During the War and Other Encounters (Paperback)

The book is sub-divided into three shorter books, Before, During and After The War. Just by reading the provided Amazon extract you can clearly see the late Mr Merryfield had a very intellectual standard of writing. Each of the three books remains just as detailed as the last, forgiving the odd name being forgotten.

Before The War gives a recollection of Buster's early rememberances to his teenage years, from his earliest memories as a mischievous, over confident lower class child living in Battersea during the 1920s. Thoughts of Roald Dahl's "Boy" seem not too distant when reading this, in comparison. Both seemed to have fascinating childhoods compared to today's upbringing with its modern distractions. Returning to the book though... Buster appeared to have a fruitful and adventurous early life, always making the most of opportunities.
It was always his over confidence that got him somewhere, and one of his central hobbies which travelled with him was his love for boxing. Buster got into boxing in his teenage years and this followed him through into the War... This was just one of Buster's successes in his life. His audacity lead him to become a bank assistant, which developed into him eventually becoming manager many years later.
Until the war. The war prompted Buster to enlist himself. This is where the second book begins.

Critically speaking, Buster was never truly in the war, and he himself admits this in the book, but his route in life was always to be successful and his rank went up as his luck did. Buster took up roles as leader and instructor and this was to influence him yet even further on! Buster was never on the battlefront, but his constant drafting to different locations is where the sentimental adventure was. Often on recce by himself, he would venture far from his regiment and live independantly, studying nature and creatures around him. Not to say Buster never encountered any death. In fact, the two incidents of death happened nowhere near a killing field, or the likes, but let me assure you, Buster's retelling is fascinatingly shocking despite his humble storytelling.
And it was while Buster was on his wartime adventures that he met his wife. This is particularly why this book has a touching feeling for me, as Buster spent most of his life in the same places I have been accustomed to. Hereabouts in the autobiography the story is situated around the borough of Richmond where I both live and work.

The third part of the book is life after the war. Here, Buster resumes work at the bank with numerous promotions, but still dreams of being a performer. The result, as a means of not leaving his stable job as a bank manager, led him to join local drama groups and further on start his own. This is where he gained the valuable reputation and experience that eventually won him a role in Only Fools And Horses. Buster really was a living success story!

My only disappointment about the book is there is only a short part at the end dedicated to the memories of Only Fools And Horses, but it's no big issue. The book is also very long too, so this is no light reading but a very deep insight into one of TV's most memorable characters. I have only touched on what the book has to offer, and it has to offer a lot!

For Fools And Horses fanatics this is an absolute MUST READ. Reading this autobiography is a fantastic way of keeping Buster's memory alive.