Rifleman

A Front-Line Life from Alamein and Dresden to the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 20th Century, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Rifleman by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg ISBN: 9781408817575
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: February 7, 2011
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing Language: English
Author: Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
ISBN: 9781408817575
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: February 7, 2011
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing
Language: English

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Remembering Child Migration by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Athenian Comedy in the Roman Empire by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Voltaire Almighty by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Austro-Hungarian Battleships 1914–18 by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book A Court of Wings and Ruin by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book A Call to Arms by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Samuel Beckett: Debts and Legacies by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Liar by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Israel’s Lightning Strike by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book The Bravest Princess by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Does the Internet Have an Unconscious? by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Tiny Games for Home by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book State Aid and the Energy Sector by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Russian Orthodoxy and the Russo-Japanese War by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
Cover of the book Poe and the Subversion of American Literature by Rick Stroud, Victor Gregg
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy