The Twelfth
(Published 1944)
This book is about grouse-shooting and the life history of one of the most accomplished game-shots in the Kingdom who, in his declining years, is know in his London Club as ‘the Grouse-cock’. The central premise of the story is of the old Colonel dreaming he is a grouse who understands the sport and does all he can to protect the pack from the guns.
The Awl Birds
(Published 1949)
The story of a veteran of the desert-war and German prison-camp who buys a derelict seaside farm in Norfolk. He finds Avocets nesting on his marshes and determines to protect them.
Guns Wanted
(Published 1949)
The story of a retired officer with three MC’s but no DSO because he told his brigadier to ‘go to hell’. He goes for a check up with an eminent military surgeon who, to get his own back for a long past incident, tells the patient that he only has a year to live. After proper reflection the retired cavalry officer is intent on getting his priorities right and sets off to on a hilarious round to get as much shooting and hunting as he can.
Bledgrave Hall
(Published 1950)
This book is a republication of ‘The Awl-Birds’ with the inclusion of a postscript from the author. The story of a veteran of the desert-war and German prison-camp who buys a derelict seaside farm in Norfolk. He finds Avocets nesting on his marshes and determines to protect them.
Last Chukker
(Published 1951)
An unforgettable vignette of the Burma (Myanmar) which came to an abrupt end in 1941. A tale of smuggling and polo, of mystery and murder, of wild beasts and even more dangerous men with descriptions of the north-eastern frontier in all its loveliness and savagery.
Full Moon at Sweatenham
(Published 1953)
A book which follows on from ‘The Twelfth’ and is set in what might ether be seen as a dystopian or utopian (depending on ones politics) time when the 20th Century order of things has collapsed, non-vegetarians are vilified and the UK has broken apart. The story starts with the death of the central figure and charts a journey into the countryside of old, watched over by his bewildered ghost.
Fox Me: the story of a cub
(Published 1958)
An orphaned fox cub becomes the reluctant pet of a farmer’s family and with the help of the household terriers learns much about hunting. He puts this to good use when after an incident at a hunt ball he becomes once again a genuine wild fox.
Jimmy Bundobust
(Published 1958)
Five stories first published in Blackwood’s Magazine: Cocktails at Col Bunbury’s; Start of a Herd; James Bunbury Gets the Bird; Bundobust in Glenagony; Haunt of Ancient Peace. The stories chart some of the life of James Bunbury (Jimmy Bundobust – bundobust being Urdu for ‘binding and fastening’ and thus implying ‘planning, organisation, method, order and system’).
Death of a Vulpicide
(Published 1960)
The life story of a shy orphan who acquired a passion for fox hunting. Gruff, uncouth, eccentric but devoted to his calling he wins respect from followers and the farming community and by devious ways makes himself ‘almost the best armature huntsman in England’.
Broken Lanterns
(Published 1962)
A book about an eccentric soldier who was seconded to administer parts of the Indian Empire and retired under a cloud. He lives alone, has a hot temper, a caustic tongue and a keen eye for whatever he considers ‘bogus’ in men and manners. Behind it all he has a passion for the countryside and some regrets over the past.
The Twelfth and After
(Published 1964)
A republication of ‘The Twelfth’, which includes a final section first published in ‘Full Moon at Sweatenham’. It is about the life and ultimate death in his London Club of one of the most accomplished game-shots in the Kingdom. The central premise of the story is of the old Colonel dreaming he is a grouse who understands the sport and does all he can to protect the pack from the guns. He finally makes a catastrophic mistake which ends both his life and dream.
And Some in Horses
(Published 1965)
The story of a lifelong punter and racing enthusiast who put a lot of trust in both the Mk 1 Tank and horses both of which all to frequently let him down. The book throws light on the social history of the first half of the 20th century.
A Keeper’s Country
(Published 1968)
A story about the eventful career of a gamekeeper, his early years in Suffolk and after serving as a Grenadier his employment in the Highlands to deal with a deer poaching gang. Thereafter his many adventures before being appointed a head keeper in Wiltshire.