A Soldier's Life

A Soldier’s Life tells the story of an ordinary man’s progress through extraordinary events over the period of a century. Charlie ‘Pop’ Knill told his story to his son-in-law Lou Geraets as he approached his hundredth birthday. From his birth in the early 1900s, through the struggle for survival in the Great Depression, the battles of World War II, and the myriad of social and economic changes along the way, Pop Knill’s story is a unique take on life across 10 decades. His singular approach to life includes a soldier’s questions about some of the great battles of the war, New Zealand troops in Greece and Crete and the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa, pitching Generals Freyberg and Montgomery against Field Marshall Rommel and the Afrika Corp. Extracts are provided from a special ‘Events Book’ which includes the poems and writings of Pop and fellow soldiers throughout their ordeal. This really is a soldier’s perspective on not only the war, but also on life, love and family.