Product Description

A story of love and danger, courage, high drama and survival against the odds. Set in wartime England, the western desert, Italy and France, it seeks to capture the spirit of the young soldiers at war in the newly emerging SAS. "Gentleman Jim" Almonds, a sergeant in the Guards Commandos, sailed for the Middle East as part of "Layforce" in January 1941 with David Stirling and others destined to become SAS originals. After intense training in the desert and action at Tobruk, Jolo Oasis, Nofelia and Benghazi, Almonds was captured and shipped to a PoW camp in Italy, from which he managed to escape. After 32 days on the run, he managed to reach US forces at the Benevento front line. Later, in 1944, he parachuted into France to disrupt road and rail links. He spent two months living in the Forest of Orleans - despite Hitler's edict that all SAS were to be shot rather than taken prisoner. This work is based on "Gentleman Jim's" diaries, which he kept to be sent to his wife should he fail to return.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #313707 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 340 pages

About the Author
Loma Almonds Windmill is the daughter of 'Gentleman Jim' and is herself a former Regular Army Captain. She is now an official at the Department of Trade and Industry and is the 1999 winner of the IBM/EUW Award for European Woman of Achievement in the Professions.

Customer Reviews

Very Good - a remarkable story
Considering how many SAS books there are this is a real find, the subject having done fairly amazing things - SAS founder , raids, captured escaped captured escaped, back to Blighty and parachuted ino France before D-Day to help Fr. resistance...in short an old-fashioned hero, and modest to boot. The book is pretty good too on the personal side, the account of how hard he was to live with the first time he returned, and how the family put itself together is something the 'I slotted a Taliban SAS books often skip. Well worth it.

A true Gentleman
This book descibes the true meaning of the word "Gentleman". Jim Almonds is a member of an elite group, I'm not just talking about his SAS service, but of a man who's generation suffered such horrendous sacrifices,which gave us all the freedom we so much take for granted today. We owe it to men like Jim to take some time to understand their lives and those of their families during those dark days of WW2. I was priveleged some years back to meet Jim Almonds,whom I found to be a warm/gentle man, and a person who had time to listen to others. He would make you feel as if he had always known you, and would understate his military career, if you could manage to get him to talk about it in the first place. Jim's daughter Lorna has paid a great tribute to her father in this facinating book, and has contributed to the history of the SAS Regiment, through the first hand accounts written at the time by Jim. This is a must read for anyone wanting an insight into the mind of a great soldier and a fine human being.

"Gentle-man", the true meaning of the word.
I was fortunate to meet Jim back in 1997 at the unveiling of a statue to Paddy Mayne.I stood with Jim along with other fine men Johnny Cooper,Reg Seekings(deseased),Jim Storie...I listened and saw the strong bond formed by these men,which has held fast throughout time.Their experiences we cannot even begin to imagine,however Lorna Almonds gives the reader an insight into her fathers life,for me it was a privilage to read. The word "Gentleman" was made for men like this,we can all take a lesson from Jim's Generation.