Boys at War

Russell Margerisan writes of the dangerous but strangely unreal world of the World War 2 air gunner, sitting high in the turret of a bomber over Europe, wrapped in several layers of clothes and awed by the destructive beauty of the scene below. His role was to keep a lookout for enemy fighters and to take a shot at them if they gave him the chance. After many raids Margweison's plane was shot down. Weeks on the run with the Belgian underground were followed by many months of captivity in Germany. He describes the events of January 1945 when for eighteen days nearly 1500 prisoners were marched through blizzards to another camp, surviving on an inch of soup a day. A few months later, the prisoners' new camp was 'liberated' by the Russians, but the author's adventures were not yet over. When Russell Margerison eventually cam home to Lancashire, he was still six months short of his twenty-first birthday. This second edition includes a sequel tellin of his return, fifty-nine years after he was shot down, to visit the Belgians who risked everything to help him. 'Boys At War' is a minor classic of the Other Ranks' war' - Daily Mail 'This vivid story tells of just a few indiviuals - but in its meticulous accuracy and totally honest recall - it paints a picture far more real than any history book or idealised film could do'. - Manchester Evening News 'It is absolute reality - often terrifying but never without boyish hopefulness and British humour - A real-life thriller.' - Accrington Observer