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Victor Gregg

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Rifleman - A Front Line Life Hardcover – 7 Feb. 2011

by Victor Gregg (Author)

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Born into a working-class family in London in 1919, Victor Gregg enlisted in the Rifle Brigade at nineteen, was sent to the Middle East and saw action in Palestine. Following service in the western desert and at the battle of Alamein, he joined the Parachute Regiment and in September 1944 found himself at the battle of Arnhem. When the paratroopers were forced to withdraw, Gregg was captured. He attempted to escape, but was caught and became a prisoner of war; sentenced to death in Dresden for attempting to escape and burning down a factory, only the allies' infamous raid on the city the night before his execution saved his life.

Gregg's fascinating story, told in a voice that is good-natured and completely original, continues after the end of the war. In the fifties he became chauffeur to the Chairman of the Moscow Norodny bank in London, involved in shady dealings and strange meetings with MI5, MI6 and the KGB. His adventures, though, were not over - in 1989, on one of his many motorbike expeditions into Eastern Europe, he found himself at a rally of 700 people in a field in Sopron at a fence that formed part of the barrier between the Soviet Union and the West. Vic cut the wire, and a few weeks later the Berlin Wall itself was destroyed - a truly unexpected coda to an incredible life lived to the full.

This is the story of a true survivor.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date

7 Feb. 2011
Dimensions

20.3 x 25.4 x 4.7 cm
ISBN-10

1408813963
ISBN-13

978-1408813966
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Review

'Completely fascinating. This feels like one of the last voices of a vital generation. For the first-hand account of the Dresden fire-bombing alone, this is gripping reading. It has an immediate power throughout that makes war fiction a pale shadow of the real thing' ― Conn Iggulden

'Second World War memoirs are commonplace, but very few soldiers had Victor Gregg's breadth and depth of experience. Rifleman is a thrilling story of a young man in extraordinary circumstances. Yet what makes Gregg's story so enthralling is how he was shaped by his wartime experiences and primed an eventful - and dangerous - life behind the Iron Curtain. Rifleman is an outstanding book that deserves to become a classic' ― Lloyd Clark, author of Arnhem

'Many people performed extraordinary feats of bravery and lived through an astonishing array of campaigns during the long years of the Second World War, yet few can have seen more action than Rifleman Victor Gregg. His hugely entertaining and often moving memoir is as action-packed as any fiction, and yet this is no novel - Gregg's adventures were real. His is truly an astonishing story' ― James Holland, author of The Battle of Britain and Fortress Malta

'Gregg's description of the bombing of Dresden is possibly one of the most shocking accounts of warfare you will ever read ...his memoir is a gripping life-story: an incident-packed account of heartache, violence and cunning by a man whose will to survive and unbreakable optimism are a true inspiration' ― Independent

Book Description

The astonishing life of a young working-class man who fought throughout the Second World War from Alamein to the invasion of Sicily, was captured at Arnhem and as a POW survived the Allied bombing raid on Dresden

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Publishing; First Edition (7 Feb. 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1408813963
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1408813966
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 20.3 x 25.4 x 4.7 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 695,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 856 in British Historical Biographies from 1901 Onwards
- 2,341 in War & Defence Operations
- 2,491 in World War II Biographies & Memoirs

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Nicholas Walton

It made my eyebrows rise and my heart pound

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2016

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My favourite autobiographies are the ones that make your eyebrows rise and your heart pound. Victor Gregg's book is absolutely one of them - from his tough beginnings in Bloomsbury to the Desert War to Dresden to his difficult post-war transition and succession of peculiar Cold War jobs, he has lived the type of life that begs to be read about. The descriptions of combat in the desert are vivid and frightening, and you can see how his hard upbringing provides the psychological bedrock of the cussed and dynamic rifleman. The descriptions of Dresden are horrible, and his own take on the bombing of that city is clear for anybody to agree or disagree with. I found the post-war involvement with the Russians to be a more difficult read - there was something evasive about the way it is told, which I suppose fits in with his own retrospective (and sad) assessment of how much he was affected by the transition from rifleman to civvie. All in all, a terrific book and full of telling perspectives relevant to so many aspects of the 20th century.

