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Description of  Ensign in Italy: A Story of the Felix Factor : The Nine Lives of a Young Welsh Guards Officer Who Fought in Italy With His Regiment from the Ruins O

In 1943, aged 18, Philip Brutton relinquished his place at Cambridge to volunteer for the Welsh Guards. He was commissioned the same year and was Ensign of the Guard at St. James's Palace when a near miss by the Luftwaffe hit and badly damaged the surrounding area. At 19, in early 1944, he was sent to Italy where he joined his Regiment and was soon on patrol in the deadman's-land of the Cassino ruins, threading his way nightly through the minefields, under constant threat of enemy attack, shelling and mortaring. He survived--the Felix Factor of this dramatic story--to fight with the 3rd Battalion Welsh Guards as a young battle-hardened platoon commander throughout the major encounters of the Italian campaign involving 1st Guards Brigade. In Austria under orders, he handed over the Croatian Government and then 2,000 men plus their families to their communist executioners: the Great Betrayal. A regular officer, he was stationed in Palestine before the end of the British Mandate, and after a period with The Prince of Wales Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards he became a Staff Captain at Headquarters 1st Guards Brigade, aged 21. This is an exciting and moving memoir which contains some brilliant descriptions of infantry fighting under the most appalling conditions. It is a little classic of its kind and will be regarded, among other things, as a splendid tribute to a fine regiment. Read more