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Mailed Fist
In April 1943, newly commissioned John Foley is posted to command Five Troop and their trusty Churchill tanks Avenger, Alert, and Angler – thus begins his initiation into the Royal Armoured Corps. Covering the trials of training, embarkation to France and battle experience through Normandy, the Netherlands, the Ardennes campaign and into Germany, Foley’s intimate and detailed account follows the fate of this group of men in the latter stages of the Second World If this book can be said to be a history of anything, it is a history of Five Troop. Not of the squadron, or of the regiment. If anybody wants to know what happened in other troops, or in other squadrons, it’s all recorded painstakingly in the War Diaries and lodged in a Records Office somewhere.Based on the author’s own experience with the British Army, Mailed Fist is reprinted in a new edition including an introduction from IWM, putting the work into historical context and shining a light on this fascinating experience of the Second World War.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
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About the author
John Foley
3 books1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. ^3
Cedric John Foley MBE was a British army officer, then post WW II he worked in public relations and broadcasting.
Cedric John Foley died in 1974.
Cedric John Foley MBE was a British army officer, then post WW II he worked in public relations and broadcasting.
Cedric John Foley died in 1974.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 22, 2022
Mailed Fist is the latest in the Imperial War Museum’s excellent Wartime Classics series comprising new editions of books from the Second World War. All the books in the series have an introduction putting the work into its historical context.
Mailed Fist is a fictionalised memoir closely based on the author’s own experience as a troop commander from April 1943 until the end of the Second World War. The author gives us a ‘fly on the wall’ insight into what it was like to command a troop of three Churchill tanks, as well as what it was like for the five-man crews who operated them in cramped, dirty and very basic living conditions.
There’s a lot of humour in the book such as Foley and his fellow officers’ attempts to scupper the daily orderly report they’re required to complete, his attempts at doing his own laundry and how the ‘Love Affairs of Trooper Cooper’ lighten the task of censoring his troop’s letters home.
Periods of inactivity are punctuated by hours of intense fighting, attempting to destroy German artillery, support infantry attacks or take up defensive positions in towns vacated by the retreating enemy. When it comes to the serious business of battle, based on firepower alone the Churchill tanks are no match for the German Tiger tanks but sometimes ingenuity can overcome seemingly impossible odds. Often Five Troop are literally in the ‘fog of war’ as smoke bombs confuse not just the enemy but their own side. Unfortunately, not all of Five Troop will come out of these encounters unscathed. Besides physical wounds, there are psychological ones as well. An episode I found particularly chilling is when, bivouaced for the night, Foley overhears tank crew members talking in their sleep, reliving episodes from the battle they’ve just fought.
Foley comes across as a dedicated, level-headed and steadfast leader of his troop, prepared to muck in where required and aware of his responsibility for keeping up morale (sometimes at the expense of his own dignity). I really enjoyed seeing the camaraderie between the members of the troop, each with their nickname.
The story is peppered with army slang. For example, we learn that a ‘brew up’ is something more deadly than stopping to make a pot of tea (although a more heartwarming occasion involving tea occurs when Five Troop reach Eindhoven).
At the end of the book Foley muses to a comrade, ‘I was just thinking… Do you think anybody would want to read a book about what we’ve done?’ The answer to that is an unequivocal yes.
Mailed Fist is a fictionalised memoir closely based on the author’s own experience as a troop commander from April 1943 until the end of the Second World War. The author gives us a ‘fly on the wall’ insight into what it was like to command a troop of three Churchill tanks, as well as what it was like for the five-man crews who operated them in cramped, dirty and very basic living conditions.
There’s a lot of humour in the book such as Foley and his fellow officers’ attempts to scupper the daily orderly report they’re required to complete, his attempts at doing his own laundry and how the ‘Love Affairs of Trooper Cooper’ lighten the task of censoring his troop’s letters home.
Periods of inactivity are punctuated by hours of intense fighting, attempting to destroy German artillery, support infantry attacks or take up defensive positions in towns vacated by the retreating enemy. When it comes to the serious business of battle, based on firepower alone the Churchill tanks are no match for the German Tiger tanks but sometimes ingenuity can overcome seemingly impossible odds. Often Five Troop are literally in the ‘fog of war’ as smoke bombs confuse not just the enemy but their own side. Unfortunately, not all of Five Troop will come out of these encounters unscathed. Besides physical wounds, there are psychological ones as well. An episode I found particularly chilling is when, bivouaced for the night, Foley overhears tank crew members talking in their sleep, reliving episodes from the battle they’ve just fought.
