Mark of War

About the Book

Many thousands of young British men found themselves in the Army, the Royal Air Force, or the Royal Navy, despatched from their homes and careers when the conscription of the Second World War was extended for the so-called Cold War with the Soviet Union, the Malaysian Emergency (involving Japan), and again in 1950 with the Korean War. This is the story of one of those National Service lads, Mark Ryham, who saw action in Malaya before becoming an Intelligence Officer and carry on the battle for peace on the home front.

About the Author

Englishman Neil Swindells has been a journalist all his working life, starting at the age of 15 as an apprentice reporter on his local paper, the Suffolk Free Press, progressing after National Service in the Royal Air Force to the East Anglian Daily Times in Ipswich, then to the Paddington Mercury in London. After marrying Mary, then in publishing, he was transferred to Basildon, Essex, as editor of the New Town’s local paper. Two years later, he joined the Daily Mail in London as a sub-editor before becoming Chief Sub-Editor and Assistant Night Editor. Over 30 years with the Daily Mail, he served in virtually every department of the paper, including travel writing, which took him to many countries, and producing Fleet Street’s first fashion pages in full colour. Retiring after two-and-a-half years as Night Production Editor of the London Evening Standard, he wrote his first book, Behind the Glaze, the life story of potter William Moorcroft, which was well-received in the collecting world.