4 people found this helpful

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G. HOLMES

A Regular Page Turner

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2016

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A good read. How fate can intervene when you live your life day by day. I think its refreshing to read the wartime memories of an ordinary infantryman. And what memories they are. Rifleman Gregg's experiences read like an improbable Hollywood movie, where the American G.I. is always the hero. Here though we have a genuine British gallant who had seen it all, done it all, and lived to a ripe old age to record his adventures for posterity.
While Victor has laid down before us his experiences of his 10 army service that encapsulated the Second World War, for a man in his 90s he must view his distant past like looking through a distant mirror. Almost as if it was another life. He is probably as surprised by the bravery shown by some of his escapades as his readers are thinking how they would respond given the same challenges to their levels of courage and endurance.
As a keen fan of military histories, this one of the best books on the subject I have read lately. Thoroughly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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The Reality of War

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 February 2015

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I actually read this book some 3 years before writing this review but have just had my memory jogged after hearing Victor being interviewed on Radio 5Live. The reason for the interview was the 75th Anniversary of the Dresden Bombing,which Victor as a P.O.W. witnessed first hand.This book,and Victor's description,stunned and horrified me.The interview,during which he didn't mention his book incidentally,was even more powerful and the Broadcasters delayed the news report by 7 minutes so powerful and emotional were his words.
The bombing is only part of the book,the fascinating and moving story of Victor's life as a P.O.W.but inevitably it's the part that will stay in most people's minds afterwards,not least Victor showing the good side of many of "the enemy" and his views on those who send others to war.
This is a book that really affected me and every time I hear the usual 5 second soundbite about the latest bombing raid by someone,somewhere over some perceived grievance,fight over lines on a piece of paper or a disagreement over which way of worshipping the same God might be best.At those times,usually after 3 minutes on Beckham's latest hairstyle or something really important about some reality tv show, I think of Victor's
description of the reality and brutality of warfare and I share his views of those who profit from it in any way,politically or financially.
A very important book as well as an interesting one.I had no idea Victor Gregg was still alive but his radio interview was powerful stuff and attracted a lot of positive comment from listeners,many of whom I suspect don't think past the headlines from various parts of the globe every time our glorious leaders see bombing everything as the answer.
Fascinating book by a fascinating man.

9 people found this helpful

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Gazdoc

A wise man telling his own incredible story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 January 2016

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Victor Gregg is the sort of bloke you would stay well away from. He passed through some of the most vicious campaigns in North Africa and Europe physically unscathed. Captured at Arnhem he ended up condemned to death in Dresden, before making friends with the Russians. Everyone around him took a bullet, bomb, or mortar round and Victor cleaned it all up and soldiered on. His reflections on the stupidity of those in power and the ravages of what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are spot on. Highly intelligent, utterly observant, Gregg tells his story with clear, unembellished language and you just know it is all true! The chapters covering his postwar career are pretty staggering too....

3 people found this helpful

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E. M. Kidman

Never judge a book by its cover

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 December 2019

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I have just finished this book having heard mr Gregg on Breakfast TV. As someone born in the 50s who has never been to war or in truth never had to face any particular hardship, this is a sharp reminder about the bravery of our forebears. Their acceptance of place, and ability to deal with what was thrown at them. Is a lesson to us all.
A fascinating read, a man who was brave and primarily optimistic. We could all do with adopting a little bit of Mr Gregg in our lives.

One person found this helpful

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Selena Lethbridge Carr

Rifleman

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 December 2013

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To me this read as an honest, heart felt account of one man's personal experience of the horrors people inflicted on each other, yet still the lessons have not been learnt. I had heard talk from people who were witness to Dresden, one a British pilot, and now this account from Rifleman Gregg. It made me ashamed of the powers that were, on both sides, for enabling these atrocities to happen.
Whilst living in France I visited O'rador sur Glan and many other places damaged by the wars and the scars are omnipresent. Say what you like about the French, from what I have read, seen and been told, they did the best they could under German occupation.
Rarely are the instigators of war on the front line, tucked safely away in bunkers or safe houses. Those who would wage war should be put in an arena to fight amongst themselves.... perhaps they would work harder at a diplomatic solution given this option! This would save millions of lives, heartaches, time and.... money.

3 people found this helpful

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