Joan Bright Astley

Many women played a remarkable part during the Second World War, but certainly few more remarkable than Mrs Astley. Her many friends in the Allied countries knew her as Joan Bright in those days – for they preceded her marriage. She performed two outstanding tasks for Britain and the anti-Nazi combination.  First, working in the office of General Ismay, who as Chief of Staff to Churchill as Minister of Defence was the lynch-pin of the British military effort, she organized and maintained a highly confidential service of information to the Commanders in the field, which enabled them to keep themselves ‘briefed’ on the secrets of what was happening or to happen. It became habitual for, say, Wavell just back from the desert to drop into Joan Bright’s information room to ‘put himself in the picture’. Thus she was able to observe from a very special angle, and on terms of mutual confidence, most of Britain’s leading men-of-war.

Secondly, as the war rolled on and the great Allied conferences burgeoned, it became her function to make in advance the ‘housekeeping’ arrangements – what General slept where, how the thousand necessities required for the domestic ordering of such affairs would be supplied, and so on. Thus again she was able to observe at close range the men taking part in the great debates – Americans and Russians as well as her own people: to become their friend and discover their strengths and weaknesses as human beings: to see the Conferences at Washington, Quebec, Teheran, Yalta, and Potsdam from the inside and at first hand.  Nobody reading this book can fail to observe those qualities of intelligence, tact and warmth of personality which placed Joan Bright in this, unique and enviable position. 

Mrs Astley was believed to be one of the three or four women who was used for the character of Miss Moneypenny. To find out more click on the links below:

Wikipedia

REVIEWS:
Telegraph Review
The Independent Review
The Times Review
Financial Times Review
The Spectator Review

Price £12.95  P & P £1.50 UK £2.50 Europe £4.50  ROW

Available on http://www.thememoirclub.co.uk/ email: memoirclub@msn.com or tel 01913735660
with card details and address

Available on the internet go to link:

http://www.bookbutler.com/compare?isbn=9781841041667

Harry Moses

The Faithful Sixth A History of the Sixth Battalion The Durham Light Infantry

The Durham Light Infantry was one of our finest County Regiments. This is the story, of the 6th Battalion DLI and of the best men from County Durham who served first as Volunteers, and later as Territorials, and who fought with such distinction in two World Wars.

Harry Moses has long been fascinated by the history of the 6th Battalion DLI and this book is the result of his many years of meticulous research.



AUTHOR

Harry Moses from Tow Law, a village in South West Durham now living in Aycliffe Village, was educated at Wolsingham Grammar School from 1941-1948. On completing his National Service in 1950 he commenced employment with Durham County Education Committee. He worked for this Authority from 1950 until 1963. In 1963 he entered Teachers’ Training College and in 1966 commenced his teaching career at Eaglescliffe Junction Farm Primary School until his appointment as Head Teacher at Aycliffe Village County Primary School in 1972. He retired on 31st December, 1993.

In the 1980s he renewed his research into Military History, particularly the First and Second World wars and the experiences of the County Regiment, The Durham Light Infantry. Harry is a member of The Western Front Association. Since 1988 he has been a part-time interviewer with The Imperial War 

Museum. 

Harry Moses received The Alan Ball Local History Award 2002 for The Gateshead Gurkhas. 

He lives in retirement at Aycliffe Village with his wife Audrey. They have two children and three grandchildren.

Reviews 

The best from gods own country

If you interested in local history then this is a must. Centred around Bishop Auckland it really brings home the pride that still exists within the county. These were Territorial and they gave there best and then more. A fantastic read. Hard to come by so get one if you can.

Anne Johnson (Middlesbrough)

Harry Moses is a Durham lad who, since retiring, has researched and then written numerous books about the Durham Light Infantry; three battalions of which formed part of the famous 50th Northumbrian Division in both WWI and WWII.
In this book Harry has included personal accounts of veterans of one of those battalions, the 6th Battalion, which brings to life the battles, what the sacrifice in terms of dead and wounded achieved, and the impact on the men involved.
Generally speaking, I don't believe that we really understand the sacrifice these ordinary and yet extra-ordinary men (and others like them) made, a sacrifice that enables us to live the life we do in the free society we have today. Read this book, then you'll understand.Fantastic read.

