Arthur Aldridge was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery in taking out German cargo ship SS Madrid in December 1941, during which he lost a wing tip. He was lucky enough to survive his squadron’s attack on the Axis’s maritime fleet during the notorious Channel Dash, which saw 40 RAF planes shot down. ‘Arty’ was awarded a Bar to his DFC for sinking two enemy ships off Malta and rescuing a fellow pilot while wounded, as his own Beaufort took four shells. Arthur Aldridge and his loyal gunner, Bill Carroll, who also contributes his memories, are two of the last torpedo airmen left alive.

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Anthony Barne started his diary in August 1939 as a young, recently-married captain in the Royal Dragoons stationed in Palestine. He wrote an entry for every day of the war, often with great difficulty, sometimes when dog-tired or under fire, and sometimes when things looked black and desperate, but more often in sunshine and optimism, surrounded by good fellows who kept one cheerful and helped one through the sad and difficult times’. His diary ends in July 1945, by which time he was commanding officer of the 4th Hussars, having recently visited Downing Street for lunch alone with the Churchills. The diaries have an enormous scope covering time in Palestine and Egypt before he joins the Eighth Army, describing the retreat back to El Alamein, the battle and its aftermath. He ends the campaign commanding his regiment. He often graphically details the physical realities of war: the appalling conditions in the desert, the bombardments of the regiment from the air, the deaths and serious injuries of fellow soldiers. In 1943, he flies down to Rhodesia to see his wife and infant son before returning to Cairo to join Churchill’s regiment, the 4th Hussars. Arriving in Italy in 1944, he recounts the campaign as the Allies push north. The tone of the diaries varies wildly: often witty, sometimes outrageous but also poignant and philosophical. The voice and attitudes are entertainingly dated, but are delivered with warmth, a charming turn of phrase and a keen eye for the absurd.

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Lance Corporal Martyn Compton’s life changed dramatically when a Taliban ambush killed three of his colleagues in Helmand and left him for dead with third degree burns to 75% of his body.  Bravely rescued by a comrade, he was brought back to Britain in a critical condition and endured the gruelling ordeal of countless operations.  By his side throughout his on-going recovery was his loyal fiancée, Michelle.  They married as soon as Martyn was fit to do so, and have now been blessed with two babies.

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That man was Sergeant Alexander Blackman, Rob Driscoll’s friend and fellow NCO in 42 Commando, and on the day in question they were commanding patrols within a few hundred yards of each other. Few men know what really went on that day in Helmand Province. Rob Driscoll is one. And in his book – with Blackman’s blessing – he reveals all.

Yet Fire a Lethal Shot is more than a compelling insight into one of the most controversial rulings in recent military history. It is a clear-eyed account of life on active service with the Royal Marines, of incursions into war-torn countries where chaos and anarchy ruled – and of risking your life daily for politicians back home who won’t support you. In charting its author’s career as a Royal Marine Commando, it unflinchingly demonstrates the real-life horrors of engaging at close quarters with enemies such as the Taliban – as well as the dangers that politics can bring to the ordinary fighting serviceman.

Sergeants Blackman and Driscoll were two sides of the same coin. One came home a hero, the other a wanted man. But for circumstance, it might have been the other way round.

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