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Murray does give an insight into the prevailing view of the anti-imperial struggle which was taking place in the 1950s and 1960s. He then established his own company, General Enterprise Management Services Ltd (GEMS), a mid-sized investment group operating across Asia. According to Murray's experience, the molding of Legionnaires was built upon cruelty and deprivation.
Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion
There have been riots during the last few days which have resulted in some two hundred people being killed. 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. He has been thoroughly vindicated and it raises interesting questions about what Murray was fighting for and what he felt he was doing by serving the French state in Algeria. But Murray's unit and a few other units of the Legion are allowed to remain in Algeria on a temporary basis.
What struck me about this incredible story is how well it’s written and how very touching many of the anecdotes are.
Legionnaire [electronic resource] : five years in the French Foreign Legionnaire [electronic resource] : five years in the French
This gives a much better understanding and sense of "being there" than prose; the result is excellent and I enjoyed the book tremendously. Sixty years on, it remains a remarkable account of one of the most notorious military groups, a tale of true adventure and one man's determination never to surrender.Simon Murray, CBE (born 25 March 1940) is a British Hong Kong-based businessman, adventurer and author. This gripping journal offers stark evidence that the Legion’s reputation for pushing men to their breaking points and beyond is well deserved.
Simon Murray (Author of Legionnaire) - Goodreads Simon Murray (Author of Legionnaire) - Goodreads
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. Murray's work has gone down as one of the most fascinating and exciting adventure novels of the 20th century.If lacking on acerbic insight and analysis of the conflict, Murray more than makes up for it with his intimate portrait of a young man in war while also offering a pulpy adventure with the similar boisterous and boyish energy which characterised boys weeklies in the 1940s.
Legionnaire: An Englishman in the French Foreign Legion Legionnaire: An Englishman in the French Foreign Legion
During the Algiers Putsch of 1961 in which it seemed a coup d'etat would be launched against Charles de Gaulle and the Legion would play a role in a potential civil war which would be fought on the streets of Paris.After five years that break many of his comrades he emerges forged into a man capable of rising to any challenge in this life. It now seems as though he is changing his tune and is looking for a different solution which will give the country independence and yet keep it tied to France. In 1960, he joined the French Foreign Legion, and served for five years in the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP). Perhaps it's no surprise that his wife of 43 years, Jennifer, Adventurer and businessman Simon Murray. for the establishment of the Algeria of tomorrow, which will be the first real step to independence, but perhaps on his own terms.