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In Peace & War: A Civilian Soldier's Story

[author blurb]

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Black and white photograph of Haddon Donald in army uniform.Haddon Donald grew up in the Wairarapa in New Zealand. Conviced war was coming, he trained himself to be a crack shot in the 1930s, and when General Freyberg appointed him, at the age of 27, CO of the 22nd NZ battalion, he was the youngest batallion commander in the NZ Division. Beginning as a young second-lieutenant, he became a much decorated lieutenant-colonel after campaigns in Greece, Crete, North Africa, Cassino and Trieste and accepting, on behalf ot the NZ Division, the surrender of the German forces in the areas of last resistance in northern Italy.

In In Peace & War, Haddon Donald writes grippingly about the war — he led from the front, shot down a German troop plane and was wounded four times — but he also reflects on tactics, the reputations of leading commanders, why New Zealand soldiers were respected by allies and feared by the enemy, and their expertise at night fighting. (The kiwi is, after all, a night bird!) He is scathing about New Zealand's defence and security policy and recommends a solution.

The book's closing chapters outline his successful post-war career as a manufacturer, his two terms as a member of parliament, and recent visits to battlefields he fought over.