CONTACT Paperback – 20 Jan. 2014

A few months ago I was a guest speaker at a `Peace & Reconciliation' conference hosted by the Tim Parry Peace Centre in Warrington. Various figures from the military were there to speak about our experiences of serving in Northern Ireland at different stages of the conflict; I was there to discuss how it felt in the very end stages, when 'The Troubles' had all but petered out. But by far our most illuminating guest and powerful speaker was a former Parachute Regiment Captain and author, AFN Clarke - which brings me to the purpose of this review.In 1983 Tony wrote Contact, a blisteringly honest and deeply controversial account of his two tours in NI at the very height of the troubles in the 1970s. Contact rapidly achieved cult status amongst the rank & file of the army, won critical acclaim from prestigious reviewers and at the same time drew stinging criticism from the retired Brigadiers & Colonels establishment brigade - which usually means you're doing something right because you've got them rattled. As the saying goes: "You judge a man by the strength of his enemies." Well Tony gained plenty; not least of all in the highest ranks of the MOD and politics - so much so that a smear campaign was launched against him and he was forced to defend his name with aggression and grit. The attacks only strengthened him and Contact was immediately made into an award-winning BBC film.Tony went on to live in America where he built a new career as a Pilot, Yaught Charter Captain for hire and general all-round adventurer. If ever you have the privilege of meeting him you'll instantly recognise the classic `rebellious officer' streak that runs right through him and so irritated his former paymasters. But maddeningly for them he was undeniably a gifted soldier; he joined 3 Para as a Private `Tom', made Lance Corporal within a year and was commissioned from the ranks after just two; a difficult task in today's army but damn near impossible in the class ridden 70s - unless you were very, very good. And he was.Contact deals with his first tour in Belfast in 1973 and his second tour in South Armagh in 1976, before culminating in his tragic and premature medical discharge from the army as a 28yr old Captain with his entire brilliant future cruelly ripped away from him. During his first tour the temporarily `friendly' locals spiked his tea with ground glass as he drank it on hearts & minds patrols, which resulted in internal organ failure, the removal of his entire bowel region and the almost complete ruination of his health. He soldiered on for six long years passing glass shards and undergoing a dozen operations, before his body finally gave in and literally half of his belly was removed. It was only his previous dogged fitness and determination that kept him in the army and on his feet for so long. Of course, he fought back and went on to climb mountains and fly planes, but all the time since he's carried a permanent pain and dreadful scars.But the pride, fierce glint in the eyes and inner steel remains...It felt a little odd at the Warrington peace talks because some anti-war types and `Troops Out' members were there and they clearly had strong feelings about British soldiers. And there was Tony, sat there with injuries that they couldn't imagine, this hard-as-nails former Para, and he was cool as a cucumber, effortlessly batting away their attacks with genuine warmth, humour and compassion. He'd seen more action than everyone in that room put together and paid the highest price, yet he was the calmest, most graceful and forgiving one there. It was inspiring stuff and a lesson in how to handle yourself when you're getting it from all sides.At the moment Tony is rewriting and updating Contact to take in the aftermath of his own service, that of his former colleagues and his own assessment and true feelings about the peace process - something that I know he's a great supporter of, however painful NI was and continues to be for him. I can't recommend his book highly enough to you - truly it's a superb, timely read - especially in light of the recent deaths in NI and roadblocks that seem to constantly block the path to peace. I think too that it's an important and hugely relevant book in that we seem to be bogged down in an eerily similar `terrorist War' in Afghanistan, and there are lessons and parallel conclusions to be drawn for our military involvement `out there'.Certainly I reckon that any young Squaddie going on his first tour abroad would get a hell of a lot from this book, because for me it was an object lesson in how to treat and interact with the locals; they're never going to be your friends and they'll never accept your presence, but if you at least treat them with a modicum of tact, diplomacy and discretion (whenever you safely can), then a wary tolerance and fragile mutual respect can sprout. Which is a damn sight better than the alternative...Contact is one of the best military stories that I have ever read and I recommend it to you in the highest terms; it's a book from a past conflict that has timely and resonant lessons for a present one.Steven McLaughlin,Author of Squaddie: A Soldier's StoryMainstream Publishing

Tont Clarke was a soldier who served, like myself, in Northern Ireland. He served during two of the worst years of that period and he writes dramatically and honestly of his time there. This is a fine book of the period and an excellent historical record of life for a British soldier in those terrible, violent times. Highly, highly recommended. I lost my copy and am now buying a second one.

This is a very realistic and accurate portrayal of what it was like to serve in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.I served with the Light Infantry in Belfast in the Ardoyne 1972 and in South Armagh at Cross in 1973.Both my tours bear a very close resemblance to Tony Clarkes experience of his tours in Belfast and Crossmaglen. He captures the danger, tension and futility of young infantry soldiers patrolling in Belfast and South Armagh, with infrequent contacts, ambushes and firefights with the Provisional IRA. He alsoaccuratley captures the day to day bullshit, tactical ineptitude and poor decisions made by some senior commanders during the 4 month tours and the constant boredom and lack of sleep that ordinary soldiers had to deal with. It is a very well written, honest and powerful memoir of his time in Northern Ireland that mirrors my own experience very closely. In my view the best book written by a soldier who served in Northern Ireland during the 1970s which were the really dangerous and difficult years. Like Tony Clarke and the Paras, my Regiment the 1st Battalion Light Infantry lost soldiers during both tours in Belfast and Crossmaglen to snipers and bombs. Reading this memoir brings it all back to me and I can picture Belfast and Cross even now in my head as it was in 1972 and 73. We always considered the Paras as a tough and aggressive breed but who may not have been trained ideally for a peacekeeping role in Northern Ireland. Bloody Sunday probably showed that, though the Paras 3rd Battalion and Tony Clarke were not involved in that tragedy. The book though is a very accurate and personal account of what it was like to be a Para and soldier in the Ardoyne in Belfast and in Cross in 1972 and 73, and the descriptions of carrying out patrols, house searches and vehicle check points in an urban and rural setting whilst constantly on the lookout for snipers, ambushes and roadside bombs is very gripping. On reflection I think that at times the Paras were a bit heavy handed in the way that they handled house searches and civil disorder in Belfast in the 1970s in comparison to the way my Regiment operated and behaved. I think we were a bit more restrained and disciplined in our modus operandi, until we were forced to engage with the Provos in ambushes, firefights and gun battles. Anyway as a military memoir it is excellent and highly recommended for portraying the reality and danger of what it was like as a soldier to serve in Northern Ireland. Well worth reading and well done Tony Clarke.