Foley comes across as a dedicated, level-headed and steadfast leader of his troop, prepared to muck in where required and aware of his responsibility for keeping up morale (sometimes at the expense of his own dignity). I really enjoyed seeing the camaraderie between the members of the troop, each with their nickname.
The story is peppered with army slang. For example, we learn that a ‘brew up’ is something more deadly than stopping to make a pot of tea (although a more heartwarming occasion involving tea occurs when Five Troop reach Eindhoven).
At the end of the book Foley muses to a comrade, ‘I was just thinking… Do you think anybody would want to read a book about what we’ve done?’ The answer to that is an unequivocal yes.
April 25, 2022
A wonderful reprint of a wartime classic originally written in 1968 ‘Mailed Fist’ recounts John Foley’s experiences as a newly commissioned officer in the Royal Armoured Corps- tank division. His anecdotes are based on fact with a healthy dollop of fiction thrown in!
Although some aspects are chilling on the whole this is a really amusing read & written in a very light and easy to read style. I’ve throughly enjoyed it & big thanks @randomthingstours for my arc.
Although some aspects are chilling on the whole this is a really amusing read & written in a very light and easy to read style. I’ve throughly enjoyed it & big thanks @randomthingstours for my arc.
April 6, 2019
Honest account of tank warfare from the British side. Enjoyed the honesty in the shortcomings of allied armour. Excellent description of the life of a tanker, with interesting anecdotes. A book of it's time , which left me wanting more.
October 9, 2022
Another in the Imperial War Museum republications of "classic" war novels as written by participants based on their actual experiences.
Mailed Fist traces the story of a tank troop (3 tanks) of Churchills from their training in the UK to landing after D-Day and then throughout campaigning in France, Holland, and Germany. The narrator is a newly-minted well-educated lieutenant and his crews are from across Britain.
Because these are Churchills, they aren't sent up to do battle with Panzer divisions but instead support infantry actions. As such, the reader gets exposure to little-documented battles around Le Havre and various Dutch towns west of Arnhem.
It is a pleasant read with an earthy feel to it. The best stories are not the combat actions but rather the challenges of driving the tank across icy terrain on slippery roads with narrow bridges. Dialog seems realistic, interactions with fellow commanders and higher-ups seem realistic. They never get leave though are billeted behind the lines for periods of time.
It is a short novel and worth reading to get a feel for the life of the tankers. There are dangerous moments and some casualties occur - but this is not a thriller.
Mailed Fist traces the story of a tank troop (3 tanks) of Churchills from their training in the UK to landing after D-Day and then throughout campaigning in France, Holland, and Germany. The narrator is a newly-minted well-educated lieutenant and his crews are from across Britain.
Because these are Churchills, they aren't sent up to do battle with Panzer divisions but instead support infantry actions. As such, the reader gets exposure to little-documented battles around Le Havre and various Dutch towns west of Arnhem.
It is a pleasant read with an earthy feel to it. The best stories are not the combat actions but rather the challenges of driving the tank across icy terrain on slippery roads with narrow bridges. Dialog seems realistic, interactions with fellow commanders and higher-ups seem realistic. They never get leave though are billeted behind the lines for periods of time.
It is a short novel and worth reading to get a feel for the life of the tankers. There are dangerous moments and some casualties occur - but this is not a thriller.
August 9, 2015
A very interesting book. I still remember details even though I read it nearly forty years ago.
August 2, 2021
There's little better than a British World War Two story, and Mailed Fist, John Foley's memoir of commanding Churchill tanks against the Germans post-D-Day, does not disappoint. The book is told with a natural charm and a more-than-decent turn-of-phrase, and there's plenty of action, even if, by Foley's own admission, "nothing very hair-raising like the Commando-types or the Airborne boys" (pg. 189).
Rather, the delight in the book is that stories like this aren't really told anymore; this is not boy's-own, but it's not sober, anti-war philosophising either. It's a normal bloke's war; a collection of anecdotes – lucky shots, improbable feats, peculiar encounters, and so on – told with the sort of mild eccentricity that fuelled the British war effort. Splendid.
