New - A Degree of Uncle Raymond

It is a fine thing to have an uncle, but there are uncles and uncles. Peter Copley is attempting to study English at Cambridge University but his wife's uncle is convinced that his education needs to cover a much wider curriculum. Unfortunately, Uncle Raymond is prone to enthusiasms, some of which prove a problem for an impressionable young man.

The latest offering from the pen of Paul Griffin is a series of witty short stories - a fictional sequence in twelve episodes - introducing the irrepressible Uncle Raymond.

A Degree of Uncle Raymond is published privately by Lyon and Lamb, and is available for £10 from www.lulu/shop

New - The Lost Battalion

From the desolate hills of the North West Frontier of India to the steaming jungles of central India and Burma, Paul Griffin's latest book recounts the story of his wartime service 1940-1945.

The Battalion of the title was the 3rd/6th Gurkhas who, after years of service in the relative peace of the Khyber Pass, joined the Chindit operations designed to fight behind enemy lines in Burma. Illness prevented Paul from joining them and he was seconded to Chindit HQ from where he had a good view of the whole operation.

Drafted into the Broadway stronghold to assist the evacuation, he describes the organised chaos of the fly-out: an exercise which coloured his view of mules for life.

The battalion fought on, long after its planned period of front line action, being whittled away by enemy action and winning two Victoria Crosses in the process.

A final invasion of Malaya and Paul, then aged a mere 24, was demobbed to pursue his dream of reading English at Cambridge.

Published privately by Lyon and Lamb, The Lost Battalion is available for £10 from www.lulu.com/shop