The Trust has been donated a few copies of Major General John Graham’s book, first published in 1999 in a limited run of a few hundred copies.
Born in 1923 he served first in the Isle of Wight Home Guard then as a Private in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders before being commissioned in 1942. Wounded and later Mentioned in Despatches during the crossing of The Rhine he served in Palestine immediately after the war. In 1962, after being told he would not command The Argyll’s, he transferred to the Parachute Regiment and commanded 1 Para 1964-67.
In 1970, Graham was selected to become the Commander of the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces. He was instrumental in persuading the despotic Sultan Said bin Taimur to accept the coup and hand over to his son, the Sandhurst-educated Qaboos. This set Oman on a path of modernisation and growth.
After working with Allied Forces in Central Europe he was promoted Major General and retired in 1978 as GOC Wales. Major General John Graham
CB CBE died in Barbados in December 2022.
The book is a beautifully produced hardback of over 500 pages packed with both memories and observations gained during a long and distinguished career. His account of working in AFCENT is fascinating, especially the tensions between the French and Germans and working with General Hans Spiedel, one of the few survivors of the 20th July 1944 plot to kill Hitler. As a subaltern we had a Regimental second-in-command who had served in The Oman and had a rack of what us youngsters disparagingly referred to as ‘jingly’ medals. I
was therefore rather humbled to read an account of how he won one of them, in an action that would have merited at least a Military Cross had he been commanding British soldiers.
Overall, this is an excellent book and a cracking read. By purchasing it from our online shop you are supporting The Sandhurst Trust and the wishes of General Graham’s widow, who kindly donated them to us.