We died with our boots clean
By: Kenneth McAlpine
Edition: Large print ed.
Publisher: Isis
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Oxford [England]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780753152768; 9780753152751
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945; British Personal narratives; Campaigns; Marines; Biography; Military campaigns; Great Britain. Royal Marines; Great Britain
Description: "We fought with bayonets and, in unarmed combat, learned how to kill someone in seven seconds. An instructor demonstrated, using me as the victim. I vividly remember falling to the ground with a grey film across my eyes and in great pain. "At the age of 17, Kenneth McAlpine ran away from Repton school to join Churchill's new elite special force, the Royal Marine Commandos. He was the youngest member of the youngest commando force and after three months found himself fighting on the beaches of Normandy. From his best friend's arrest for swearing at the Queen of Holland, a concerted attempt to kill a sergeant major, and his own time in a military prison, McAlpine paints a fascinating picture of commando life.