Soldier's Story , livre ebook

eBook Versions - Colin Perry

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

120 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

After the death of his wife, elderly Tom Mitchell has settled back into his plodding, plain and unadventurous life: Visits from his son, daughter and grandchildren, the occasional trip into Brighton, Friday night at the pub with his mates, pursuing his profitable hobby. In a Brighton hotel he meets Ching Lan, a woman over half his age. She is from a far off country, friendly, exotic, appealing; a little mysterious. In spite of misgivings he is attracted to her. Their friendship grows and Tom's predictable existance changes. One summer night he is mugged and for the first time in his life he is questioned by the police; he becomes innocently involved in a political scandal that threatens the security of the country. A shadowy civil servant informs him he holds the key to exposing corruption within the Government.After a horrific attack in a Brighton street, Tom finds himself in a remote hospital where, as he recovers from his injuries, he plans his future while those around him put his sanity in doubt.

Sujets

Romance

Informations

Publié par	eBook Versions
Date de parution	12 juin 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781843965435
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0250€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Published by Dragon Seed Publishing

Copyright © 2019 Colin Perry

All rights reserved

Colin Perry has asserted his right
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988 to be identified as the author
of this work

ISBN 978-1-84396-542-8

Also available in paperback
ISBN 978-1-09674-895-3

No part of this book may be reproduced
in any material or electronic form, including
photocopying, without written permission
from the publisher, except for the
quotation of brief passages in criticism.

Ebook production
eBook Versions
27 Old Gloucester Street
London WC1N 3AX
www.ebookversions.com
A
SOLDIER S
STORY

