William Pennington,
Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys
Orion Publishing; Cassell Publications, 2004.

Soldier's tales are commonplace: but each is illuminating in their own way. In this intensely personal testament, William Pennington traces his own military odyssey from boy soldier to hardened gunner describing his accelerated personal and moral development as a result of being an integral part in the dramatic events in and surrounding the second world war.

His reminisces about serving in India shortly after taking the King's shilling in 1934 in his hometown of Blackpool cover familiar ground tramped by innumerable writers and diarists. But Pennington's take on the love-hate relationship of the British with a fascinating place blighted by poverty, disease and sweltering heat sings with genuine verisimilitude. Seeing the life of the Raj through the eyes of a simple soul reveals realities often obscured by more poetic, intellectual or dramatic accounts.

As he moved from hill station to barracks via bazaars, temples and brothels with the Royal Horse Artillery either by foot, on horseback or on ridiculously crowded trains, the author opens a window onto the world of men whose disorientation and frustrations led to responses ranging from bizarre behaviour and ribald repartee to religious enlightenment. The social privations and vicissitudes of a lonely life are laid bare for all to see.

The pages tracking the years in India as the world prepared for the war are undoubtedly the strongest of the book peppered as they are with entertaining examples of monsoon-sodden events, songs and conversations that mix humour, pathos and tragedy almost in equal degrees.

Pennington takes a more formal line, however, in describing how he joined the British Expeditionary Force in Europe and then his return to India for training in order to join the jungle war in Burma fighting the Japanese. But his personality and almost breathless desire to recreate the experience for less experienced readers shines through. Ironically, he was on the way to Hong Kong to defend the territory when his guns were lost at sea and so was diverted from meeting the Japanese army sooner.

The author comes across as proud and solid representative of the fighting classes. He describes with candour the insubordinate, racist, sexist attitudes of many of his compatriots, many of which he shared, and despite his obvious respect for his superiors he has the occasional pot-shot at authority himself.

He is fond of quoting Kipling and the narrative is peppered with clichs such as "the white man's burden". But his belief in the justness of the allied cause and his hatred of Japanese troops are strongly-felt and central themes.

As a professional soldier, Pennington found war dangerous and exciting but is not blind to its ultimate futility. This engaging epistle is an honest attempt to come to terms with fundamental issues as they affect individuals. It is a valiant and worthy attempt.

The title of the book derives from the last order given to soldiers before boarding the ship back to England. In fact many men did keep pets to keep them company. If India could be termed the former British Empire's `Jewel in the Crown' then Pennington was one of its rough-cut gems.

Paul McGuire
July 6, 2004

Paul McGuire is a freelance author, writer and reviewer. He is also Deputy Principal of Sha Tin Junior School.