Average War

A brilliant memoir of the author’s second world war.

Describing any war as average is a strange expression, and there is certainly nothing average about this fascinating memoir from author and cartoonist Mike Peyton.

Like thousands of others he gave an incorrect age to get into the army, worried that the war would be over before he could join in. Once in, he fought in the Western Desert until being taken prisoner and transported first to Italy and then to Germany. In Germany he saw the Allied bombing of Dresden. He was initially sympathetic towards those in the city, but this was accompanied by the thought that “it serves the bastards right”. He escaped and walked East, eventually joining up with the Russian Red Army and fighting with them for the rest of his war.

Often using humour to bring to life his story, Peyton takes you through the horror and death he witnessed, alongside the camaraderie and excitement he felt.

“The author writes with an authentic recall of events and of friends lost and made... a worm's eye view of army life in wartime and a very good read.” Little Ship Club

“A brilliant memoir.” Spectator Magazine

"There is nothing average about this fascinating memoir. Although much of the content is necessarily grim, Peyton relates his experiences with a light, often funny, touch. This serves to play down what must have been horrific incidents in many cases." The Northern Echo