Local veteran releases memoirs of military career

A local former soldier who served in the British Army for 24 years has released a trilogy of memoirs sharing his experiences of military life.

James Lee retired from the Army in 2013 after serving with the Royal Corps of Transport and the Royal Logistic Corps.

Since leaving the military, he has self-published three books: Licking the Taliban’s Flip Flop, Sleeping in the Ditch with Slobodan Milošević and Achtung, Pig.

The trilogy covers different periods of James’ career, including his final deployment to Afghanistan in 2011, a NATO peace enforcement operation in the former Yugoslavia in 1996 and his early career in Germany during the Cold War before serving in Northern Ireland.

James said, “My books tell the story of the ordinary soldiers who kept the army running. They are humorous, proving that most of the army’s time was spent solving problems, making do and finding inventive ways to alleviate the incessant boredom that so often accompanies military operations.

“The books are full of what I believe is the British soldier’s greatest asset: humour. They also aim to give readers a better understanding of the vital role played by the thousands of ordinary servicemen and women whose stories are rarely told, showing that life in a war zone was usually far more mundane than Hollywood would have you believe.”