The Palestine Police Force Close Quarter Battle: Revolvers, Automatics, and Sub-Machine Guns

Compared to those of his contemporaries W.E. Fairbairn and E.A. Sykes, Leonard Hector Grant-Taylor's impressive achievements in the development of close-quarters battle (CQB) skills have gone mostly undocumented. The Palestine Police Force Close Quarter Battle, more commonly known as The Palestine Police Force Manual, is a compilation of lessons taught by Grant-Taylor at the Middle East School of Small Arms in the early 1940s to members of the Palestine Police Force and other units in the Middle East. Only a small number of copies were ever created for internal use, and just a handful have survived.

Working closely with Phil Mathews, an English researcher of World War II combative techniques, Paladin Press brings this rare manual into print once again. It is a gold mine of realistic CQB instruction from SOE veteran Grant-Taylor, including his techniques for controlling fear, reacting properly to surprise and other aspects of developing a survival mind-set; lessons in unsighted "point shooting" that both predate and were later influenced by Fairbairn and Sykes; firing a pistol with either hand or with both hands to effectively double one's firepower; and a host of other physical and mental skills to maximize one's chances of coming out alive in an armed encounter. In an exclusive foreword for this reprint edition, Mathews discusses Grant-Taylor's legacy in the history of CQB instruction and explores his relationship with Fairbairn and Sykes. A fascinating addition to Paladin's historic library.