245400 Pte. Herbert William "Hector" Smyth British Army 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment from:Hackbridge My grandfather, H.W. Hector Smyth, served as a Private with the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment from 1939to 1946 in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, Austria and Yugoslavia.
In the 1980s he wrote a book-length memoir of his war years which has come in to my possession and I am now beginning to edit. It covers everything from enlistment and basic training to battle and post-war guard duty. It is amusing, moving, rather un-heroic, distinctly bawdy and full of tales of war life from a private's viewpoint. It is also beautifully well written, although I admit I may be biased. I am considering trying to get it published eventually. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who is interested in 1st Battalion, East Surreys in World War 2. One problem though is that although he mentions many friends and officers, he changed everyone's name so I cannot easily identify individuals.
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