Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion

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Strange... it is not a great work of fiction or non-fiction, it is not particularly well-known, and yet, this is one of the few books where I can honestly say, I did not want to put down and I continued reading till well past my bedtime. Adventurer and businessman Simon Murray. As a teenager, nursing a broken heart and determined to prove himself, he joined the French Foreign Legion. Fighting in the Algerian war, he risked his life many times over; combat was at close quarters and was very bloody.

Simon Murray (Author of Legionnaire) - Goodreads Simon Murray (Author of Legionnaire) - Goodreads

a b c d "Desert Island Discs with Simon Murray". Desert Island Discs. 4 January 2009. BBC. Radio 4. An easy to read book. It's based on the author's dairy from the Foreign Legion in early 60's, in Algeria. The book is focused on the stories and the experiences that happened to the author during his 5 years military contract. It's interesting to see how this tough military force prepares it's soldiers and how tough it is to resist due to morale and psychical challenges. Murray was born at Leicester, England into an aristocratic family with some tradition of military service. [2] His father belonged to a wealthy family. Murray's grandfather on his father's side retained a permanent suite at the Connaught Hotel, while his grandmother retained a similar suite at Claridges Hotel. Murray's father abandoned the family early on and Murray claims to have had no recollection of him at that time. An uncle paid for Murray to attend Bedford School, an independent school in Bedford, Bedfordshire. In 1960, he joined the French Foreign Legion, and served for five years in the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP). During his service, he fought in the Algerian War against the Front de Libération National (FLN). After rising to the rank of Chief Corporal, he turned down an offer to attend Officers' School in France, and left the Legion in 1965 after completing his service. He wrote of his experiences in the Legion in the book Legionnaire, published in 1978. And later, based on his book he produced the autobiographical movie "Deserter" which released as a DVD.Nobody Will Shoot You If You Make Them Laugh: One Man’s Journey through the Mountains and Valleys of Life The French Foreign Legion presented by Simon Murray". YouTube. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021 . Retrieved 13 July 2014. Gulf Keystone ex-chairman says he was forced out, tried to lure Exxon". Reuters. 1 April 2015 . Retrieved 4 October 2018. I first became aware of Simon Murray when I watched on TV one night a special program about the French Foreign Legion in which he acted as the narrator. I was rather impressed with him, so when I came across this book (after having read the Douglas Porch history of the Legion in the early 1990s), I was eager to read it. Following a suggestion by his wife, Murray joined Pen Hadow for a trek to the Geographic South Pole. [1] The 1,200km trek started in early December 2004 at Hercules Inlet on the Zumberge Coast, Antarctica and was completed when they reached the South Pole about two months later. [6] They climbed up to 2,835 m above mean sea level on the way. [6] Murray became the oldest man to reach the South Pole unsupported. [1] Honours [ edit ]

Legionnaire [electronic resource] : five years in the French Foreign Legionnaire [electronic resource] : five years in the French

Next, he set his sights on business - he ran some of the most well-known companies in South East Asia and was one of Chris Patten's key allies during the handover of Hong Kong. Then, in his 60s and looking for a new challenge, he chanced upon the idea of polar adventure, and went on to become the oldest person to walk unsupported to the South Pole. But after all this, his greatest achievement, he says, is his marriage. Perhaps it's no surprise that his wife of 43 years, Jennifer, Adventurer and businessman Simon Murray. As a teenager, nursing a broken heart and determined to prove himself, he joined the French Foreign Legion. Fighting in the Algerian war, he risked his life many times over; combat was at close quarters and was very bloody.

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Legionnaire: An Englishman in the French Foreign Legion Legionnaire: An Englishman in the French Foreign Legion

Murray's account is a series of diary entries which keeps the narrative fast paced and engaging. The epistolary structure makes every day in Murray's life for five years seem an thrilling day marked by firefights, torture, drunken debauchery and feats of daring adventure. Of course, some days are omitted because they contained nothing of note which consequently makes the narrative a pure, distillation of excitement. Wow. Ein unglaublich spannendes Tagebuch und Zeitzeugnis. Geschichten aus einer anderen Zeit. Wahnsinn, wie viel Leid und Schmerz Menschen aushalten können. Just finished Legionnaire by Simon Murray. This is a memoir from his five years in the French Foreign Legion. The writings are from a diary he kept during his time. I really enjoyed this. But the Arabs are set on total independence, and the French colons are equally determined to retain all that they have here. The colons are extremists in every sense of the word; they do not understand compromise and they will go to extremes to keep what they believe to be theirs by birthright. The French Foreign Legion–mysterious, romantic, deadly–is filled with men of dubious character, and hardly the place for a proper Englishman just nineteen years of age. Yet in 1960, Simon Murray traveled alone to Paris, Marseilles, and ultimately Algeria to fulfill the toughest contract of his life: a five-year stint in the Legion. Along the way, he kept a diary.Murray was the chairman of Glencore from 2011 to 2013. [4] He later became chairman of Gulf Keystone Petroleum from 2013 to 2015. [5] He has served on boards and held advisory positions with a number of other large companies, including Vodafone, Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, Vivendi Universal, Usinor SA, Hermes, General Electric (USA), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Macquarie Bank, N.M. Rothschild, and Bain (the consultancy company). [4] He continues to serve on the advisory board of Lightbridge Corporation (USA), and was on the Development Advisory Board of Imperial College, London. Even readers who are not that much into military history might find this book a refreshing narrative of a boy's journey into adult life. For literature, just as the Legion Etrangere, may have the power to bring us all together - and expertly so under the pen of Mr. Murray. There have been riots during the last few days which have resulted in some two hundred people being killed. Because of this, we are not en alerte. At the beginning of January there is to be a referendum which will be held in France as well as Algeria. The referendum is understood to be deGaulle asking for a free hand to negotiate with the F.L.N. for the establishment of the Algeria of tomorrow, which will be the first real step to independence, but perhaps on his own terms."

Simon Murray (businessman) - Wikipedia Simon Murray (businessman) - Wikipedia

From the moment Murray enlists in February 1960, he is put through the rigors of training, which at times was quasi-sadistic, for the NCOs exercised considerable control over their charges (delighting in giving them grief for the slightest infractions), both in France and in Algeria. Murray saw a fair amount of combat in the Algerian War, mainly in the mountains. He writes honestly of his experiences, sparing no punches, as the following will attest: It brings me both great joy and sadness that I’ve finished the book. It’s a great pastime, promise to transport your mind to some thrills and thoughts. Informative to the psychologies of soldiers, and one of the finest at that.

This is actually well written, in an engaging and sympathetic voice, with a quality unexpressed by the trashy cover. Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Openlibrary OL8228375M Openlibrary_edition From 1994 to 1998, Simon was the Executive Chairman of the Deutsche Bank Group in Asia. He then established his own company, General Enterprise Management Services Ltd (GEMS), a mid-sized investment group operating across Asia. [4] In addition to this Simon was a founder of Distacom which made a number of mobile telecoms investments including Madacom in Madagascar, Spice Telecom in India and Sunday Communications in Hong Kong. He has also invested in other mobile operations in New Zealand, San Marino, Papua New Guinea and elsewhere. urn:lcp:legionnaire00simo:epub:7d266736-95cc-4c7e-b170-90c4e722f920 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier legionnaire00simo Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t3zs3t32m Isbn 9780307415813 A good book to read when you're feeling sorry for yourself, when you're feeling that your life is just too hard. When I read about the hardships, punishment, and outright sadism Simon Murray experienced in his five years in the French Foreign Legion, my life appears to be a mere picnic by comparison!