Lamentations
Personal Memories of the Siege of Gorazde
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
"Senada was buried in a small cemetery on the banks of the Drina.The hedgerows around me were festooned with primroses....The sun passed behind a cloud, and the light suddenly faded, A chill passed through me as a cold wind blew off the river. I turned away and made my way back, head bent, to the waiting vehicle."
"The mortar fire became punctuated by the crack of anti-tank shells building up into a deafening crescendo....Long bursts of machine gun fire zipped over head...The Serbs were pushing up the river towards us.."
"From the gloom a dark and ghostly spectre loomed. The shadow grew and took on a threatening form. The silhouette of a soldier with a machine gun slung over his shoulder. Behind him followed his macabre colleagues. ..a hushed message was sent through our group, " 'A Company' is coming through!"..."
"..the letter had been written at three o'clock in the morning on the ward. The image of her slight figure, alone in the still and dark...striving in another language to scratch out that reply was stamped in my mind, and I loved her all the more. I longed to silently appear...to see her face turn and her beautiful eyes look into mine".
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
War ravaged Bosnia 1995. Srebrenica is only months away from its ignominious and shameful nemesis. A handful of miles away after three years under siege, starved and shelled, the Moslems of Gorazde await a similar fate. A new British Army unit arrives in Gorazde. Its Medical Officer becomes increasingly aware that the deepest scars of war are not caused by shells and bullets alone. The courage and resilience of the people of Gorazde, friendships and unrequited love in the shadow of war would bring enduring memories and emotional trauma.
About the Author
Dr. Robert Whelan graduated from Liverpool University in 1972, and worked as a GP in Huyton, Merseyside for 18 years. At the onset of the Gulf War he joined the TA serving as a Captain in 208(V) Field Hospital (Liverpool). In 1994 he took a Short Service Commission in the Regular Army and served in Bosnia, Canada, Germany and UK, in the rank of Major. On leaving the Army in 2000 he returned to mainstream General Practice. He enjoys living in West Lancashire with his wife Kathy. A keen walker, Rob's main interests are railways, and the Second World War. His favourite authors are Thomas Hardy, and Sir. Walter Scott, but his most impressionable recent read was: "The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink.