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THE HARRY'S WAR TRILOGY
MY LATEST NOVEL
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HARRY'S WAR
 The time: September 1941 to December 1944. The place: a high-class English boarding school for boys near London. Thirteen-year-old Harry Lockwood fights for survival at Markham College, where the misuse of power by sadistic prefects creates a closed society ruled by fear and violence. As if this is not enough, Hitler's bombardment of Britain with terrifying V1 flying bombs and V2 ballistic missiles threatens to destroy him. This is indeed a story of war, but it is also a story of loyal friendship among four boys, of young love, of tragedy and joy. |
Published by Wexford College Press, 1280 Queen Street, Seaside, OR 97138, USA, November 2003. ISBN 1931468044. Available in the US from the publisher, Amazon.com, most international online bookstores including Chapters.indigo.ca and Abebooks.com (UK).
| What people are saying about Harry's War:
"Thrilling, intense and heartwarming. . . . As England is
continually battered by German
forces during World War II, Harry Lockwood takes his first steps into
his own war. His first
year at the prestigious Markham College is a mix of excitement, fear
and trepidation as he
makes new friends, becomes a victim to the sadistic traditions of the
school and attempts
to survive both war-time and adolescence. . . . Author D. Edward
Bradley does a superb job
of controlling the flow of this marvelous tale by easing the action
with both humor and
sadness. You feel the emotions the characters feel; you see, in your
mind, what they
see. . . . The kids grow and become adults right before your eyes.
Bradley uses few words to
describe the setting but it is the exact amount needed to paint a vivid
picture. . . . If you
love romance, action, strife, perseverance and well written prose I
highly recommend
“Harry’s War.” "To the accumulated tradition of British boarding school
literature initiated by Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's Schooldays
, and perfected by James Hilton's Goodbye, Mr. Chips , add
Kingston Ontario author D. Edward Bradley's, first-class,
autobiographical novel, Harry's War. . . . Growing
through the adversities of WWII and of Markham College, Harry develops
from a 13-year-old "facing the prospect of his first term at a
prestigious English public school with mixed feelings" in 1941 to a
confident, mature young man of 17 in 1945, ready to
tackle a still uncertain future. His girlfriend, Jenny, is as sure as
he is they can succeed. Perhaps there's a
sequel in the offing to determine whether or not they did.
And if it's as good as this book it will be well worth reading." "In my youth, Mother subscribed to the "Book of the Month
Club." My taste for exceptional writing and memorable stories
began with those fine books of a different time. Wuthering
Heights, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Pride and Prejudice took me to worlds
I'd never have the chance to visit on my own. Mr. Bradley has
accomplished the same sense of adventure with this first
in a Trilogy. I'm sorry to say this writer and his books deserve
far more attention than received thus far. Excellence should be
rewarded in a writer's lifetime." “D. Edward Bradley presents readers with a moving and
unforgettable story, not only through his characters, but also through
his ability to portray the reality of war with disturbing clarity. When
the dreaded V1 bombs fly over the school, we feel Harry’s terror as he
counts the seconds after the sound of the engine stops. If he gets to
eight, he knows the bomb will explode. Readers may find themselves
counting with him. Drawn from Bradley’s own experiences as a
boy, his descriptions make Harry’s War not only more genuine,
but much more frightening. . . .
Well-written, with depth and humanity, Harry’s War is
a novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading the last
page. I highly recommend it.” “Having listened to many war stories of one of my best
friend's English mother, I can attest to the realism of this story. The
author brings forth the details of his own wartime experiences to
enrich this story's setting. The characters are real and believable, as
is the dialogue. The pace was much faster than I had expected. In all,
this was a delightful book. We rated it five hearts.” Here’s a realistic and sometimes uplifting look at what
life is like for a young teenage boy in England during the Forties. And
though it
has an ending that feels somewhat rushed and abrupt, it will keep
readers turning the pages and hoping that there
is a sequel in the works. “Harry’s War took my breath away. It sucked me back
in time and I loved, laughed, and suffered right along with the young
WW II hero.” |
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Without warning, the tranquillity was shattered by a sound that Harry had secretly dreaded for months. The deafening double sonic boom of an incoming ballistic missile smashed into his ears. It had hardly registered in his brain before there was a mind-numbing explosion. As if by a giant hand, he felt himself lifted into the air and slammed onto the soft earth of a flower bed, the breath knocked from his body. Still conscious, he lay motionless with his face in the dirt as bits of debris spattered down all around him. Harry waited for something else to happen, but there was only silence. |
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A FEW NICE LINKS
Green Pace - Living Life at a Green Pace: Damian Bradley's photo-journal of the Green Spaces in the GTA and around Ontario.
Airlinerphotos.com - Quality photos of the world's airliners.
Whortleberry Press - Unusual books for unusual readers.
New Works Review - A quarterly e-zine with wide interests: short stories, articles, diaries and visual art (paintings, photographs etc.).
ANOTHER KIND OF WAR
 ANOTHER KIND OF WAR is the second of the Harry Lockwood books. It is 1948, and the Second World War is still fresh in everyone’s memories. Trooper Harry Lockwood is serving the last half of his National Service in the 5th Royal Tank Regiment in Germany. Harry’s best friend from school days, known as ‘the Captain,’ is also in Germany. He has signed on as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps. The two meet for a skiing holiday at a leave centre in Austria. There, the Captain is drugged and kidnapped by a mysterious blond man and his obnoxious female assistant. They take him across the Iron Curtain, where he is imprisoned in a strange castle. What do they want him for? Will he be executed or released? The story takes the reader on a roller coaster of excitement and romance from the UK to British Occupied Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. |
| ANOTHER KIND OF WAR (ISBN 1-933094-07-9) was published in 2006 by Tarbutton Press, Three Rivers, Michigan. It is listed at Amazon.com and most online bookstores. |
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| What people are saying about Another Kind
of War:
"In this second book of three, the intrepid friends from Markham College are no longer boys, but men. This book can easily stand alone, but knowing Harry and Captain from Harry's War added to the excitement. These characters were endearing as boys, and are eminently appealing as men. Harry is now Trooper Harry Lockwood of the 5th Royal Tank Regiment. His best friend Captain has become Lt. Martin Bulman of the British Intelligence Corps. World War Two is over and the Cold War has begun with Harry on maneuvers in Occupied West Germany. His lover Jenny lives with relatives in Scotland. Both are lonely, forced to maintain a long distance relationship via mail and telephone. Harry and Captain have continued the close ties established at school. A shared leave in the Austrian Alps ends in a mystery when Captain unexpectedly disappears. Captain has been drugged and transported behind the Iron Curtain by Communist operatives. For what purpose, no one knows at first. His jailer, Fraulein Kellerman, appears to be a hard-nosed agent but Captain eventually spots several large chinks in her armor. Intelligence is his forte, along with courage and a quick mind. He soon learns Fraulein Kellerman's true identity, followed by an unexpected turn of plot. Meanwhile, Captain's Commanding Officer has transferred Harry to his service because no one on earth knows how Captain's mind works better than Harry. Tips from a woman named Kristy Schneider help them track Captain to where he's being held in Czechoslovakia. The situation is desperate, once the truth is known. Captain is to be exchanged with an Eastern Bloc operative. If England does not cooperate, Captain will be executed. Another Kind of War is fast paced and engaging from the
start. Mr. Bradley has developed his characters quite effectively.
Jenny has become a strong and loving source of stability for Harry
during chaotic, frightening times. The fondness I felt for Harry and
Captain in book one has become admiration and respect in book two.
Bradley captures the feeling of time, place, and persona in exciting
ways in this ongoing story of love, war, and friendship.
" |
Coverart © Damian Bradley, |
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The Captain looked down as he stood on the summit of the Zugspitze. From thousands of feet below, the smoke and flames of a burgeoning volcanic eruption billowed upward until finally he was seized in a merciless pyroplastic grip that shook him senseless. Trembling, with sweat beading on his forehead, he awoke to find he was lying on a bed fully clothed in his uniform. As he opened his eyes, a hellish, screaming pain at the back of his skull made him nauseous. In spite of it, he was able to perceive a dim glow on the other side of the room. The light seemed to be coming from outside through a window with a thin curtain. It had a pattern of thick black vertical lines some six inches apart. Then the Captain realized they were the shadows of window bars, thick enough to contain an angry gorilla. The journey from sleep to waking had been a nightmare, but the stark reality of his situation was almost as bad. He was a prisoner. |
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THE ICELAND CONNECTION
The year is 1950 and four friends from Markham College in England are now young men in their early twenties. THE ICELAND CONNECTION is the last book in the trilogy that follows their eventful lives during and after the Second World War. Richard Bloombury, nicknamed Pansy, has disappeared while on holiday in Scandinavia. His younger sister Petra and ‘Beastly' Barnett, travel there to search for him with surprising results for them both. Meanwhile, Harry Lockwood and his girlfriend Jenny Rawlings are living in Edinburgh. It isn't long before their idyllic romance is strained to breaking point by misfortune and betrayal. Throughout all this, the Captain and his wife Kristy are always available at their home in Cambridge to support their friends. As the years go by, Fate continues to point an invisible finger toward the Land of Ice and Fire. In the summer of 1953, Harry organizes a student expedition to Iceland from Scotland's Perth University, where he is a Lecturer. The scientific work goes well until an ominous link with the Second World War is uncovered. Disaster and horror strike. As soon as Harry arrives home, he sinks into unfathomable depths of despair until at last the mystery of The Iceland Connection is resolved. |