Thomas McAlistair

Other Books written by Harry Moses:

The Faithful Sixth A History of the Sixth Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry
For Your Tomorrow A history of the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry 1919-1955
The Fighting Bradfords Northern Heroes of World War One
The Gateshead Gurkhas A History of the 9th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry 1859-1967
The Durhams In Korea 1952-53
For You Tommy The War Is Over - DLI POWs In WWII

For Your Tomorrow A History of the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry 1919-1955

Foreword by General Sir Peter de la Billiere KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DL.

The author has written a fine account of the history of the 2nd Battalion The Durham Light Infantry from 1918-1955. In the desperate battles in France and Burma the Battalion fought with considerable courage and added more laurels to the history of the County Regiment. 

I thoroughly recommend this book



There have been many books written about the Durham Light Infantry, not a few by Harry Moses. "For Your Tomorrow - A History of the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry 1919 - 1955" (published by The Memoir Club 2012) fills a gap in the bibliography of the Regiment, particularly the 2nd Battallion. Although other books have superficially covered the campaigns involving the Battalion during this period none have done it to the extent and depth of this particular book. Many of the campaigns have been long forgotten but Moses spares no effort in researching them. The real power of the book however lies in the recollections of the ordinary soldiers (most of whom are no longer with us). The appendices of Commanding Officers, Young Soldiers, Roll of Honour and Awards are invaluable to anyone researching this period.
 I would strongly recommend this book to everyone, not just to those with an interest in this Regiment, it is a reminder of the costs of wars and of the resilience of ordinary men doing extraordinary things.       Mr Hornsey

All proceeds from these books will be paid to the Regimental Association and Charities.

Following re-organisation in 1919 the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry sailed to South Russia, then to Turkey before moving to India in 1920. It remained in India for 16 years. On returning to England, it was part of the BEF which moved to France in 1940. During the action on the River Dyle (Belgium) 2nd Lt. Richard Annand won the first Army VC in World War II.

After suffering heavy losses at St. Venant (France) in May 1940, the survivors of the Battalion returned to England. Re-organised it sailed for India in April 1942. Involved in fighting in the Arakan and at Kohima, the Battalion added to its laurels as a fine fighting unit. Following the Japanese surrender, it sailed for Singapore and took part in the disarming of the Japanese forces. For a short period it formed the guard over Japanese war criminals in Changi Jail. Its final period of service in the Far East was back in Burma in 1947 chasing Dacoit terrorists. On returning to the UK it was placed on suspended animation until re-organised in 1952. It served in Germany until final break up in 1955.

The book covers the whole of the period of history from 1919 to 1955, particularly through the eyes of those officers and soldiers who served with the Battalion in peace and war, reinforced with over 50 photographs and 9 maps.

In an interview to The Northern Echo's Duncan Leatherdale, Harry says 

'I have been fascinated with military history since I was a nipper, especially the DLI as they are all local lads.'

To read the full article click on the link below:

Northern Echo Review Duncan Leatherdale

SPECIAL OFFER 
Buy For Your Tomorrow & The Faithful Sixth for only £20!

To contact the author direct email harold.moses034@gmail.com.

Price £14.95  P & P £3.00 UK   £4.50 Europe £7.50  ROW

Available on   http://www.thememoirclub.co.uk/   email: memoirclub@msn.com   or tel 01913735660 with card details and address

Also available from the Durham Light Infantry Museum http://county.durham.gov.uk/sites/dli/Pages/Shop.aspx or tel 01913842214

Available on the internet go to link

http://www.bookbutler.com/compare?isbn=9781841045313

Raymond Miquel

Business as Usual
Second Edition

In his thirty years at Arthur Bell & Sons, Professor Raymond Miquel CCMI, CBE transformed the traditional whisky distillers into one of the most successful companies in Scotland with the Bell's brand becoming a household name.

At the same time Bell's maintained a social responsibility for its workforce and local communities as well as an active policy in sport, personal development and welfare reflecting Miquel's own priorities and beliefs.

He makes no secret of his commitment to Scotland and his belief that local Scottish companies and workers can, given the leadership and direction, compete as equals with the best in the world.

The Bell's takeover of Canning Town Glass and its political implications is described along with the takeover of Gleneagles Hotel. The impact of the latter would have a significant baring on the ensuing battle Miquel had with Guinness.

Karen Cunningham tells of the intrigue and double standards throughout the Guinness bid and .the subsequent disappearance of one of Scotland's strongest independent companies.
After Bell's he looked for a new challenge with Bellhaven Brewery. After accomplishing so much in two short years Miquel was ousted before achieving his ambitious objectives.

Business as Usual
First Edition

Away from business matters the book covers his period in sports administration. As Chairman of the Scottish Sports Council he faced head on the difficulties of running a government quango.

His involvement with Lees of Scotland which he saved from administration in 1993 and floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 2005 is well documented, as is his continuing association with Glasgow University Business School.

REVIEWS click on link
Herald Scotland Review
Herald Scotland Review

Price £9.95  P & P £2.70 UK   £4.60 Europe £8.20  ROW

Available on   http://www.thememoirclub.co.uk/   email: memoirclub@msn.com   or tel 01913735660 with card details and address.

Available on the internet go to link  

 http://www.bookbutler.com/compare?isbn=9781841045375

Raymond Miquel, Esq, CBE's Professional Career

Arthur Bell & Sons: joined 1956, md 1968-85, chm 1973-85; chm Wellington Importers Ltd USA 1984-85, Gleneagles Hotels plc 1984-85, chm and chief exec Belhaven plc 1986-88, dir Golf Fund plc 1989-94; chm and chief exec: Lees Foods plc 1992-2009, Lees of Scotland Ltd 1993-2009; visiting prof of business dept Univ of Glasgow 1984-; chm Scottish Sports Cncl 1987-91, govr Sports Aid Fndn; memb: Sport and Recreation Alliance 1981-, Sports Cncl 1988-91; CCMI 1981.

Isobel Bradley

Smiling in the Darkness

Listen to Isobel on Power Mag Radio on  7th February 2013

Isobel Bradley started writing with The Memoir Club in 2011. 

Isobel was first diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 28. Her only option was to have a radical hysterectomy. 

But a few years later, while training for the London Marathon, Isobel suffered pain in her groin and abdomen. Soon after a tumour was discovered in her appendix and surgeons had to remove her fallopian tube, remaining ovary and appendix.

After being given the all clear, ten years later she was told she had cancer again. Isobel had already had so much radiotherapy that any more would have caused too much tissue damage. Her only option was really radical surgery to remove her bowel and bladder.

Now over a decade later her past traumas have returned to haunt her. In this powerful story, Isobel's determination shines through as she succeeds in living her life to the full. We read about her journey, ranging from skiing to white water rafting incidents through to major life saving surgery.

Isobel supports a Cambodian orphanage and regularly visits the children there. She includes a chapter in the book and is also donating 10% of the proceeds to the orphanage. 

Launching the Race for Life

On 24th June 2012, Isobel Bradley launched and ran the 5 kilometer Race for Life at the Pitchcroft Racecourse in Worcester. In the Worcester News, she explains what the future may hold for her:

“I’ve been given a 50/50 chance of surviving for five years. That sounds terrible, but I just want to live my life to the full, however long it turns out to be. I feel well, and I’m determined not to let this colostomy bag stop me doing anything. My life has been so dramatic that I wanted to share my experiences. I want people to know that you can carry on and have a great and enjoyable life even when everything seems to be against you.”

Her husband, Mike Bradley also added:

"There have been some very difficult times but the most amazing thing about Isobel is the way she keeps bouncing back. She's an inspiration and I am so proud of her for taking part in Race for Life."

