Courage and Other Broadcasts

Read the specially re-published series of short stories William Slim wrote: The General Wondered Why, A Close Shave and The English Colonel.

Sir William Slim proved himself, during the Second World War, to be a great leader of men.

His achievements in Burma involved an ability to understand and inspire his soldiers, including those of many countries of the then British Empire and Commonwealth.

After the war, Slim gave a number of talks - to both military personnel and civilians - which set forth his philosophy and his faith in the country and its people. The talks, which he gave in Britain, America and Australia, covered the importance of self-discipline and morality in everyday life. Slim's words were candid, insightful and moving - drawing on his experiences in the army.

Along with Defeat Into Victory - and his works of fiction, recently re-published under the banner of Tales of Empire - Courage establishes Slim as a great military commander who knew the might of the pen, as well as the sword.

It is a book which will compel different generations to feel proud of the values and traditions of the English-speaking peoples.

Field Marshal Sir William (‘Bill’) Slim (1891-1970) was the man who led the famous Fourteenth Army to victory over the Japanese in India and Burma in 1944 and 1945. Lord Louis Mountbatten described him in 1951 as the man who ‘more than any other living person won the victory in Burma.’ He wrote his best-selling Defeat into Victory in 1956, which tells the story of this long war between 1942 and 1945. He became Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1949, the first Indian Army officer to do so. After being Governor General of Australia between 1952 and 1959. He died in 1970. He is also the author of Tales of Empire collection of short stories.

'Field Marshal Viscount Slim – Uncle Bill to his troops – was not only Britain’s finest general of the Second World War but a wonderful writer and story teller too. From humble origins and without any private money, as a young officer he supplemented his modest army pay by writing short stories under the pen name of Anthony Mills. Most of these tales were based on fact and gave an insight into that wonderful organisation the Indian Army of the Raj, the world’s largest all volunteer army. That they are to be republished with an introduction by Robert Lyman, himself an expert on the Far East campaigns and the Indian Army, is nothing short of a delight.' Gordon Corrigan, author of Tipping Points of History.