TROOPER_October 1932 to January 2018 – Gilbert Literary and Film Agency Founder Since 1990
A TRIBUTE FROM ME TO OUR BELOVED TROOPER…
With Our Fondest Memories and Services to Queen and Country…
Now nearly 3 years on, it seems time has stood still and the pain is still pronounced in how we cope daily with the loss of our much missed loved one, our Dad, husband and soulmate. In order to cope with our loss and absent partner, I have taken the poignant and simple essence of the words expressed in the Poem below deeply to heart. In the hope and expectation that may all these sentiments narrated weigh in as faithful and true, authentic and blessed, by our Heavenly Creator!
Death Is Nothing At All
A poignant Poem by Henry Scott Holland, Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford January 27, 1847 – March 17th, 1918, we hope that these sentiments might bring hope to all those who are grieving, and find restful peace of mind…
Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
FILM/|TV Media PROJECT
WHO IS TROOPER? [MAJOR (RET). OBE MC, PURPLE HEART, BA, DIP.HM]
How can I best describe Trooper? Only one comparison will do my description of this amazing human being and brave soldier justice by saying that ‘he was my Andalusian super stallion extraordinaire’… A perfectionist (in all that he undertook in his life) and reflecting a tough disciplined seasoned soldier’s surface exterior, he was as ‘flowing toffee caramel’ on the inside, and that coupled with an amazing sense of good humor.
Looking Back to the year 1990 and onward, Trooper’s story is unique and Trooper was a unique anomaly of his breed and the Era in which he was raised. In spite of his professional background he was a man capable of great compassion and understanding of those around him. Living on the edge today however, no longer presents an option for fine author ‘Trooper’, who lived in comfortable but necessary seclusion in a remote part of New Zealand from 1984 to 2018. The author only known by his pen name ‘Trooper‘ , was a retired former British ex-Military Intelligence Field Officer and member of the Elite SAS. Also a former member of the Queen’s Personal Bodyguard, often referred to as ‘The Blues and Royals’ (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry, the Author was also a recipient of the Military Cross, Purple Heart, four oak leaves for a mentions in dispatches, and many other military campaign medals for bravery that would make any soldier proud. Upon his retirement from Military Service Trooper was also awarded the OBE by her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, the long and still reigning Monarch of Great Britain.
Trooper took to the quill and penned down a series of excellent and exciting action adventure novels. All six novels in the series were written in fiction, however, based the suspense-filled and compelling stories upon factual events and personal experiences during a lifetime of military service in the field of covert intelligence gathering operations. The completed works are now known as the Hawkspurr Action Adventure Series loosely based on factual events that transpired during active service in the various politically challenged countries, Trooper was seconded to the various parts of the world where conflicts reigned, between the periods of ‘1952 to 1982, and can be enjoyed and downloaded from Amazon.com in both paperback/kindle format.
I would like to introduce to you an exciting New Zealand Author TROOPER, (British born) creator of the HAWKSPURR Action Adventure Series. Trooper has written a series of Covert Intelligence Action Adventure Adult Romance Novels. The stories, categorized as Fiction are based upon the factual experience of a longstanding career in the British Military as a former Intelligence Field Officer of very high standing. Some of the story content maybe not for the fainthearted, however, these fantastic novels (six in the series plus a seventh on the way) – are a real feast for the imagination. Not only do they make for a memorable read for those keen on Military Covert Intelligence intrigue, but also prove desirable mental stimulation for young people of a legal age. Who are interested in their historical past and welcome informative educational literature on diverse cultures and human behavior, when finding themselves subjected to extreme stressful out of the ordinary conditions.
The names of all the characters featured in all his novels are fictitious but based on real people, and only those who read the books and recognize themselves in some of those characters will no doubt smile. The purpose behind the omissions of their true identity was to ensure respect for the individuals, and the consideration of their privacy and security to which all are entitled to; especially for those who served with Trooper on the various campaigns told in his novels. Also, Trooper’s personal sense of preservation and code of honor and loyalty to his Regiment, numerous of the more significant incidents he has been involved in and fall under the Official Secrets Act, have been withheld within the storytelling. Perhaps leaving some gaps however that must be left to the reader’s imagination.
So as not to exploit or abuse the privileged position of his rank and loyalty to his Regiment, Trooper has always jealously guarded and respected the highly sensitive aspects of the many incidents he has been involved in, binding him to his military obligations during his lifelong service to Queen and Country and in his very retirement from service. However, the novels nevertheless regale much of Trooper’s personal experiences in the field.
So, if you ever wondered what the life of a professional soldier was like, especially one, who served in the Elite British S.A.S., let me invite you for a peek in to find out more about a most entertaining and compelling series of Novels, written and based upon the life-long career of one of such fine professional and above all humble and loyal soldiers.
NYLES ST.JOHN HAWKSPURR is the main central character of the Series and is a representation of one of these extraordinary Professional fighting man described within the stories.
Let us take you on a fascinating journey and discover ‘the soldier, and also the man’ as you lose yourself within the storytelling. Discover how Hawkspurr performs his important assignments and highly covert duties in faraway lands. Assisted by a close band of other elite soldiers in his troop under his command, when seconded to politically challenged continents where their professional expertise in military strategies was in great demand. In countries where guerrilla warfare and genocide go hand in hand and was then and still remains to pose as a mere daily occurrence today.
-Learn of Hawkspurr’s personal hopes and aspirations
-Experience the highs and lows of his daily challenges and objectives
-Feel both the despair as well as the elation of his adversities and ultimate achievements in victories realized
-And finally, and more importantly, enjoy the thrills experienced by the different women Hawkspurr meets along the way, and the lovers that colored and enriched his personal life, when off-duty.
The Hawkspurr Action Adventure Stories were created and written as fiction – however as aforementioned, were based on some of the events and highlights, and real-life experiences of this now retired Professional soldier. Some of the incidents can never be told, not even in fiction for all of the obvious reasons; and so as never to jeopardize the safety or reveal the identities of those he worked with.
These wonderful books make for great reading for both young (of legal age) and older readership alike, irrespective of one’s literary tastes and preferences one may be partial to. For the mature reader, these great and informative novels offer the reader an opportunity to discover just what it was that men of Hawkspurr’s caliber fought for, and what they looked for when on ‘Leave’, leaving behind another successful campaign, and what they did for entertainment and relaxation lol! For younger readers, it provides an eye-opening epitaph of history and serves as a true educational opportunity whilst still being able to lose oneself in the intrigue, suspense, and excitement. It will also bring home the realization of just how fortunate so many of us today are, and to be living in a free and liberal society.
The Following Titles now in their new individual paperback and Kindle formats listed below are available from all Bookstores and: AMAZON.COM THE NILE.CO.NZ THE NILE.COM.AU
KOREAN RAIDER – The Korean War 1952
KOREAN JUNK
Not just another war story, but the coming of age of a young man seeking romance and love outside of a bloody conflict. Hawkspurr is serving with the Household Cavalry in London, England, and at the age of nineteen applies for active duty with a unit fighting in Korea. Recruited for service with a South Korean Guerrilla group operating behind enemy lines, he captures the man destined to be his antagonist over the years ahead – Von Harzburg. Hawkspurr is wounded and evacuated to a military hospital in Japan, where he spots Harzburg who has escaped from custody. Following him to Hong Kong he locates Harzburg but the German eludes him. He tracks Harzburg to Germany and chases him on skis to a village where he is captured. Hawkspurr is released but ambushed by border guards and after a firefight escapes safely to England.
“The Golden Kris – Malayan Campaign)
THE GOLDEN KRIS – Malaya Assignment
River Crossings Leaving the Soldier with blood-sucking disease-carrying companions, from leeches to lice, to mosquitos, snakes and spiders and Bats. Tighten your belts guys and keep the iodine on hand…
Some of the daily challenges deep jungle combatants need to face, and if soldiering is your choice of profession.
ALTERNATIVE WEAPONS OF CHOICE
KUKRI
ASSAULT RIFLE
PISTOL
MP5
….OR A HELICOPTER TO GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE! (Hold it, Boys!!! Did Churchill not maintain that “We Shall Never Surrender!)
This Youtube link by Pathe takes us to Malaya (also referred to as Britain’s Vietnam in a sense), where the British original 22 SAS Regiment performed their first ever thick Malayan Jungle drops; which did not go without serious accidents and a number of mortal casualties, unfortunately. The young Soldier (standing 6’2″ tall is our very own Trooper in his early 20’s. He was one of the tallest man there borne of pure pride). He is the one who is being roughed up a bit and pulled forward and downward by his Parachute Drill Pack master checking his parachute tack. https://youtu.be/Wy8hXK0THSI?t=76
First Ever Malayan Dense Jungle Drop made by 22 SAS Para Troopers – Led by Trooper. Due to a number of unprecedented and unpreventable mortalities suffered, the project was abandoned.
This novel follows the adventures of Nyles St. John Hawkspurr, as he serves with the elite Special Air Service. He is proud to be a member of the Household Cavalry, but during the celebrations for the Coronation of the new Queen, he enjoys the parties, and sexual favors offered by titled ladies, and actresses alike.Hawkspurr learns that an old adversary from the Korean War, the German Agent Gunter Von Harzburg, is now advising the communist terrorists in Malaya, and he volunteers for the S.A.S. MALAYAN SCOUTS who are actively engaged in the jungle war. During specialized parachute training in Singapore Hawkspurr meets the Chinese Woman Detective Jennie Koo, and manages to find romance again. He is then assigned to protect a future leader of the country, on the island of Penang. A parachute drop into the jungle brings Hawkspurr and Von Harzburg together once again. Once more the author captures the authenticity of the land, its peoples, their food, and the lifestyles of primitive aborigines. Descriptions of parachuting techniques and SAS operational methods are thrilling in their reality, and the jungle with its creatures comes graphically to life for the reader. Spiced as always with humor, and non-stop action.
Assignment Cyprus – (EOKA Campaign)
ASSIGNMENT CYPRUS – Suez Incident 1956
Includes an account of the 1956 invasion of the SUEZ CANAL. With a murderous conflict in Cyprus coming to a head, Nyles Hawkspurr and his S.A.S. Troop of specialists are posted to this lovely island to hunt for the elusive General Grivas, leader of the EOKA terrorist organization in the mountains. On a covert assignment, Hawkspurr must first journey alone to Spain, to eliminate a Greek arms dealer who is supplying weapons to the terrorists. After a successful operation, Hawkspurr has a romantic interlude with a wild Gypsy dancer but is later arrested by Spanish police unsure of his identity. Later, with help from the Gypsies Hawkspurr escapes by boat to Gibraltar. Reunited with his men Hawkspurr seeks out and destroys the enemy in towns, villages, and mountain hideouts, and yet still finds time for romance with Greek and Turkish women alike. When the Egyptian government under General Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, Hawkspurr enters Egypt clandestinely to gather information. During the Anglo/French invasion of Suez, he leads a special unit of his own men and French Foreign Legionnaires on a parachute raid to a canal installation. For the thrilling climax, Hawkspurr returns to Cyprus.
Blood on the Panga – Congo Command
BLOOD ON THE PANGA – Congo Command
Major Nyles Hawkspurr and his former SAS soldiers are hired to lead an elite unit of native commandos against brutal rebels hiding deep in the jungles of the Dark Continent. Not a story for the faint-hearted, but an authentic portrayal of guerrilla war and high action adventure in central Africa.Murder, political intrigue, betrayal – and a little romance! Narrated graphically in the distinctive style of this popular military author. As always, the author draws upon his own experiences as a professional soldier, for the exciting action and locations, which are authentic, and colorfully descriptive.
THE MERCENARY – Devoted to the French Foreign Legion Period…
He lay beneath the Congo sun, body wracked with pain
Around him lay his Comrades, fallen where they were slain…..
Above, the ball of brass beat down and in his heart, he saw bugles
Upon a distant shore, he heard the beat of the drum…
They had gathered here for one last fight before their spurs were hung.
Dropped by night in the cold moonlight, the path of death shone clear
Each for a reason yet untold, madness, glory, or the lust for gold, or fame…..
They had no flags for these sons of Mars and yet they would carry a Nation’s scars
No medals or glory, yet oft the blame from a Nation emerging from their flame.
Other interesting topics of the Soldiering Breed:-
Emily McKerrow is a senior army nurse from New Zealand, serving in Saudi Arabia at the start of the Gulf War, 1991. Beautiful, intelligent and dedicated, Emily is introduced in London to the charming Captain Hugh Buckfast, an officer of the Grenadier Guards with whom she falls in love. Emily’s ambulance becomes lost in the desert during a storm and is found by a SAS patrol, commanded to her surprise by Hugh Buckfast. Hugh is furious at having his operation compromised and treats Emily with disdain. Emily meets an intimate friend from university days currently employed by the Saudi Arabian government and the two renew their relationship. In the meantime, Hugh Buckfast has been seriously wounded and captured by the Iraqis. Emily is summoned by Allied Commanders and asked to join a mission and render medical assistance. Guided by Bedouin tribesmen in company with the mysterious Colonel Nyles Hawkspurr, they cross into Jordan and operate on Hugh after a SAS team rescues him. Many adventures befall the team as they journey south through historical Jordan disguised as Bedouin, and pursued by Iraqi agents. Action, passion, jealousy, intrigue, murder, and personal conflict set against a backdrop of war.
Wake of the Rainbow Warrior
WAKE OF THE RAINBOW WARRIOR – Terrorist Bombing of The Rainbow Warrior Incident, Auckland Harbour, New Zealand
Colonel Nyles St. John Hawkspurr is a retired SAS officer outraged by the bombing of the Greenpeace vessel ‘Rainbow Warrior’ in Auckland Harbour, and the premature release of the convicted terrorist. He decides to bring the perpetrator back to complete his sentence, and to this end decides to gather his old comrades to assist him. He then learns that the mastermind behind the operation is an old antagonist, Gunter Von Harzburg and vows to bring him to justice in New Zealand. His travels and subsequent adventures take him to Australia, Hong Kong, Borneo, Kenya, Italy, Cyprus, Jersey, France, Egypt, and the Sudanese desert. Thrilling in its authentic action, with a romantic element, descriptions of indigenous peoples and their lifestyle, and real-life characters to satisfy the most discerning reader.
ABOUT “THE BLUES AND ROYALS”
Other Duties Members of the Queen’s Household Cavalry are called upon to perform during their lifetime of service to the Queen, is to be ready to serve on various assignments not alone in times of peace, but especially in times of global conflict. Below find some interesting links to our modern day Queen’s Household Cavalry personnel and their intense and full on professional commitments under which they serve their Queen, the British Monarchy, and in part, their efforts are as far-reaching an impacting on the world as a whole.
With Our Fondest Memories and Services to Queen and Country…
I am watching you sleep, watching you work, watching you watching me and all my photos and letters and the laughter staring back at us from their beguiling and joyful images shared over time…
I am with you my darling each and every day, never assume I can’t feel your anguish and pain, and that you are missing me deeply within the recesses of your bruised heart, ‘cause we’re soulmates my sweetheart, and you are mine, and through the millenniums of time up ahead we will never be apart …
We will be together forever into endless time, and I am awaiting with pressing angst to hold you close into my arms enveloped once again; so together within the embalming and rapturous Light of the Divine we can shine!
