Foreword & twice signed by B. L. Montgomery, General

The background to this book is very interesting. Montgomery explains in his Foreword that members of Eighth Army were invited to submit poems, but these poems had to be written in the Western Desert. By the closing date, (Feb 28th 1943), 403 poems had been received from 280 servicemen.

The Author and his rank are listed for each poem except the last one, #27. The 27th verse is anonymous – apparently the scrap of paper it was written on “fluttered into the hands of a soldier sheltering in a slit trench…”

Edition limited to 110 copies, of which, 100 were for sale. This is copy #5.

Bound for the publisher by Leighton-Straker in midnight blue & tan morocco.
Published by George G. Harrap & Co Ltd, London (1944)
Circular Eighth Army monogram in morocco and gilt on front cover.
Marbled endpapers.
46 pp.
Frontispiece by the well-known English Illustrator Stephen Gooden, signed by him in pencil.

This book belonged to Mona Gooden, Stephen Gooden’s wife. Her bookplate (designed by her illustrator husband) is on a ffep.

Foxing to bookplate otherwise clean throughout.

A unique book.

Item #336