A HUMOROUS autobiography about a man who says he was shadowed by ‘covert investigators’ in the years following his exit from the Army was released last week.
Longbridge author Eddie Smith tells the heart-warming tale about his life in the Army during the 1960s and the unlucky situations he found himself in after leaving his post with the services.
The book, titled ‘A Perforation on the Toilet Roll of Life’, begins with Eddie battling senior officials over his right to ‘buy his way out’ of the armed forces.
He wanted to leave the Army because his father had been left bed-bound after suffering several strokes and his mother was in her 70s and finding it hard to deal with.
Eddie said: “The then Redditch MP James Dance, the vicar of St Stephens and my father’s doctor, were some of the main people giving their full support to my plight.
“The problem was I was seen as a good soldier, so I needed to change the Army’s view of me. That was really the start of a string of many funny incidents.”
Eddie went through a lot of drama to get out of the Army, including being court-martialed.
“The crux of the story is about the four years after I left the Army, where I came to realise that at least four ‘covert operators’ were following me.
“It sounds like a very dour tale but I actually think my book is best described as a comedy.”
‘A Perforation on the Toilet Roll of Life’ can be purchased now from Amazon.
Further information about Eddie’s birth and early years can be found in ‘The Life and Times of Eddie Smith’, written by another Redditch author Anne Bradford.