I recall your confusion and your heartfelt sadness to see me disintegrate on my rapid decline, as I had lost the heroic battle and even the very Will to live; but understood you put up a brave face for the both of us to re-enforce the optimistic belief that, I was indestructible and would surely overcome this harrowing fate!
But my time was up and on borrowed time, I was an old man who felt weary and spent well long before these adversities your husband came to overwhelm, but you never realized and were the reason I kept hanging on to that silver thread of life, so I could hold you and love you for the more as time would permit; for you then and now are my life!
So know this and remember, when you’re lonely and down, you will always have all of me and my heart and my love in your life and you can wear it like a splendorous crown so well deserved for all those wonderful good times, and I shall keep constant vigil over you forever my beautiful wife, until you are ready to come fly home to me; where I am waiting to greet youat the splendorous heavenly gates, and its life giving vines!
Until then please know my darling, I shall remain your mentor in all you shall still undertake, and am the one who stands vigil, the one who protects you and whom I shall always defend, and know that my all-consuming love in my aching heart for you alone, my soulmate and wife; shall never tire in its intensity…nor shall ever end…
With all my love,
Your Michael! oxoxo
February 14th, 2019 – Poem written under Inspiration and Inspired By Trooper himself from Beyond the Veil…
You are my Life, my soul and my heart, we are as one mind, we shall never be apart. Although you are there, still you are here, as there’s no distance between us nor betwixt Heaven and Earth, and I know I should not smart…although I hunger for your touch! I can feel you so close and tenderly near and constantly anguished, hanker to hold you tightly close and make you feel good, and yearn for those signs to know you are within me. So please my darling, do reassure me that you can see me and hear me constantly calling out in my never diminishing despair: “is it really you who steals into my heart and those vivid lifelike dreams? Are you really and truly there? Then don’t leave me to doubt!”
Yet, no matter how uncanny your visits when they materialize, I still need that constant reaffirmation that it’s really true? I wish to show you of my eternal affection and loyalty too, and reassure you I shall never stray from my noble goal to be reunited soon with you, and for which I strive. You are the one who has my unwavering devotion, undivided and eager I stand, for as true soulmates we loved and lived as one flesh for 4 scores of 10 plus 7 of the best golden years of your past; so I am but one half of your person now while still here, and you still are only one half of me over there.
My brimming abundance of love felt for you and my loyalty into perpetuity remains steadfast and true, and once in a while as I am left in suspension in one of my wistful dream states, I yearn to caress your strong and handsome subliminal etched face faintly visible through the veil, no longer lined, nor bearded and grey but clothed with the freshness and strength of sheer youth in its prime. For in that place where old age reflects no longer a trace; would you then please enter my sanctuary in the realms below with cautious cognizance and gentility when you embrace me and plant a thousand kisses on my face? For During those precious moments of pure bliss and rapturous unification when we meet, then please look away and with kindness remember me as once I was, as my frail flesh and diminishing sinew begins to unravel my real earthly age. So we can still be as one harmonious unit in ‘my here and now’ on those fleeting visits of yours as you hold me tenderly close to your breast and wildly beating heart, and experience all over again that familiar but long missed sweet lovemaking divine. To me it is worth such brief and bracing delight and as fleeting as dreams tend to be, and I can almost tangibly taste and sense once again your uniquely scent to memory embedded like an intoxicating sweet summer wine. Until such time in ‘your there and then’ you and I can be together ‘as one in spirit’, once again.
When eternity finally beckons and these earthly shackles my soul has released, there to be joined with yours will fit perfectly just like a customized glove, as we shall dwell as one, wholly complete in that eternally loving and heavenly abodes above. “Where for eternity, I for one, shall then be enveloped rapturously fine by that beguiling and compelling twinkle that resides in your dark and soul-penetrating onyx brown eyes; and those overwhelmingly captivating and still worldly unsettling charms…that is so typically you! But at that moment their expression shall harbor great knowledge and will have become so all-knowingly wise!”
The whispers in the morning Of lovers sleeping tight Are rolling by like thunder now As I look in your eyes
I hold on to your whole body And feel each move you make Your voice is warm and tender A love that I could not forsake
‘Cause I’m your lady And you are my man Whenever you reach for me I’ll do all that I can
Lost is how I’m feeling lying in your arms When the world outside’s too much to take That all ends when I’m with you
Even though there may be times It seems I’m far away Never wonder where I am ‘Cause I am always by your side
‘Cause I’m your lady And you are my man Whenever you reach for me I’ll do all that I can
We’re heading for something Somewhere I’ve never been Sometimes I am frightened But I’m ready to learn Of the power of love
The sound of your heart beating Made it clear suddenly The feeling that I can’t go on Is light years away
‘Cause I’m your lady And you are my man Whenever you reach for me I’ll do all that I can
We’re heading for something Somewhere I’ve never been Sometimes I am frightened But I’m ready to learn Of the power of love
The power of love The power of love
Sometimes I am frightened But I’m ready to learn Of the power of love
The power of love
As I look in your eyes
The power of love
WHERE WE MET
Taking a walk down memory lane when Kings Cross came up as a topic in Linkedin conjured a milliard of fond memories and warmed the cockles of my soul… This rendition is by no means error-free but came from the heart! It was the time where I met my husband, and 47 years of married bliss after a short 3 months courtship proved a miraculous feat, As he would say: “T’was Kismet my darling!”. I was just 25 and he was 42.
OUR KINGS CROSS 1971
Memories of Kings Cross and the surrounding destinations, known as the hub of entertainment and Fancy hotels, and notable Restaurants and Jazz Cellar sensations come nostalgically to my mind…
Bracing the throng of drunks, and the smell of vomit from overindulgence, we would zig-zag our way on a special night out through the maze of busy car-lined street pavements. A place where trouble and both luck could always be found…
There was also fond recall of the ever-present cacophony of poor musicians looking to make a few dimes into their hats as reward for providing party goers with that typical ‘Kings Cross’ ambience to the ever exciting atmosphere prevailing.
They stood on the street corners of their usual haunts and played their chosen instrumentals whilst being admiringly watched by the entranced birds resting perched high upon shop-lined parapets, in the hope of catching the odd leftover tidbits and snacks precariously tossed into street bins below by satiated and well-liquored-up passersby.
Their instruments of choice poised, musicians of all Caliber would chime soul bracing languorous melodies that wafted electrifyingly upon the airways in all kinds of weathers come what may, in this special nook of Sydney town referred to as, ‘doing it the old ‘Kings Cross’ way!’
These musicians were well loved as they assembled daily, to entertain the blessed and colorful locals living in the tenements of Kings Cross’ Cosmopolitan compound and its diverse humanity with their brilliant talents put on full public display…
The permanent inhabitants of this corner in Sydney town also shared their special ‘Oasis’ with transient undesirables as well as nocturne park dwellers, and where all manner of homeless peddlers abounded…
This place where artists and celebrities congregated and came from near and far to perform their art at fancy hotels, and where travelers came seeking a touch of the exotic.
Visiting American sailors, Military and US Airforce officers on leave would also choose from the array of favorite fond strip clubs upon their arrival from war-torn destinations all over the globe in sheer anticipation and hope of some welcome and momentary respite, to forget the horrors of war…
Famous Celebrity regulars would come to sing, display their musical prowess, and tell jokes to appreciative audiences when they performed at ‘Kings Cross’, providing tourists and notable guests with titillating entertainment to appease eager and hungry spectators looking for festive distractions.
For Sailors and military servicemen on leave, who generously availed themselves to the pool of available and most attractive escorts to satiate their every desire for thrills and allure, the adventurous globetrotters were offered a risqué high-wire thrill walk on the wild side, whilst savouring the decadence and great pastimes that were to be had in Sydney’s good old ‘Kings Cross’, and which invariably and without fail came with a foolproof guarantee and promise to deliver and satisfy every whim, jaunt, and want!
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