Behind the Wire Keith Flynn OBE £5.50 (inc postage) from the author c/o The Masonic Hall, 8 Guildford Street, Cardiff, Wales CF1 4HL (cheques payable to Keith Flynn)

At the time of penning this review we have just had the annual remembrance services and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the 1918 Armistice. This book is a timely reminder of why we should continue to remember the sacrifices that were made.
    Keith Flynn has not limited himself to the two world wars but covers POW activities from the 18th century onwards. But it is the activities during World War II, particularly in the Far East, that will attract and astound the reader. Despite the hellish conditions, brethren put themselves in extreme danger by continuing to meet as Freemasons, rehearse ceremonies, and eventually plan for the revival of Freemasonry in the Far East once the war was over. For some of them, their clandestine meetings were what kept them sane and enabled them to survive the horrors of the camps. Discovery would have meant summary execution, but even that threat did not prevent them from preserving the traditions they believed in.
    I believe this book deserves the widest circulation. It is not long and is eminently readable. If the present detractors of Freemasonry were to read this book, it would explain to them what Freemasonry can mean to its members, and how wrong those detractors are in their perceptions of it.
    JM Hamill