Cheerio for the Present: A New Zealand soldier’s life in World War II

It is World War II and Jim Edwards is young and in love. Conscripted into the army he asks for a domestic posting but is denied. He asks to serve in the medical corps and is denied that too. He is posted to New Zealand’s 1st Battalion Armoured Tank Brigade and trained for overseas deployment. He will serve in Italy as part of the Allied invasion in 1943. It will be more than 2½ years before he returns home and sees his girlfriend again. Meanwhile, he serves and he writes, letter after letter, to those who wait for his return.

Never before published, this extensive collection of letters tells Jim’s story of surviving the boredom of his army training and the battlefields of Italy and then his long awaited return to New Zealand and adjustment to civilian life. It is Jim’s story but it is also the story of thousands of young men who were conscripted for wartime service, gave active service, then returned to New Zealand to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Author: Edwards, Jim (ed Edwards, Cecilia)
Publication date: 02/07/2018
Imprint: Small New Zealand Publisher
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780473445218