Dear Bernard,

I am a retired light infantry officer. I have some combat experience from Northern Ireland including shooting my way out of an ambush (at night), dealing with the the results of a booby trap bomb explosion and the mayhem of riots. On my first tour I was 23 and ended my last at 43 before command. When I finally retired in 2004 I was ambushed again, this time by post traumatic stress disorder which has now mostly gone.

I am a ‘combat veteran’ and as such always enjoy reading your books. You manage to capture the feel of combat: the fear; the apprehension; the excitement; the elation; and the sickening ‘come down’. Well done. I have particularly enjoyed your stories about the archers and the 100 years war. I also enjoyed and appreciated ‘The Fort’. My experience with the Territorial Army and the Ulster Defence Regiment showed me the potential for mismanagement inherent in all part time military forces as demonstrated in your book by the American Forces. I have had to deal with one or two ‘Paul Reveres’.

I am re-reading ‘Gallows Thief’ and enjoyed learning about ‘the flash’ which is still part of our language (my Mother was a cockney). However, my interest was piqued by learning that Captain Rider Sandman commanded the Grenadier Company of the 52nd. The exploits of the Light Infantry Battalions during the Peninsular War and the 52nd at Waterloo form the ethos of my Regiment, now the Rifles. Did the 52nd, who became Light Infantry in 1803, have a Grenadier Company? Perhaps they did, just the tallest and smartest men. I can find no evidence one way or the other. Certainly the ethos and way of being of Light Infantry Battalions and the Grenadier Guards, both of whom I prepared for Northern Ireland, was even in the late 1970’s completely different.

There is really no need for you to reply. I am just passing on my interest and enjoyment of your books. Keep up the good work!

Best Wishes,

Clive Burt.