{"title":"Bruce Samways","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"vital-nail-book-bruce-samways-9781839455544","title":"The Vital Nail","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Vital Nail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e recalls a period between 1936 and 1945. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBruce Samways\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e as a young teenager moves from Watford to Gillingham in Dorset where his father helps run the family pharmacy. Bruce falls in love with a young Peggy and then gains a scholarship to Queens' College, \u003cstrong\u003eCambridge \u003c\/strong\u003eto study physics and maths. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis adventures really begin at the outbreak of war when 19 year old Bruce finds himself caught up in the secret world of \u003cstrong\u003eradar development\u003c\/strong\u003e, then known as \u003cstrong\u003e'Radio Direction Finding'\u003c\/strong\u003e, When war broke out, Bruce joined the \u003cstrong\u003eRAF\u003c\/strong\u003e and continued working with radar travelling the UK, mainly by steam train, to remote radar stations. As a Flight Lieutenant, he was later posted to command stations in \u003cstrong\u003eAden\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eEgypt\u003c\/strong\u003e, before being sent to \u003cstrong\u003eCeylon\u003c\/strong\u003e. The radar stations he helped set up there were a \u003cstrong\u003evital\u003c\/strong\u003e link, playing an important role in preventing the Japanese from taking this island. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVivid descriptions of wartime events are given against a background of the life and times of the countries he found himself in. An understanding of human nature is tempered by the need to defend his country in the line of duty. These memoirs are coloured by certain characters, various global scenarios, methods of transport and moments of tension, frustration, and compassion. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe events Bruce relates called for, initiative, imagination improvisation and determination, to make the seemingly impossible, possible. He often relied on \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e'a basic knowledge of physics and a lot of cheek'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. The need for secrecy, not only to protect the troops but also to deter the enemy, meant that throughout his career there were many moments when he would not know where he was going next, or when. He states: '\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49591811342609,"sku":"GOR013195211","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1839455543.jpg?v=1751280205"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-bruce-samways.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}