Author(s): Martyn Thompson

NZ Military

This is the story of war as told by the men who fought it. Based on over eighty interviews with New Zealand veterans of the 1940-1943 North African and Middle East campaigns, these personal memoirs build to a vivid, sometimes visceral, portrait of men at war - the fear, the boredom, the adventure, the humour, the pain, the comradeship, the bravery, the everyday realities of the ordinary soldier. The book is divided into two parts, the first of which gives a chronological view of the campaigns; the second of which is titled Reflections and allows the voices of these 'ordinary heroes' to describe the realities of life in the desert, combat, being wounded, and making and losing friends. The result is a lasting reminder to those who follow of just what sacrifice really meant. Martyn Thompson is a director of a PR and marketing company, with a deep personal interest in WWII. He was inspired to write Our War after searching for and finding the grave of his uncle, presumed buried anonymously during the war. Out of this search Martyn self-published a volume of wartime letters from his uncle. He has also previously published a history of the Auckland Airport.