In 1940 Gunner NH (Joe) Brewer left New Zealand with the 5th Field Regiment of the New Zealand Artillery to play his part for the Empire in World War II. Although he had had a private pilot's licence since 1931, he was ineligible for air crew with the New Zealand Air Force as he was over the age of 33 years.

Aged 36, he volunteered to join the army. He left New Zealand with the Second Echelon and during the next four-and-a-half years he was variously based in England, Egypt, Greece, Italy and North Africa, seeing active service and playing the usual soldier's waiting game.

Throughout his was service Joe kept up a regular correspondence with his family and friends in New Zealand, reporting, within the restrictions of the censors' guidelines, on the places, people and events that made up his experiences. It is selections from these letters - mainly to his mother, and to his brother Len and sister Rona - which make up the greater part of this book, interspersed with Joe's recollections of his time abroad.

There is no artifice in Joe's letters; they are honest and pragmatic. His writing style is often lyrical, adding to their charm. Gunner Brewer was not a typical soldier; this is reflected in his perceptive observations which often reveal a dry sense of humour. He saw the pathos in the casual juxtaposition of the horrors of war with the joys of discovering new countries, the frustrations of camp life and the idiosyncracies of unavoidable companions. They are an account of one man's war, his discovery of the wider world, and perhaps of himself.

Preface. The Soldier Tourist by Gunner NH (Joe) Brewer
Reed

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