Military history blog
Misadventures with Bram
When I revisted the letters I’d sent home during my time in Malaya, it became clear my memories of the deficiencies of the battalion in which I served were far too kind.
With a memoir under my belt, I’ve got stories to tell. Come along with me to re-live the story of a poorly led, inadequately trained infantry battalion.
Malayan National Service memoir: What is ‘Misadventures with Coco-Oscar’ about?
Malayan National Service memoir: How did a teenager end up in the midst of the Malayan emergency? About ‘Misadventures with Coco-Oscar.’
Sign up for Bram's free newsletter and receive Chapter 3 about "Operation Badack," the battalion's first operation.
Military history blog
Misadventures with Bram
When I revisted the letters I'd sent home during my time in Malaya, it became clear my memories of the deficiencies of the battalion in which I served were far too kind.
The letters revealed the ineptitude of those in command was far worse than I had remembered, and it was this re-acquaintance with the minutia of military buffoonery so many years ago which first sowed the seeds of literary ambition.
Now, with a memoir under my belt I've got stories to tell. Come along with me to re-live the story of a poorly led, inadequately trained infantry battalion which, during its brief period on active operations, found itself in the wrong places at the wrong times to demonstrate any combat capabilities.
Malayan National Service memoir: What is ‘Misadventures with Coco-Oscar’ about?
Malayan National Service memoir: How did a teenager end up in the midst of the Malayan emergency? About ‘Misadventures with Coco-Oscar.’
About the book
A memoir of dysfunction and irreverence
Based on his 1959 ‘Demob Diary’ and the 62 letters he wrote home over 16 months, Misadventures with Coco-Oscar portrays life in a dysfunctional infantry battalion on active service seen through the irreverent eyes of a reluctant conscript.
The battalion’s commanding officer, ‘Coco-Oscar’, was a decorated veteran of World War II when his youthful bravery outshone his inherent ineptitude. The ‘Malayan Emergency’ was his first command of a battalion on active service. All too often Coco-Oscar found himself having to account for a succession of cock-ups and cover-ups.
This is the wry and comedic account of how a bolshie conscript survived two years of mindless military discipline under the capricious command of Coco-Oscar.
