Of Love and War -the letters and diaries of Capt Adrian Curlewis 1939 - 1945 - Philippa Poole

.If there is any such thing as triumph in was, Of Love And War is about triumph, the triumph of love.

Adrian Curlews was a rising barrister and a well-known surf livesaver when he enlisted in the AIF in 1940 for overseas service. He voluntarily gave up his career in mid-stream to serve his country. More importantly, he gave up his family - his beloved wife Betty, his two young children and his parents - even though he need not have done so, since he was already several years over the required age.

Like so many other families left at home, the Curlews family sensed a deep foreboding at his enlistment and his departure.

Adrian saw only two months of action when, on 15 February 1942, Singapore fell to the Japanese and he suddenly found himself a prisoner of war. He was to remain in captivity for almost three and a half years, watching his comrades die of disease or brutality or just sheer personal despair.

During these desperate years, Adrian secretly kept two diaries - unique wartime documents on the conditions and atrocities of Changi Gaol and of the Burma-Thailand Railway. While at home his family continued to write to him, even though they had to wait eighteen months to find out whether he was alive or dead.

These letters and diaries combine to make Of Love And War much more than just a story of war. Contained in them is the love that transcended all the horrors of captivity, a love which gave Adrian the will to survive.

Hardcover book in excellent condition , 280 pages