Bill's Battles, by Bill Arthur with Gill Williams

Published privately, no date given. 138 pages. Large A4 size paperback - c.21cm by 29.5cm (A21N4WSO)

The book is divided into 3 parts - the first part details Bills childhood and early life, part 2 details his experiences during the Second World War, and part 3 covers his life after the war.

From the rear side cover: William George Arthur, more commonly known as Bill, was born on 9th November 1917, the only child of Louisa and Leopold Arthur. He became. an orphan when both his parents succumbed to Spanish Flu in 1918. He was brought up by his elderly grandparents in the tiny Buckinghamshire village of Ickford. He faced many struggles throughout his life. He had to fight for success in his school life and later as a college student. His teaching career was interrupted by the war years, when he saw service' as a corporal, driving tanks in North Africa. He was seriously injured when his tank was blown up on the run up to the Battle of Knightsbridge. He had to fight initially for survival, then, over many years, for a full recovery. Finally as a much-respected Head Teacher in Aylesbury, he put all his efforts into fighting for high standards of education for all children, and for the rights of teachers. There could only be one title for his story - 'Bill's Battles'.

Part 2, where Bill details his wartime experiences, includes sections on Life in the Army in England, the Troopship Orion, in the Desert, Action in the Desert, More Action, Hospitalization, Return to South Africa and finally Back to England. It includes his call up to the Third County of London Yeomanry, travelling to South Africa and then up to Port Said in the Middle East, and serving in North Africa.

The condition of the book is generally very good. The covers have some minor scuffs, and light creasing and wear along the edges and corners, but the spine is intact and all pages are intact, unblemished and tightly bound.