REVIEWS

Worcester News

Worcester Standard

Cancer Advice UK

Price £8.99  P & P £2.50 UK   £4.50 Europe £7.50  ROW
Available on   http://www.thememoirclub.co.uk/   email: memoirclub@msn.com   or tel 01913735660 with card details and address

Available on the internet go to link
 http://www.bookbutler.com/search?keyword=9781841045337

Professor John Walker-Smith

Enduring Memories 
Second Edition

Prof Walker-Smith had this to say:

“The General Medical Council hearing was the longest ever held and I spent more time giving evidence than any doctor ever has.

“I felt I had the mark of Cain on my head. It was an utterly terrible time for me and my family.

“The hearing was Kafkaesque, and I have called the new chapter ‘The Trial’ because it felt like I was in that nightmarish world for much of the time.”

Professor Walker-Smith published his first edition in 2003.

Enduring Memories
First Edition

Professor Walker-Smith has become well known on the internet and in the press because of his involvement in a GMC Hearing (2007-2010), where he and his colleagues, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, and Professor Simon Murch faced charges concerning a paper in the Lancet published in 1998. This article described the clinico-pathological features of a group of 12 children with features suggesting autism who also had bowel problems, significant enough to be investigated by means of colonoscopy for possible bowel inflammation. The paper also speculated that there was an environmental trigger to this syndrome, which could have been measles mumps rubella immunization, MMR. He was accused of performing research on these children rather than clinical care in a tertiary referral unit. The GMC Panel in May 2010 determined that he was performing research on the 12 children and recommended he be struck off. However in February 2012 Mr. Justice Mitting in the High Court quashed the GMC findings. This was a triumphant vindication for Professor Walker-Smith. This has proved to have been an historic judgement as Mr. Justice Mitting stated “it would be most unfortunate if this were to happen again”. Subsequently the GMC has proposed a new tribunal conducted by a judge, some have seen this as the biggest change in 150 years.

Professor Walker-Smith describes his personal experience over an eight year period after the allegations were made against him, by a journalist, and the GMC Hearing itself as well as his successful appeal, in a Chapter entitled the Trial. He draws attention to a number of parallels with Franz Kafka’s The Trial.

However this book is much more than this. It gives a detailed account of academic and hospital specialist medical practice (paediatric gastroenterology) from the inside, for a period over 40 years. Professor Walker-Smith was both an academic and a consultant working in the NHS from 1973-2000.

  

Professor Walker-Smith
and his book

It also gives an account of his earlier personal and professional life growing up in Sydney, Australia. This covers the period from 1936-1972 when he transferred to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.

His book launch was at The Village Bookshop in Woodford Green on the 6th October 2012 at 5 p.m. The launch was a success. View the link below to find out more.

Information on the Trial
Book Launch Details

REVIEW

John Stone Review
James Lefanu Review

Price £9.95  P & P £2.50 UK   £3.75 Europe £9.50  ROW

Available on   http://www.thememoirclub.co.uk/   email: memoirclub@msn.com   or tel 01913735660 with card details and address

Norinka Ford

The Flowing Line now avaiable in eBook format: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=the+flowing+line+norinka+ford

Norinka Ford lives in Brazil.

Norinka captures the fascinating story of her family from Hungary, a story moulded and shaped by the history of the twentieth century. The reader is transported back to the dark days of World War II.  

Norinka was able to travel extensively as a consequence of her father's diplomatic career and as a result we are given tantalizing glimpses of the various countries that she has lived in, countries as diverse as Iraq, Syria, Chile, Norway, India, and Brazil. 

This book is a unique family history. 

REVIEWS

The Flowing Line. Many, many congratulations Norinka. I thought it was absolutely wonderful. I am astounded at the amount of research that you must have done, and indeed at the excellence of the memories of some of the older relatives that you must have interviewed. The book combines very successfully so  many different aspects - family history and events, a near travel book, a political and social commentary on many places, a poetry anthology, and a near global survey of art and architecture, with many shrewd and perceptive comments. I thought we knew you both well and therefore that we knew the main features of your lives, but the book brought out all sorts of things of which I was only partly aware (eg the extent of your Father's diplomatic career) or of which I knew nothing (e.g. the eminence of your family in Hungary). And all so very well written. It is not at all a superficial book: it is a very solid read, and a very rewarding one. I do hope you have sold lots of copies. It is a book that deserves great success.