Rather, the delight in the book is that stories like this aren't really told anymore; this is not boy's-own, but it's not sober, anti-war philosophising either. It's a normal bloke's war; a collection of anecdotes – lucky shots, improbable feats, peculiar encounters, and so on – told with the sort of mild eccentricity that fuelled the British war effort. Splendid.
July 16, 2022
A self-effacing memoir of the author's real-life exploits commanding a tank platoon in World War II. Well written, nice balance of detail and pace, and not as lurid as the title or the paperback cover blurb would suggest. Probably a 4-star book, but it gets a 5 from me because it's a childhood treasure.
April 22, 2022
A fictionalised account of the author's time as a Churchill tank commander post D-Day. It is a book of it's time and told in a very colloquial language. It tells how bonds are forged between men who are fighting for a common cause. More on the blog tour.
May 5, 2025
In April 1943, newly commissioned John Foley is posted to command Five Troop and their trusty Churchill tanks called Avenger, Alert, and Angler and so begins his initiation into the Royal Armoured Corps. Covering the trials of training, landing in and battle experience through Normandy, the Netherlands, the Ardennes campaign and into Germany. Foley gives us a candid insight into what it was like to command, as well as what it was like for the five-man crews who operated them in cramped, dirty and very basic living conditions.
Touching and tragic, a very human portrayal of war.
Touching and tragic, a very human portrayal of war.
June 3, 2018
Amazing, broke my heart.
July 28, 2025
This was another excellent reprint from the Imperial War Museum: Wartime Classics series. Like many of these novels, it is semi-auto-biographical, charting John Foley’s experience as a tank commander (Churchills this time rather than Shermans) from Normandy through to the end of the war.
This is a book that drips with authenticity, effectively portraying the boredom and monotony as well as the sudden violence and tragedy of the North West Europe campaign. It also nicely complements Warriors For The Working Day, being less relentlessly grim and more humourously self-effacing and nonchalant. Much like Peter Elstobs' equally memorable novel, Mailed Fist gives a realistic and compelling glimpse into the life of a British tank commander.
"'Five Troop have led a blameless existence, let me tell you. Except on leave, of course, and you don't count that.'
'Well, what have we done, come to that?' said Tony. 'We've only done our job: nothing very hair-raising like the Commando-types or the Airborne boys.'
'No, I said slowly. "That's true. It was just an idea I had that people might be interested in those ungainly, armour-plated worlds down there and the men who served in them.'
Tony shook his head doubtfully.
'I don't think so, John,' he said. 'Not just yet. The British public is about fed up with war and talk of war. Wait until it's history.'
I nodded, and stared at the sunshine winking on the polished muzzle-brake of Avenger's gun, where McGinty was slowly, but quite pointlessly, cleaning it."
This is a book that drips with authenticity, effectively portraying the boredom and monotony as well as the sudden violence and tragedy of the North West Europe campaign. It also nicely complements Warriors For The Working Day, being less relentlessly grim and more humourously self-effacing and nonchalant. Much like Peter Elstobs' equally memorable novel, Mailed Fist gives a realistic and compelling glimpse into the life of a British tank commander.
"'Five Troop have led a blameless existence, let me tell you. Except on leave, of course, and you don't count that.'
'Well, what have we done, come to that?' said Tony. 'We've only done our job: nothing very hair-raising like the Commando-types or the Airborne boys.'
'No, I said slowly. "That's true. It was just an idea I had that people might be interested in those ungainly, armour-plated worlds down there and the men who served in them.'
Tony shook his head doubtfully.
'I don't think so, John,' he said. 'Not just yet. The British public is about fed up with war and talk of war. Wait until it's history.'
I nodded, and stared at the sunshine winking on the polished muzzle-brake of Avenger's gun, where McGinty was slowly, but quite pointlessly, cleaning it."
May 28, 2022
One of the IWM reprints of wartime autobiographical novels. A drill, honest account of Foley’s war before and after D Day commanding a tank troop. Generally wryly humorous, but understatedly serious as it needs to be.
July 28, 2011
I love the understatement, humility and humour of these British war memoirs.
June 26, 2012
Superbly written war tales that took place in the European Theatre during WW2.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews