Gunner: The story of Sgt Leslie Todd and the 90th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA in World War Two

by Bill Todd, Zoe Todd-Martell

Gunner is the diary, photos and postcards of an ordinary soldier from Normandy to Germany in 1944-45. It also includes extracts from the regimental war diary and history.
Sgt Leslie Todd served with the 90th (Middlesex) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (Territorial Army) which was formed on April 1, 1939, with its headquarters at Alexandra Palace, North London.
It began as a cadre from the Finchley-based 61st AA regiment. Recruits were drawn from the Muswell Hill, Palmers Green, Southgate, Crouch End and Hornsey areas of North London.
The 90th mobilised on August 24, 1939, ten days before the declaration of war. The regiment provided home air defence during the Battle of Britain and afterwards, later training to engage ground and sea targets before landing in Normandy on July 7, 1944, a month after D-Day.
The 90th took part in the Battle of Normandy before supporting the advance through Belgium and Holland, fighting at Nijmegen before crossing the Rhine into Germany.
Proceeds from this book will go to charity.

84 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

I’ve spent most of my working life as a journalist on local and national newspapers.
You meet a lot of people, see things, learn stuff. For a crime writer, it’s a plot factory.
One treasured memory was lunching with colleagues when the bar filled with agitated policemen.
“Who’s he?” said a CID man, pointing.
A good friend didn’t like his tone and announced in her best Lady Bracknell voice, “He’s the editor of the local paper!”
The copper said, “I don’t care who the hell he is. He looks like the guy who just did the bank up the road. How long’s he been here?”
Luckily, the barman provided my alibi.
Before journalism I tried my hand at odd jobs including furniture removals (watch out for the flat-packs, they tend to pack flat when lifted!), photography, teaching and running a magazine group.
I’ve done quite a bit of travel writing. It’s not all cocktails under the palm trees but it is a fantastic job that’s taken me to more than 40 countries, from the white wastes of Arctic Finland to the deserts of Namibia.
People often ask my favourite place. In an age of globalisation, many destinations look the same but Iceland and Namibia are like stepping onto another planet. Go if you can.
I’ve enjoyed a long love affair with Western Crete. The mountains, coastline, food and people make me wonder if I lived there in some previous life. I just have to watch the waxed wings on a hot day.
I was delighted and surprised to receive the Ed Lacy travel award in 2007.
Another interest is my family tree. I’ve traced the ancestors back to William of Byfield, a farmer in 1600s Northamptonshire, just down the road from Shakespeare.
I love maps. They might seem old fashioned in the age of GPS but they tell stories, make promises. I have a ragbag collection of more than 2,000.
I’m also a fan of interesting cheeses, good beer and wilderness. They’re like Marmite, you’re an empty place person or you’re not.
I have written four full-length crime thrillers and a book of short stories featuring Danny Lancaster, a wounded Afghan veteran turned private investigator. They are:
The Wreck Of The Margherita
Death Squad
Rough Diamond
Rock Hard
Gargoyle Pixie Dog
My sixth Danny Lancaster - GODLEFE'S CUCKOO - will be published in March 2018.
I’ve also written three non-fiction books. GUNNER is based on my father's World War Two diary, photos and postcards from Normandy to Hamburg.
PIGTAIL PILOT is the tragic story of Barbara Gubbins, a talented young woman who was nearly the RAF’s first female pilot.
A CROCUS FROM JERUSALEM is the story of a country lad soldiering in 1917 Palestine.
If you fancy a chat I’m easy to find.