Colin Perry

DEMON SEED PUBLISHING
Contents

Cover Page
Copyright Credits

Title Page

Introduction

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Introduction

In the spring of 1957, having completed a regular engagement with the British army serving in Germany, Korea and Malaya, I was homeward bound on the troop ship Empire Orwell. Due to the Suez crisis, the Suez Canal was blocked by sunken, shipping so our voyage would take us round the Cape of Good Hope with shore leave at Cape- Town and Durban. One evening, a group of us, in the ships barroom were discussing the impact the newly re-formed SAS had had on the communist revolt in Malaya. One of us pointed out the assassination of British High Commissioner Sir Henry Gurney in a roadside terrorist ambush in October 1951 had also been a major turning point in the conflict. He went on to say, he was convinced it was a conspiracy by British intelligence in cahoots with the CIA to bring the conflict to an end as quickly as possible. It was met with raucous laughter and put down to the beer talking but what drives my novel is the supposition it is true.
Much later I researched the uprising, mostly the politics surrounding it. There were multiple factors leading to the conflict being overthrown, such as villages on the jungle fringes previously raided by terrorists mainly for food, but anything else that suited their purpose, being enclosed behind high, secure barbed wire fencing guarded, round the clock by Malayan police, but the two key issues, beyond doubt, was the newly reformed, SAS and the assassination of the British High Commissioner.
In 1948 the Malayan Communist Party received instructions from Moscow to revolt. Russia had now distanced herself from her wartime allies. Churchill coined the phrase, the cold war. Former members of the Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army were eager to take up arms again, this time against British colonial rule. A huge stockpile of weapons and ammunition supplied by Britain during world two, to aid their fight against Japanese occupation had been cached in the jungle in preparation for the revolt. Malayan police had long reported to higher authority including the High Commissioner their conviction this would, happen but repeated warnings were dismissed as idle gossip. It was a monumental blunder by British intelligence that would cost Britain dear in terms of loss of life and to further weaken an already post war fragile economy.
When Sir Henry Gurney was assassinated, apparently by Communist Terrorists it was met with dismay and revulsion by democratic countries the world over. The vast, majority, of Malaya s populate closed ranks, eager to oust Communism from their country forever. Henry Gurney s successor General Sir Gerald Templer proved to be the perfect replacement as though everything had been prepared for the day of reckoning, he, walking on stage to take up his appointment bang on cue. From this time on a wind of change swept through Malaya. For the first time and this is certainly significant, Templer combined his political power as High Commissioner with that of director of military operations taking command of the civil administration that supported this. It was a master stroke. Morale soared. If the Communists did assassinate Sir Henry Gurney, it was tantamount to political suicide.
From the late forties America s CIA was experimenting with truth drugs and hypnosis as a means of controlling the human mind seen as a potential weapon in the cold war. A doctor Frank Olson a US army biochemist played a leading role in this programme. His work took him to England on many occasions, visiting the chemical weapons research centre at Porton Down, Wiltshire, during the Communist revolt in Malaya period. At this time British servicemen were experimented on with sarin, a deadly nerve gas. An airman died minutes after being experimented on using sarin in 1953. Also, in 1953 Frank Olson fell to his death through the window of his, tenth floor hotel room in New York. The inquest verdict was suicide but twenty -two years later a US investigation into illegal activities by the CIA revealed a, top secret research programme had taken place, with extreme methods of interrogation using LSD and other drugs. Olson had been keenly involved in this programme but became disillusioned and disgusted with what he was doing. This begs the question why. He informed a fellow scientist how he felt, then told his boss Sydney Gottlieb he wanted nothing more to do with it. It is now believed by many the CIA orchestrated Olson s murder making it look like suicide due to key figures in the programme terrified they would be betrayed.
To this day the true facts concerning Dr Frank Olson s death have never been released. Before and after Gurney s assassination captured Communist terrorists were sent to a special unit for interrogation. Some were put on what was officially termed a rehabilitation course where they were brainwashed before being sent back to China. This was often talked about during my time in Malaya. If true it may well have been the seeds sown then that later led to the Chinese pro -democracy demonstration and associated events in the Spring of 1989 demanding free speech, a free press and human rights that turned into a bloody massacre. Shocking images of the Chinese government s brutal regime were broadcast around the world.
I think, it is not beyond credibility that captured Communist terrorists could be hypnotised, drugged, brainwashed and programmed to carry out any atrocity they were ordered to do.
During British colonial rule Malaya comprised a multinational, multicultural and multi-religious society. The High Commissioner presided over a legislative council of all Malaya s legitimate political, parties but the High Commissioner had the power to overrule any decisions put forward that he considered not in Malaya s best interests. He was not wont, to do this outright, preferring to negotiate with all party representatives to win their respect. What all parties were eager for was independence, but Britain had made it clear, until Communism as a military or political threat had been totally eradicated from Malaya it would not happen. Moscow s initial dream of conquering Malaya by force had quickly evaporated, all that remained was an exceedingly slim hope of the MCP gaining some legal, political standing before Malaya gained her independence. Many of Malaya s Chinese were illiterate labourers scratching a living from the earth with few if any social activities and as such felt isolated. On the other hand, there were many wealthy Chinese business men who wanted nothing to do with Communism who were targeted by terrorists and forced to pay large sums of money to the MCP funds under threat of death to themselves or wives and children.
A man called Tan Cheng Lock, a well -known and respected Chinese had formed the Malayan Chinese Association, a group active in raising money for his fellow countrymen who had fallen on hard times. It would give a voice and social succour, to the poor, illiterate, elderly and isolated. It was the wish of the MCA leaders and the High Commissioner, Sir Henry Gurney that the MCA should evolve as a political organisation, saying it would attract decent Chinese who would distance themselves from the Chinese terrorists.
Really!
For, the purpose of my novel, I have assumed that, doctor Frank Olson had formulated a drug that appeared to be the perfect tranquiliser. It was tested on selected volunteers all, extremely violent men, serving life sentences in American state penitentiaries for homicide. Just one injection proved sufficient to change monstrous, vicious personalities to that of polite, amiable characters, sincerely repentant for all previous criminality.
Danny Flynn a member of the criminal fraternity in Manchester with convictions for petty crime and GBH enlists into the army to escape his environment in pursuit of a better future. After a promising start, his natural bent for violence lets him down. Following several reprimands, he nearly kills a man in a bar brawl in Kuala Lumpur. A court martial sentences him to three months in military detention, followed by a dishonourable discharge. But Danny is given a second chance to serve his country, virtue of Dr Olson s wonder drug, due to, his previous, brave and dutiful service in Korea.
Then disaster! More than a year after the first man is injected with the drug, one of the, prisoner volunteers develops psychosis with horrendous results, he chillingly one of the latter to be injected. It happens again and again. It is only a matter of time before Flynn too goes violently insane. What to do with him now! British and American intelligence think they have the perfect solution. Captured Communist terrorists will be drugged, hypnotised, brainwashed and programmed to assassinate Sir Henry Gurney. Danny Flynn will be taken into their confidence, led to believe he has been recruited as an intelligence agent to undertake a top, secret mission that will greatly benefit British and American credibility. Pos