LIONS GUARD THE WAY – The second book in the series the Harrington-West War Chronicles, by Bridget Beresford and Richard Waygood. Captain Andrew Harrington-West has been caught up in a gas attack in Flanders. Being advised not to return to the cold winter climate of northern Europe, he is posted to East Africa in 1915. He and some members of his regiment the King’s Own Cavalry enlist in the King’s East African Cavalry. Their main duty, a virtually impossible task, is to mount a guard over the Mombasa to Nairobi railway line – the main artery for Allied supplies running through British East Africa. The Germans, with their army of askaris are past-masters of guerrilla warfare. Their main objective is to ‘tip and run’. In other words to sabotage the track; steal any equipment they can, and hot-foot it back to their own territory, daring the British to follow them. Andrew soon finds out that the Hun are not the only enemy that he has to face. The remoteness and the heat of the African bush take him and his men by surprise. They find themselves in danger of dying of dehydration and attacked by wild animals. Also plagued with spies, traitors, sleeping sickness and malaria East Africa turns out to be a far less healthy place for the soldiers than the cold climate of northern France. Then the arrival of the beautiful Francine, Andrew’s unofficial fiancée, adds to the danger and sparks a reason for black mail. The authors: Major Richard Waygood MBE joined the Household Cavalry as a Trooper at the age of 16. He rose up through the ranks to hold the highly prestigious appointment of Riding Master. Within this role he was responsible for training the soldiers and horses in preparation for ceremonial duties, such as the Queen’s Birthday Parade. Richard evented to International level and rode several horses for Her Majesty the Queen. When he left the army in 2009, he became Chef d’Equipe to the British Dressage Team, taking them to the London Olympics where they won both the Team and Individual Gold medals. He is also the Chef d’Equipe/coach for the 2* British Eventing Squad who won Team Gold at the 2011 European Championships. He is a much sort after trainer holding many clinics in this country as well Germany, Spain, India and the Middle East. He is an ambassador for the Brooke Charity. Bridget Beresford spent several years hunting in the great forests of Northern France, often riding over WWI battlefields. She heard many anecdotes from Great War veterans and their surviving relatives. While there, she was deeply moved by the immense bravery of the men who went out to fight in the war that was called “The war to end all wars”. When she had to return to England she always remembered the tragic and courageous personal stories of those old soldiers and French civilians who described the hell that they had had to live through. Once in England she set up her own yard breaking and schooling horses, also training and riding point-to-pointers and eventers. She suffers with rheumatoid arthritis and can no longer ride, because, she explains, “falling off causes too many problems”. She is now a dressage judge. Bridget’s first book, Bolted, is a murder/mystery. She wrote her second novel Home By Christmas, with Richard Waygood.