barry205

A short collection of modern war poetry 1995 - 2014Highly personal, this short anthology draws on the writer's experiences as a soldier and officer of the British Army in conflict zones in Europe, Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. Although, the majority of these poems are previously unpublished, a number were published in the 2011 anthology 'Heroes: 100 Poems from the new generation of war poets' published by Ebury press.The 'Heroes' poems were selected for publication by a panel that included Carol Ann Duffy (the UK Poet Laureate), Simon Rae (Radio 4's 'Poetry Please') and General Lord DannattThe poem 'Care Under Fire' was featured on BBC TV's 'The One Show'. Please be warned: the poem 'Convoy Stop' contains what many regard as the most offensive word in the English language.…

barry205

I am attempting to branch out and free myself from the constraints imposed by the label 'war poet'. I once wrote a poem (sadly lost) which voiced my frustration at my apparent inability to write about anything other than combat and its aftermath. Now I am retired from the military, it's time to move on.So here goes. I have set myself the task of writing a poem a day to flex my atrophied literary muscles. The first poem is war-related, but I just couldn't help myself!…

barry205

Mesopotamian interlude is the story of my time as a nurse attached to an infantry Rifle Company for a short tour of duty in Iraq, 2003. 2nd Battalion, The Light Infantry was sent as the UK's 'over the horizon' reserve Battalion and was used to plug gaps and address emergent issues for an unspecified period of time. This has been written without the knowledge or consent of the UK Ministry of Defence. My memory is hazy about specific dates and if I have misrepresented any events, it is due to ageing grey matter rather than malicious intent.Barry Alexander asserts his right to be identified as the author of this work. No part may be quoted, reproduced or republished in any format without the express permission of the author.©Barry Alexander 2015…

barry205

A collection of short ghost stories for Halloween and the long, dark winter evenings. Some of these stories actually happened to me, some of are inspired by real hauntings. Enjoy.…

barry205

The story of my involvement in the deployment of 1 PARA to Sierra Leone in May 2000. My African Adventure became the inspiration for my poem 'Chinook Lift'.…

barry205

A light hearted response to Gail Runschke's sonnet 'When your wife's a poet…

barry205

Light hearted verse bemoaning the state of dress in modern society. Inspiration taken from the 'Top Gun' quote in which a fighter pilot feels the 'need for speed', combined with the wonderful determination by many officers of the British Army to maintain standards of dress in the face of an alarming tidal wave of baseball caps, track suits and blue denim (aka 'the devil's cloth'). The horror, the horror!…