Perhaps the last survivor of the infamous Long March of 1945 at last tells his story. Nothing prepares a man for war and Private Charles Waite, of the Queen's Royal Regiment, was ill prepared when his convoy took a wrong turning near Abbeville and met 400 German soldiers and half a dozen tanks. 'The day I was captured, I had a rifle but no ammunition.' He lost his freedom that day in May 1940 and didn't regain it until April 1945 when he was rescued by Americans near Berlin, having walked 1,600km from East Prussia. Charles writes about his five lost years: the terrible things he saw and suffered. His story is also about friendship, of physical and mental resilience, and of compassion. This includes the terrible Long March, when 80,000 British POWs were forced to trek miles through a vicious winter. Thousands died. There are no memoirs of that terrible trek – except this AUTHOR: Charles Waite (now sadly deceased) tells his harrowing story with the help of author, journalist – and friend – Dee La Vardera. She is the author of several books and many articles for publications such as The Guardian and The Lady. She has painstakingly recorded and authenticated Charles' experiences. SELLING POINTS: . The only book by a survivor of that terrible march – and so much more . A first-hand account of five years as a POW, not from an officer, as is almost always the case, but from a private . An important historical record, including unseen images and documents 52 b/w illustrations