’s Afrika Korps, and then as a detached Battery in the fierce battle against both the jungle and the Japanese Army through the retreat from Burma.  As one of only a few sub units to see active service against all three Axis powers he tells a very personal story of intense action against challenging enemies and conditions, and of the day to day of life in the front line.  From his basic training and introduction to that curious breed, the Yeomanry, through to his life in both the desert and jungle and the later formation of 14th Regiment RHA, he writes of the comradeship formed through hardship.

£8.95 plus £2.50 UK postage, available direct from the Essex Yeomanry Association. All proceeds will go to the EYA which is a registered charity to help those in need from the Regiment.