Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
35 used & new from £0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys...: A Boy Soldier in India (Cassell Military Paperbacks)
 
 

Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys...: A Boy Soldier in India (Cassell Military Paperbacks) (Paperback)

by William Pennington (Author) "I was born in 1920 in Salford, Lancashire where the cotton mills processed cotton imported from India and returned it as finished garments at a..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £7.19 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £0.80 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, July 15? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
15 new from £1.27 19 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £3.99

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton : an Autobiography

Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton : an Autobiography

by J.G. Ballard
4.4 out of 5 stars (14)  £3.99
Sniper One: The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege

Sniper One: The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege

by Sgt. Dan Mills
4.9 out of 5 stars (130)  £3.49
The Story of India : Complete BBC Series [DVD]

The Story of India : Complete BBC Series [DVD]

DVD ~ Michael Wood
4.2 out of 5 stars (40)  £9.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 420 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix; New edition edition (1 April 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0753817837
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753817834
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.2 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 471,612 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #97 in  Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > Indian Subcontinent

Product Description

Product Description
'Pick up your parrots and monkeys, and fall in facing the boat' was the traditional last order given to a detachment of British soldiers heading home from India. William Pennington heard it from the 'old salts' he met on the docks as he arrived in India at the age of 15. Enlisted as a 'boy soldier', a bugler in the horse artillery, he served in the 1930s when the British Army in India was little changed from that described by Kipling. Pennington's compelling description of army life in the last days of the Raj is followed by an equally moving account of his experiences in the Burma campaign. Promoted from the ranks, he fought the Japanese as an artillery officer, specialising in forward observation: the most dangerous job in the jungle.

About the Author
Fourteen-year-old Bill Pennington enlisted in the British Army as a trumpeter in the 1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery. At fifteen, he was on active service on the North-West Frontier. After serving in India, France, Belgium, Burma, Germany and England, he was demobbed in 1946. He married Enid in 1946 and emigrated to Canada in 1951, where he lives to this day. He started writing this book at the age of seventy-seven.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
I was born in 1920 in Salford, Lancashire where the cotton mills processed cotton imported from India and returned it as finished garments at a price still affordable to the natives, yet with huge profits for the mill owners. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars parrots and monkeys?, 3 Jun 2006
By Gille Liath (Lancashire) - See all my reviews
Claiming to be a memoir of life `on the fabled Northwest Frontier', only a quarter of this is about peacetime India and Pennington comes no nearer the frontier than Delhi in an uneventful tour of duty. The real subject of the book is the old-style regular army. It's strange to think that, as recently as 1935, a fifteen-year-old boy could ship out for military service there; today he'd be grappling with his GCSE coursework.

Probably the best chapters are those dealing with the war in Burma, gruesome though they are. Pennington skilfully incorporates his experiences into the wider historical context, with the kind of what-it-was-like detail you get neither from conventional histories nor those bitty `voices of the past' things.

Not a literary classic, but an interesting picture of a now-vanished way of life. I half-feel I should give it an extra star for the title...but I won't.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys, 3 Jul 2009
By A. Wass (Cumbria) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Excellent value, would recommend this seller to everyone.
Received well packaged and promptly.
Thank you once again.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

Discover Health & Beauty

 

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

More info on Wish Lists

 

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates