MONMOUTH man Colonel Roger Harris has put pen to paper for a new book available this Christmas.

The story of his interesting career is told in ‘Memories of a Happy Soldier - Horses, Helicopters, Hovercraft and Beyond.’ With unique images throughout and a witty style, this tale is told from the forefront of the British Army’s post World War Two quest for the greatest technological advances of the century.

Col Harris tells of growing up in the Forest of Dean and attending Monmouth School, before his determination to follow a career in the army took him around the world on land, sea, and air, as he worked to develop the army’s latest innovations.

Becoming a regular soldier and then passing through the Military Academy Sandhurst, Col Harris spent brief spells in horse and maritime transport in a career which took him from flying aircraft over the Malaysian jungle, before taking part in the assault on Port Said in helicopters, and going on to lead tri-service Hovercraft trials in the Far East and Canadian Arctic. This book boasts as many laughs as it does thrills and spills.

As a lover of flying and a former Commandant of the Royal Star and Garter Home in Surrey, a charity that provides nursing and therapeutic care to the ex-service community, Col Harris is donating the proceeds from the book to the Home and to the Museum of Army Flying.

Copies are available from the Monmouthshire Beacon office in Monnow Street.