Seeking Beta Readers for My WWII Novel, Empire’s Witness

I’m hoping to find a few friendly readers with some knowledge of REME, RAOC, and the Second World War in the Middle East & Egypt.

My grandfather Corporal Alwyn Robinson Day was a logistics clerk with the RAOC and later joined REME in October 1942. I’ve just finished writing a 380-page book based on his until recently lost journal he kept from June 1942 to August 1945. It follows his epic journey through Persia, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt, with a special focus on the Persian Corridor — a vital but often forgotten theatre of the war. I’m a filmmaker by trade.

I’ve made some around 250 films for the BBC and National Geographic and have been rewarded with
a couple of Emmys and a Peabody. But this is my first book and I'm no WW2 or REME expert. I’ve done a lot of research for this work, but I know I’ll have missed details.

The first round of readers responded incredibly positively - they were fans of WW2 - but none of them were experts or had any experience of that world. Now as I move to final publication I’d really value the eye of someone who knows REME/RAOC history, the nuts and bolts of wartime logistics.

If you’d like to read an advance copy (PDF), it would mean a great deal.

My hope is that the book does justice to REME’s heritage, and that my grandfather’s story finds its place in the wider history. At the very least, it's a homage to the engineers and mechanics who kept the war moving.

Thanks - Philip

 

How about their successor corp the Royal Logistic Corps and their museum: Research - The Royal Logistic Corps Museum and their separate archive: Welcome to the RLC Digital Archive - RLC Digital Archive Plus the REME Museum: Welcome | REME Museum

The RLC has an association: Membership of The RLC Association - The Royal Logistic Corps and for REME https://remeconnect.org/corps/reme-association/

Some of these groups have an active historical branch, e.g. Royal Engineers.

Good luck.

 

Thanks David - that seems like some excellent leads there. Much appreciated. cheers. Philip