Customer Reviews

No Time for Dreams: A Soldier's Six-Year Journey Through Ww II

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In "No Time for Dreams" by Robert W. Metcalfe the reader gets a first-hand account from a battalion level officer in the British Army during WWII. Though Metcalfe sees his fair share of combat, this is definitely not the focus of the book. It is written in a sophisticated manner with plenty of personal insight into the important events that defined the era.

Metcalfe is quite a good officer and certainly a gentleman who represents the dignified aspects of the British Army. He seems a little Victorian in his notions about service and certainly was molded in the Churchillian vision of what it meant to be British at the twilight of the empire. Like Churchill, the author is very adept in his writing and can intertwine even his mundane experiences of training and garrison duty with fascinating highlights of the times and personal anecdotes. For a personal narrative which is largely rear echelon, he manages to keep the book fairly interesting.

Hailing from the north of England, Metcalfe joins the 4th battalion of the Green Howards in 1935. There is definitely some good writing on the nature and dispositions of the English Regimental system which drew its recruits from regional areas. Like many British soldiers, Metcalfe takes a great deal of pride in his regiment and his loyalty to king and country is unwavering. This is probably indicative of the resolve displayed by the entire country after the disastrous defeat in France and the Dunkirk evacuation. The author sees a fair bit of action here and is probably his time closest to the front lines. As part of the 50th Division, the 4th battalion Green Howards are shelled and strafed by the Germans but because they are retreating so fast there is little in the way of small arms fire. Metcalfe, who commands a company of the battalion rapidly moves north towards the coast in hopes of evacuation and is wounded by a mortar fragment and luckily finds safe passage on ship back to England. The accounts of action here are interesting, especially considering that narratives from Dunkirk are a little obscure. Metcalfe is not overly graphic and does not dwell on the more unpleasant aspects of battle, but he does interject good observations as a senior level field officer.

After recovering from his wounds there are some interesting anecdotes about coastal defense during the battle of Britain. As in a style typical of the whole book, he manages to weave his personal memories with the larger events of the war as to make the less active times of service still interesting reading.

After a long sea voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, the 50th Division is stationed in Egypt along the Suez. I was a little disappointed here as the 50th plays an important role in the combat against Rommel but Metcalfe is transferred to garrison duty at a POW camp. He does return after El Alamein as the 8th Army drives into Tunisia, again as a company commander. The writing here is more general history as the reader has little idea of the personal actions of the author.

Sicily is next and by this time Metcalfe has been transferred away from the "sharp end" of the advance and becomes a supply officer during the Italian campaign. These chapter drag a bit as the main event in the author's life is his marriage to a Canadian nurse, but his recollections of the war in Italy are still of value, although not of a front line nature. Metcalfe is a very intelligent man, which is apparent from his writing and though most of the book does not concern descriptions of life at the front, I still found it quite a good representation of the English officer mentality.