Overview

Sir Carol Mather retired from the British Army in 1962 after a distinguished career with the Welsh Guards, Special Air Service, and other famous units. He spent much of the next 20 years as a Member of Parliament. Now, drawing on diaries kept at the time, Mather tells the story of his remarkable experiences during World War II. Mather had a gift for being in the right place at the right time and for turning adversity into opportunity. In 1942 Mather was a member of a ski battalion when the only active front was in North Africa. The young officer managed to get himself assigned to Egypt, in the process encountering Randolph Churchill, Evelyn Waugh, David Sterling, and eventually Bernard Montgomery. Mather initially operated behind German lines with the Special Air Service, but was eventually selected for Montgomery's personal staff. Accompanying Montgomery on a daily basis, frequently driving him alone through the desert in a staff car, Mather had many unique opportunities to witness the general's humor, ill humor, shrewd grasp of military principles, and utter disregard for personal safety. Mather's position also gave him a dramatic vantage point to witness the Battle of El Alamein, which he describes in vivid detail. Returning to the SAS, Mather was captured and sent to a German prison camp in Northern Italy. Escaping after the Allied invasion, Mather walked hundreds of miles to meet the advancing Anglo-American forces. Mather rejoined Montgomery's staff and accompanied him for most of the war. Of particular interest is Mather's account of the British role in the Battle of the Bulge.

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