- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Headline Review (29 May 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0755316126
- ISBN-13: 978-0755316120
- Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 13.3 x 19.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
268,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #100 in Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Countries > Britain
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Product Description
Review
"A very welcome reprint of one of the most amazing VC biographies to have been written." --The Victoria Cross Society
Product Description
Many years after becoming the youngest person ever to be awarded the VC for attacking a company of Panzer Grenadiers on his own - an action that proved a turning point in one of the major battles of the Second World War - John Kenneally made an extraordinary confession. The courageous hero of the Irish Guards, who had taken on a whole company single-handed was not, in fact, John Kenneally at all, but Leslie Jackson, the illegitimate son of Neville Blond and Gertrude Robinson (a 'high-class whore'), who had deserted his former regiment, the Honourable Artillery Company.
In THE HONOUR AND THE SHAME, he tells his story with great verve and frankness - a story of riotous living, great courage on the front line, and intense loyalties. Full of the escapades of battle - from the triumphant Tunisian campaign to the bloodbath of Anzio - and the many adventures of a freewheeling youth, THE HONOUR AND THE SHAME is a vivid portrait of a fascinating man.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
John Kenneally won the Victoria Cross (Britain's highest military honour) during WW2 for his actions in Africa when he single handedly took on an entire Company of Germans. This is his biography through to the end of military service that included Africa, Anzio and Palestine. His tale is simply and honestly told and comes over very much as 'matter of fact' and 'you did what you had to do'. This is a fascinating view of an elite regiment (the Irish Guards) the soldiers within it and their many acts of stoic bravery.
But there is a twist to this tale. John Kenneally was an assumed name for someone who had deserted and rejoined under fake papers. This charade (and of course the awarding of a VC to someone who technically did not exist) makes for extra interesting reading. There are not many holders of the VC and this was a typical tale of a young man on the rough side that found true calling and comradeship in the Army who then performed a heroic deed on a dusty African hill. There is no doubt that the author deserved his medal, but, as he points out, so did many who held that critical strategic point against the Germans.
An engrossing tale of the dirty end of war, the author (who sadly died in 2000) remains a credit to his regiment and to the British Army.
But there is a twist to this tale. John Kenneally was an assumed name for someone who had deserted and rejoined under fake papers. This charade (and of course the awarding of a VC to someone who technically did not exist) makes for extra interesting reading. There are not many holders of the VC and this was a typical tale of a young man on the rough side that found true calling and comradeship in the Army who then performed a heroic deed on a dusty African hill. There is no doubt that the author deserved his medal, but, as he points out, so did many who held that critical strategic point against the Germans.
An engrossing tale of the dirty end of war, the author (who sadly died in 2000) remains a credit to his regiment and to the British Army.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This soldier certainly had a bold outlook, a truly brave person in the old fashioned sense, faced with fire on all fronts and surviving against the odds whilst his comrades fell. This was balanced by his personal ups and downs once war was over, an exuberant character not always suited to army rules, well worth the read with the photos at the back.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the firsthand account of a brief period in both civil and military WWII history written by a man named Kenneally, who it later transpires is in fact an assumed name given to the author (a former deserter) by an Irish national.
This prompted the question, is it correct to award the highest decoration for valour in the face of the enemy to a man who had previously deserted the Army in a time of war?
Having re-read Kenneally's reasoning, this appears to be a mute point given that if it was not correct to do so, would have seen the V.C. being retracted once Kenneally's true identity (Jackson) became known, however others may not agree.
Having said that this is a fascinating read, moving as it does from descriptions of guttural fighting (although the numbers of Germans engaged resulting in the award of the V.C. seem somewhat variable depending on who's account you read) and a fantastically ageless dark military humour.
This dark humour can be shown in Kenneally's account of his shooting dead a German chef and denying the enemy their lunch!
Similarly in the recollection of an exchange with a German soldier "... when The Stuka comes you duck, when the Spitfire comes we duck, when [the American plane] comes, everybody ducks ..."
Whilst it cannot be said that every Allied soldier behaved appropriately in war and the record of misdeeds speaks for itself, I was struck by instances of clear humanity and a lack of judgment on the part of Kenneally, which I doubt has become more acute over the years of reflections.
Kenneally's actions toward an injured German soldier and his rebuke of the treatment toward Allied troops ostracised due to what was regarded as a lack of moral fibre (later recognised as battle fatigue/shell shock) is a credit to his self discipline and humanity respectively.
Oddly enough this book was not as heavy on recollections of battle as I had first thought but contained other accounts of life (and loves) during WWII and attitudes towards life in the Army and the view of the opposing forces which is not something I was expecting but found engrossing.
As with so many of these, Kenneally's recollections provoked various questions and comparisons, which to me is an indication of a `good book' rather than just a good read.
The title is particularly and cleverly apt in this regard, the honour but also the shame.
I would have no issue recommending this book to anyone with an interest in the life of the `Tommy at the front end' and how he saw WWII.
This prompted the question, is it correct to award the highest decoration for valour in the face of the enemy to a man who had previously deserted the Army in a time of war?
Having re-read Kenneally's reasoning, this appears to be a mute point given that if it was not correct to do so, would have seen the V.C. being retracted once Kenneally's true identity (Jackson) became known, however others may not agree.
Having said that this is a fascinating read, moving as it does from descriptions of guttural fighting (although the numbers of Germans engaged resulting in the award of the V.C. seem somewhat variable depending on who's account you read) and a fantastically ageless dark military humour.
This dark humour can be shown in Kenneally's account of his shooting dead a German chef and denying the enemy their lunch!
Similarly in the recollection of an exchange with a German soldier "... when The Stuka comes you duck, when the Spitfire comes we duck, when [the American plane] comes, everybody ducks ..."
Whilst it cannot be said that every Allied soldier behaved appropriately in war and the record of misdeeds speaks for itself, I was struck by instances of clear humanity and a lack of judgment on the part of Kenneally, which I doubt has become more acute over the years of reflections.
Kenneally's actions toward an injured German soldier and his rebuke of the treatment toward Allied troops ostracised due to what was regarded as a lack of moral fibre (later recognised as battle fatigue/shell shock) is a credit to his self discipline and humanity respectively.
Oddly enough this book was not as heavy on recollections of battle as I had first thought but contained other accounts of life (and loves) during WWII and attitudes towards life in the Army and the view of the opposing forces which is not something I was expecting but found engrossing.
As with so many of these, Kenneally's recollections provoked various questions and comparisons, which to me is an indication of a `good book' rather than just a good read.
The title is particularly and cleverly apt in this regard, the honour but also the shame.
I would have no issue recommending this book to anyone with an interest in the life of the `Tommy at the front end' and how he saw WWII.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Honour and the Shame
Bought this a week or so ago after good reviews on Amazon.
Read this in 3 days (fast for me), absolutely gripping, written in a relaxed way that really draws you into... Read more
Read this in 3 days (fast for me), absolutely gripping, written in a relaxed way that really draws you into... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. P. J. Brown
the honour and the shame
an unusual true story i found compelling reading and fascinating; i could relate to and would recommend this to all my friends
Published 3 months ago by diepenbeek reader
A Real Hero - Warts and All
THE HONOUR AND THE SHAME is John Kenneally's memoir of the Second World War. His real name was Leslie Jackson and he was the illegitimate child of Neville Blonde and Gertrude... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Hereward
The privilage and the honour
This book is a warts and all story of ten years in a soldiers life
not any soldier but a vc
the action is bloody gritty and brutal, with a epilaloge to boot... Read more
not any soldier but a vc
the action is bloody gritty and brutal, with a epilaloge to boot... Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2008 by masspecguy
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