Ted Hold went into action twice by Horsa Glider with the 6th Airborne Division: into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day and across the Rhine into Germany in the vanguard of Operation Varsity.
Straight from the Horsa's Mouth is his entertaining and enthralling account of his experiences and escapades in khaki from his early days in the Church Lad's Brigade through to his eventual de-mob in 1946.
His impressive recollection of original dialogue, used with narrative skill throughout, enables the reader to visualize the humorous, frightening and poignant events of over sixty years ago with first-hand clarity.
After a evocation of the halcyon days of his pre-war childhood Ted recalls his time as a member of Sunderland's Post Office Home Guard, whose characters and exploits would not have seemed out of place in 'Walmington-on-Sea'.
He then moves on to his basic army training in Ossett, his subsequent trades training with the Royal Corps of Signals in Huddersfield, and his preparations for D-Day with the 6th Airborne Division in Bulford.
Attached to Divisional Headquarters, Royal Artillery, Ted was at the heart of the 6th Airborne's operations in Normandy and the Ardennes, across the Rhine to the Baltic and, finally, in Palestine.
He provides a unique record of life in the Division during this period and recounts many episodes which were, quite literally, peculiar to him. These include how he: listened very carefully to the French Maquis; discovered where the Dutch had hidden their bulbs; became a guest of Belgian Royalty; and accepted the surrender of a German 'Admiral'.
Incredible maybe, but this isn't fiction - this is Straight from the Horsa's Mouth.