| THE ICELAND CONNECTION (ISBN 1-933094-08-7) was published in 2006 by Tarbutton Press, Three Rivers, Michigan. It is listed at Amazon.com and most online bookstores. |
| Cover photograph by the author. |
| What people are saying about The Iceland
Connection:
"This final book of Mr. Bradley's trilogy, like the prequels, can easily stand alone but I don't recommend reading only one of this series. I enjoyed all three books so much that reading only one of them is unthinkable from my view-point. This final book spans four years, from 1950 to 1954. Life is far from idyllic for our lads in the post war years. The four friends are scattered throughout the UK and rarely spend time together. The free world contends with the threat of Communism. Nazis are still on the loose and pop up in the oddest places. As the story begins, old schoolmate Pansy – Richard Bloombury – has disappeared in Iceland. Why he went to Iceland in the first place is a mystery none of his chums can figure out . . . And Harry Lockwood, always the strong and reliable one of
the lot, has discovered he has feet of
clay . . . Harry is a lecturer at Perth University. He agrees to
accompany a field trip to Iceland so students can study flora and fauna
on site, and hopes the isolation will help stabilize his life . . .
From England to Sweden to Iceland to Morocco, Bradley puts the lads
through
their paces. Mystery, danger, and intrigue complicate the Icelandic
expedition. The four friends and their women
are charismatic characters, and the plot is exciting, with enough
twists to keep readers guessing. But in this last book, the highlight
for me is Bradley's stunning portrait of a strong
man's gradual descent into suicidal depression." "D. Edward Bradley did it again with The Iceland
Connection! I've been following the Harry trilogy closely. The
Iceland Connection is an exciting, gut-wrenching story
that takes the readers on a wild roller coaster ride. This
isn't just a story of intrigue and action/adventure, it's also
a story about love, relationships, betrayal and passion." |
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The scenery was unlike anything Harry Lockwood had ever seen or imagined. Perched on a rocky ledge among the mountains of Northern Iceland, he gazed spellbound as the sun emerged from behind a nearby pinnacle that towered above him. Golden rays bathed the valley below, throwing the tents of the Expedition's base camp into bold relief. Rugged, snow-capped peaks marched in line from where he was sitting. On the opposite side of the valley, vertical cliffs at the rim of a plateau drew a rough boundary between earth and the dark blue sky. The mountains and cliffs merged in the distance to frame the blinding white tongue of a glacier that issued from the alpine heights marking the valley's end. As he absorbed the silent grandeur, Harry's mind wandered back to Scotland and he wondered if this daunting adventure would help him put his life back together again. |
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This book is the last
of the Harry's War trilogy, but a reader will discover what
happens to several familiar
characters in She Came from Away (below).
SHE CAME FROM AWAY
 A dead uncle, an ordinary house and a summer in a far-off place–they all come together and change Riley’s life forever. Riley Barnett is a second year student at the University of Toronto. Early in April of 1978, the postman brings a letter that lures her to Newfoundland where she spends the summer vacation. It is a friendly place for those who come from away, but a dark conspiracy soon rears its ugly head and almost destroys her. |
Also available at Amazon's Kindle Store
| SHE CAME FROM AWAY (ISBN 1-933094-10-9) was published in 2007 by Tarbutton Press, Three Rivers, Michigan. It is listed at Amazon.com and their other international bookstores. |
| Coverart by the author Copyright © David E. Bradley 2006 and its licensor. All rights reserved. With thanks to Ralph Kunadt ( Airlinerphotos.com ) for providing the Air Canada L1011 photograph. |
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| What people are saying about She Came from
Away:
"I was privileged to review Bradley’s Harry’s War trilogy
and am delighted to report that this exceptional story teller has not
lost his touch with She Came from Away. Once again, Bradley takes his
readers on an exciting literary
adventure, written with style and imagination. "Surprises around every corner. . . . Riley Barnett is your
typical college student, eager to learn and broke; but that changes
with the visit from the postman. Now she finds herself spending the
summer in Newfoundland. Who knew one little envelope would open the
doors to romance, new friends, mystery and danger?
"She Came from Away is an excellent read. It moves fast
and is gripping – very smooth and very exciting with plenty of
romance, adventure and suspense." |
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The trail meandered on across slightly higher ground through bushes of alder, mountain holly and chuckley pear, then without warning, Riley stepped onto a narrow dirt road. Evidently, this was the end of her property. Judging from the tire tracks, it was well-used. She guessed it was someone's driveway. The large scale map that Mr. McGrath had provided would indicate where it went. By now the sun had set and darkness was fast approaching. Time to go. As she turned to retrace her steps, she heard a sound—the crunch of gravel a short distance down the road. Expecting to see a person, she whipped round. Instead, she caught a glimpse of something large, a fleeting impression of a big animal, a flash of pale gray disappearing into the gloom. Then came the snap of breaking twigs—it was coming straight toward her.
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LEEWARD
 A hot and steamy night, a hideous four-legged monster, and a terrified little girl are forebodings of horror on an island paradise in the Caribbean. A mutilated body in a rainforest reservoir and a horrible plane crash point to a ruthless, covert Organization, which has taken over its government. Soon, an English family and their friends find themselves in unwilling combat with a hidden threat to world stability. As the struggle moves from the island of St. Barbe's, to the United States, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, they and their friends are almost destroyed by this seemingly invincible menace. |
| Published by Invisible College
Press, Coronado, Los Angeles, USA,
November 2001; ISBN 1931468044. Available in the US from the publisher, Amazon.com , most international online bookstores including Chapters.Indigo.ca , also from Books on the Bay, Picton, Ontario. |
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What people are saying about Leeward: “A group of people thrown together at the Leeward Hotel on the small island of St. Barbe’s have a lot in common. Too much. Jon Moresby lost both parents in a car wreck. Anna Kristina Andersson watched her fiancé shot to death by rebel soldiers in El Salvador on the evening news. Judge Marvin Winchester lost his wife in the tragic crash of Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Now, circumstances cause all of them to find themselves in the middle of another nightmare--and no one will escape unscathed. Meg and Peter Calluna run the Leeward Estate Hotel. They live on St. Barbe’s with their daughter, Bobbie, and her dog, Tonto. But, something else has made its home on the island: a monster nicknamed “The Guard.” The emergence of the beast, the disappearance of a couple staying in the hotel, and the finding of a body that seemingly vanishes herald the beginning of a mystery that begins to unravel with terrifying consequences. Who is “The Organization”? And why are the police on the island trying to keep its inhabitants from leaving? Murder, espionage, and a threat that could put the entire world at risk unfold before the eyes of the frightened inhabitants of the Leeward Hotel. A race to find the truth before it’s too late puts all their lives at risk. D. Edward Bradley has written a pulse-pounding thriller
that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The plot is intricate and
compelling and will hold your attention from beginning to end.” “After following this strange but compelling narrative, as
seen through the eyes of a variety of different people, the thoughtful
reader is left with the question, "This couldn't really happen - could
it? Could it?" This espionage-suspense-thriller-romance will engage the
reader from the first page all the way
through to its enigmatic ending.” |
Read the Prologue and first chapter of Leeward
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David Edward Bradley's fascination with foreign
places comes naturally. Conceived on the Dark Continent in the British
Colony of Nigeria, where his father worked as a surveyor, he grew up in
the 1930s. His most vivid childhood memory was seeing the menacing
shadow of
the Graff Zeppelin floating among the clouds, a portent of things to
come. When he was only four years old, his mother joined her husband in Africa. They were stranded there during much of the Second World War, leaving him with his grandmother. In 1943, his parents returned to England and David moved on to a Public School. It was in a similar location to that in Harry's War, which is to some extent autobiographical. A number of David's war-related experiences are real, but embellished to make them more exciting. Mr. Bradley admits that his early career as a Research Physicist came about through an aptitude for repairing intricate mechanisms and a timely job at a laboratory engaged in the exciting new field of Electron Microscopy. After several years of ground-breaking research, he gained his MSc and PhD degrees in Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, and satisfied his wanderlust by participating in scientific expeditions and conferences around the globe. In 1974, Dr. Bradley immigrated to Canada where he worked at Memorial University of Newfoundland. There, at the easternmost edge of North America where the passage of years is marked by the southward migration of icebergs from Greenland, he continued his research in Microbiology. After retiring in 1995, D. Edward Bradley now devotes his time to writing fiction at his home in Kingston, Ontario. |
Contact: dedwardb@gmail.com