Something about a soldier : the wartime memoirs of Christopher Bulteel M.C.

Includes index.

This is the autobiography of a gentle hero who was granted a commission in 1941 and was posted to the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards and joined them shortly after the historic battle of El Alamein. Here he found himself serving with an elite corps who had turned the tide against Rommel's seemingly unstoppable advance through North Africa. It was intended that the author was to be held in reserve during the final assault to capture Tunis, but he had other ideas. After hitching a lift with the padre to move forward with the advance, they blundered into German troops and were captured. Through the skilful use of logic and language, the author amazingly convinced his captors that their best move would be to abandon all their British prisoners and allow them to retreat to the allied lines. And so it turned out that he led a large band of captive soldiers to freedom. The Coldstream battalion then became embroiled in the invasion of Sicily and Italy and the author was fortunate to survive unscathed from the bitter fighting at Salerno. Fearful of an early death, the author became focussed on a spiritual journey that led him to a faith that became the cornerstone of his life."