Irregular Regular: Recollections of Conflict Across the Globe

David Smiley #3

by David Smiley

From DJ. In 1943 Mr. Smiley "was recruited into the SOE where he operated in occupied Albania and later Thailand, then Siam where he was responsible for opening up a Japanese prisoner of war camp."

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 1994

About the author

Colonel David de Crespigny Smiley, LVO, OBE, MC & Bar (1916 - 2009) was a British special forces and intelligence officer. He fought in the Second World War in Palestine, Iraq, Persia, Syria, Western Desert and with Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Albania and Thailand.

He was Commander of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman's Armed Forces between 1958 and 1961.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s worth the time. Not as captivating, for me, as Albanian Assignment, but I’d suggest it would have been more engrossing if I had read this before reading Albanian Assignment. There is 50 or so pages about Albania - which I diligently read - and would read again. The author writes directly and frankly about matters, which I admire.
There’s a whole range of stuff from his early days, whilst with the Cavalry through to his days of ‘special service’ up until and after the end of the war. All good stuff. The war years being far juicier.
Still, it is a from the horse’s mouth and does give a real insight into the ‘irregular activities’ during WW2.
It's worth noting, the author came from a family of means. A family with connections and influence: a son of Sir John Smiley and Valerie Champion de Crespigny, a daughter of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny. Privately educated, he was a sportsman of some repute. I believe there is evidence to suggest many with athletic prowess also show good decision making under pressure and when time matters.
As reading will show: this man used his family’s influence to keep himself in the fray. He could have just as easily used those levers to secure himself a cushy desk job somewhere quiet and out-of-the-way.
One cannot fault the man.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in a series.

[Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much a compilation of his two other books.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Smiley is the author of 3 books. Irregular Regular was published in 2020 and is the third volume in his Extraordinary Life of Colonel David Smiley series. It is the 87th book I completed reading in 2023.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this book as R.

This book is the final volume in the autobiography of Colonel David Smiley. He was commissioned into the Household Cavalry in 1936 and assigned to the Middle East. As WWII began, he trained and was deployed with the Commandos. He later served with the SOE. His career spanned North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Thailand. He returned to the UK and worked for MI6. The book covers many of his wartime exploits, as well as his post-war years.

I enjoyed the 8 hours I spent reading this 258-page WWII history. I had the opportunity to earlier read the first book in the series Albanian Assignment. I found both of his books to be good nonfiction reads. This book reads well for a history/biography, almost like a novel. The chosen cover art is simple, but represents the book well. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).