Wars Apart: WWII letters of love and anguish – from Cairo to Christchurch

Wars Apart is the cross-forces' World War II love story of Norman and Gwen Samson, as told in a cache of letters made public after 75 years hidden from view. Serving in the Middle East, both had distinguished service records, she with the South African Army, he with the British. Though also British, Gwen enlisted while working in Africa, quickly rising to become personal assistant to the two most senior members of the South African forces, Field Marshal and prime minister Jan Christiaan Smuts and General Francois Henry Theron; Norman was a senior figure in Britain's organisation of troops and transport. Though rarely able to be together, they gained permission to marry in Cairo. Towards war's end, a pregnant Gwen was repatriated to her father's home in Scotland. But when Norman was finally able to follow, the reunion was short-lived. Apparently suffering from post-traumatic stress, a suicide attempt saw him voluntarily committed to an asylum. Apart again. As the letters kept coming, however, each one was indicative of a deep and enduring love. In 1947, the now family of three emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand, where there were more twists to the story. The book is told mostly through the couple's many surviving letters, interspersed with meticulously researched historical context and human stories. It also includes a wide range of historical photos, most from the Samson family collection and not previously published.