Table of Contents

Introduction & Acknowledgements vii. The Pre-War Years. Early Days and Family Background. With the London Rifle Brigade. With 1st Battalion, the Rifle Brigade in England. En Route to North Africa. The Desert - From Arrival to Gazala. The Desert - The Gazala Line Battle and Retreat. The Desert - At Alamein. The Desert - Pursuit to Tunis. Italy. Back in England. Normandy. Across Northern France. Belgium and the Netherlands. Germany. Army of Occupation. The Post-War Years. Hawker Siddeley Group and Family Life. GLOSSARY.

About the Author

Ken Phillips was born in Thornton Heath in South London in 1921. At the age of 17 he joined the Territorial Army and at the outbreak of war in August 1939 he joined the London Rifle Brigade. He subsequently moved to the 1st Battalion, the Rifle Brigade, with whom he spent the rest of his military service until 1947.
After the war, having trained in accountancy, Ken joined Hawker Siddeley Group, where he was based at their head office in London. He spent the whole of his working career at Hawker Siddeley, retiring as Head of Group Planning in 1983. He married in 1957 and he and his wife Kathie had two children. Kathie died in 1979 but Ken was still able to enjoy spending time with his daughters and grandchildren. In his retirement he typed up his wartime memoirs, based largely on his diaries and letters home. He died at the age of 91 in 2013