German Schoolboy, British Commando

"After his father's death in 1937 at the hands of the Gestapo, Claus Ascher, a German Jew, managed to flee to Britain where he subsequently joined the British Army and changed his name to Colin Anson. During the Second World War Anson was one of around a hundred German refugees to be trained in the British Commando unit known as 3 Troop or X-Troop. Attached to the Royal Marine Commandos, Colin took part in the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943 where his ship received a direct hit from a German plane. Surviving a life-threatening head wound when shrapnel penetrated his skull, he underwent brain surgery in a field ambulance. After nine months of recuperation and further brain operations, Colin was determined to fight again. He returned to his Commando unit to fight in the Yugoslav islands in protection of Tito and the partisans, becoming the first Allied soldier to liberate Corfu."--Back cover