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Where the Hell Have You Been?

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General Montgomery's reputation is considerably different in Britain and in the United States. As the hero of El Alamein, Monty shines brightly in British annals, but as Alan Brooke has written:

"A difficult mixture to handle, a brilliant commander in action and trainer of men, but liable to commit untold errors in lack of tact, lack of appreciation of other people's outlook. It is most distressing that the Americans do not like him and it will always be a difficult matter to have him fighting in close proximity to them."

War Diaries, 1939-1945: Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke

Eisenhower reflected this dichotomy: "I doubt if Montgomery ever came to realise how resentful some American commanders were. They believed he had belittled them -- and they were not slow to voice reciprocal scorn and contempt". Crusade in Europe

This small but fascinating volume gives a more personal view of the great man. Richard Carver was General Montgomery's stepson, and fought under him at El Alamein. Carver was captured by the Afrika Korps two days after that battle and was in some danger of being sent to Colditz with other prominent Brits if his personal relationship had been discovered. It was never discovered, and Carver was sent to a prison camp in northern Italy, where he and 6,000 other prisoners were released just before the Wehrmacht arrived when Italy left the war in September 1943. (In an interesting side note, British commanders of the camps were ordered to stay put; most complied and were sent on to Germany; but the commander of Carver's unit disobeyed orders and most of the prisoners returned to Allied lines.)

The primary theme of the book is the story of Carver's three month journey on foot from the prison north of Parma to Allied lines south of the Sangro River, 400 miles away. His son Tom writes about his father's adventures: dodging German patrols, sleeping in caves, relying on Italian hospitality, using a home made compass (he made it from a safety pin and a metal coat button) -- altogether a well written and often exciting adventure written from Tom Carver's BBC correspondent's perspective. The book's title comes from Montgomery's first words at their reunion: "Where the hell have you been?"

Tom Carver's book is enlivened by his efforts to find and interview people who had helped his father during his journey and by vignettes about his grandfather. He writes, for example, that Monty's favorite limerick was:

"There was an old soldier from Lyme
Who married three wives at a time
When asked why the third
He said, one's absurd
And bigamy, sir, is a crime."

I really enjoyed this history of a famous man, his stepson and most of all, perhaps, the insights of the author. The interview quoted in the first Comment gives a better flavor of his human insights into a "great man".

Robert C. Ross 2009

I enjoyed the book because after reading a number of books about Monty it was interesting to get a more human view of him. What really makes this book is Richard, the stepson of Monty. I appreciate the care that Tom took in writing this book and looking up the people who helped hide Richard after his escape. It was sad that circumstances prevented Richard from visiting the people who had helped him.

If you like reading about WWII you will love this book.

Fascinating book on three levels.

1) The story: The protagonist, Richard Carver, was General Montgomery's step-son. He was captured in northern Africa just as Montgomery was routing Rommel, and he was afraid his identity would be discovered and he'd be used as a pawn against Montgomery. He and fellow prisoners were taken to a prison camp in northern Italy. When Mussolini capitulated and German troops were just miles away and advancing towards them, the German-hating Italian guards cut the fence and released about 600 prisoners. Many never made it home, and the story of Carver's journey south (he decided he couldn't make it across the alps) was fascinating on several levels. At every turn, he was helped by Italian farmers at great risk to them and their families.

2) The research: Author Tom Carver is Richard Carver's son. At the end of his father's life, he began pressing him for information about his war experiences, but the father was both reticent and loath to cast himself in any heroic light. Tom fortunately found journals--his father's and another of a fellow escapee--that helped tremendously. He also interviewed other survivors as well as Italians and their children who had been there.

3) The relationships: between Monty and Richard Carver, between Richard and his son Tom, and between Carver and the Italians who hid and saved him.

I was particularly interested in this because I've never known much about this part of the war. It totally changed my view of the Italians who, in this book, were portrayed as victims of Mussolini's regime and then of the Germans, not enemies.

Tom Carver's compelling "Where The Hell Have You Been?" is a sketch of the life of his father, British Army officer Richard Carver, centered around his escape from a World War II Italian POW camp and his odessey hundreds of miles across Italy to Allied lines and freedom. The story has three intertwined themes: Richard Carver's rather hard-luck career as a Royal Engineer officer, his son Tom's quest for an understanding of his father's life, and, looming in the background, the outsized personality and presence of Richard's famous stepfather, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery of El Alamein.

Author Carver's narrative has been cunningly constructed from his own recollections, his father's notes of his escape, memoirs by fellow escapees, and extracts from family letters and official histories of the War. The result is a charming, often shockingly candid account of life during the Second World War and the end of the British Empire. The text is nicely illustrated with photographs, maps, and copies of letters and sketches.

The general reader and the student of the Second World War should find fascinating the insights into the personality of Field Marshal Montgomery, here glimpsed with his family, and into life as a POW in German and Italian custody. "Where The Hell Have You Been?" is very highly recommended as an entertaining and insightful read.