Sir Peter Heap

The Flowing Line is not only an absorbing family history but an evocative journey through diverse lands and different eras. The place and moment I most identify with is Syria at the start of the 1950s when, though neither of us knew it, Norinka Ford and I were both little girls within the small diplomatic community of Damascus. The magic of that ancient city has remained to this day in both of us.

Josceline Dimbleby, Author

Norinka’s work is unique in two respects. Not only does it straddle two such seismic world events across two different centuries, but it also unites them with real people’s lives. These stories deserve to be told, as they are in this book. If they are not, they will be lost. 

 Tom Newton Dunn, Award-Winning Journalist, The Sun

Norinka Ford has written a beautiful and moving account of her family's dramatic history and of her own action-packed life. Weaving together her families' memories with her own, she describes with great narrative skill their stories throughout the tumultuous events of the twentieth century, as well as telling of their new lives in a vividly and lovingly described Brazil. This book will be a precious and inspiring record. 

Liz Calder, Publisher

I have been so much enjoying reading some of your book over the weekend and really enjoying it.  You have done so much research and combined with your own memories and own experiences of fascinating countries and cultures, it is truly a beautiful book.  You have a lovely eye for detail and your chapter about Kilgraston which I have just skimmed through is most perceptive and sympathetic.  I also love your very varied poetry quotations.

 Kigraston School

Norinka Ford with her book

Norinka Ford's book launch took place at the English Speaking Union, London on Monday 8th October at 6:30 p.m. 

The launch was a great success and lots of people attended.

Norinka thanked The Memoir Club for the help that we gave her: 

I would like to thank Lynn Davidson of The Memoir Club for helping me make a long-held dream – to write a book – come true.

Writing a book can be a lonely business but I have been fortunate in having an outstanding editor, Dr Jennifer Soutter, to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude. She has so wisely led a novice like me by the hand and with patience and encouragement guided me through the long journey as this book took shape and developed into something far larger and more ambitious than I had originally envisaged. It has been a great pleasure and a privilege to work with her.

Price £14.95  P & P £4.00 UK   £7.00 Europe £12.00  ROW

Available on   http://www.thememoirclub.co.uk/   email: memoirclub@msn.com   or tel 01913735660 with card details and address

Brian Greenwood's SHOP! Is now reduced!

Reduced from £18.95 to £12.50! Order your copies now! Signed copies available until the end of September.

Brian Greenwood’s, experiences in building what was once Britain’s largest privately-owned menswear chain coupled with 50 years involvement in independent education, together with a very wide range of sporting interests, all make for entertaining, informative and frequently amusing reading. This profusely illustrated book with its foreword by Lord Norman Tebbit CH ranges from the origins of the Greenwood menswear empire, through the acquisition of other firms such as Dunn & Co. and Hodges - once a household name throughout South Wales and the south west - to a succession of commercial disasters in the period of the early 90s recession. Parallel to the business story are the affairs of one of the North’s leading independent schools - Woodhouse Grove and tales of sporting activities as diverse as athletics, rugby and hunting in South Africa. In writing his memoirs of a long and interesting life, the author sets out to produce a book which would never be dull but would rather be a thoroughly enjoyable read - he has succeeded!

‘The rise of the Greenwood family fortunes began in Bradford in the 1850’s when Brian Greenwood’s great-great-grandfather took up the trade of hatter, which was carried on by his son and then grandson, who expanded the business into a gentlemen's outfitters. Shop! traces the fortunes and misfortunes of his descendents - most notably Brian Greenwood himself - through a hundred and fifty tumultuous years including two terrible wars, the devastating slump and depression of the inter- war period, the height and the fall of the British Empire and that of the Greenwood empire too’.

The story has in it the stuff of a TV saga.’

Rt Hon Lord Tebbit CH

An enthusiastic tale about his experiences, wittily and fondly recalling characters and incidents down the years. His relish for life shines through. 

Chris Holland - Telegraph & Argus