Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?
A Powerful Story of Love and Survival
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Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?
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Narrated by:
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Leighton Pugh
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By:
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Horace Greasley
About this listen
Horace 'Jim' Greasley was 20 years of age in the spring of 1939 when Adolf Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and latterly Poland. There had been whispers and murmurs of discontent from certain quarters, and the British government began to prepare for the inevitable war.
After seven weeks training with the 2nd/5th Battalion Leicester, he found himself facing the might of the German army in a muddy field south of Cherbourg, in Northern France, with just 30 rounds of ammunition in his weapon pouch. Horace's war didn't last long. He was taken prisoner on 25th May 1940 and forced to endure a 10 week march across France and Belgium en route to Holland.
Horace survived...barely. Food was scarce; he took nourishment from dandelion leaves, small insects and occasionally a secret food package from a sympathetic villager, and drank rain water from ditches.
Many of his fellow comrades were not so fortunate. Falling by the side of the road through sheer exhaustion and malnourishment meant a bullet through the back of the head and the corpse left to rot. After a three day train journey without food and water, Horace found himself incarcerated in a prison camp in Poland. It was there he embarked on an incredible love affair with a German girl interpreting for his captors.
He experienced the sweet taste of freedom each time he escaped to see her, yet incredibly he made his way back into the camp each time, sometimes two, three times every week. Horace broke out of the camp then crept back in again under the cover of darkness after his natural urges were fulfilled. He brought food back to his fellow prisoners to supplement their meagre rations. He broke out of the camp over 200 times and towards the end of the war even managed to bring radio parts back in. The BBC news would be delivered daily to over 3,000 prisoners. This is an incredible tale of one man's adversity and defiance of the German nation.
©2019 Horace Greasley (P)2019 Bonnier Books UKListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ian Smith
- 01-12-19
Great story, rather crude at times but.....
Great story well read, fascinating storey. Rather crude at times but.....not your normal escape story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Andrew
- 28-09-23
Excellent
Great read and very informative. Can’t believe some of the things I was reading. Great story of history told first hand
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Carolyn W.
- 03-01-24
A brilliant listen
An amazing story, very poignant yet it contains some bells laughs. Would highly recommend a read
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Morag Janet Davies
- 21-06-20
exceptional
not the usual. prisoner of war book. romance well described through out. War and love in one book.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Garry Brooks
- 10-04-21
Brilliantly written and narrated.
This is written very well and indeed Narrated brilliantly. The story takes you into it and gives you visualisation of the actions, keeping you on your toes all the way through. You are constantly aware of the ongoing risks to all and paints a picture throughout. It also makes you wonder what you would do if facing the same situations. Gripping and sad but funny as well. Brilliant!!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Dan
- 01-03-20
incredible Story from an incredible couple
Really enjoyed it, such a brilliant story.
Would highly recommend to anyone interested in history of this era.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- James Tarrant
- 10-01-20
Gripping read
From ten minutes in you’ll just want to keep listening. From the horrors of the SS to some light humour and sadness, this book is one of the most entertaining I’ve listened to. A true story from one of our heroes.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 18-11-20
Gripping story
You have to love a true story and this one is unbelievable brilliant horrifying compiling and even has it funny British humour. the will and strength of the lads to keep themselves alive just on the death march alone is breathtaking. Would have loved a couple more chapters about Horace (Jim) after the war did he ever see his bestmates flapper and jock again? This story should be made into a tv series. And last of all his English rose what a true hero the ultimate risk she put her self through week in week out just travelling to meet a prisoner never mind helping to gather equipment. Amazing book loved it from start to finish
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 23-11-21
This was a great story
This story was full of ups and downs, very interesting, and a good listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 19-08-22
wow what a story what a person respect
brilliant read could not put it down. I have nothing but respect for both of them
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