Berks writer’s hit book on war hero uncles
Added: (Sat Feb 05 2022)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
The nephew of Britain’s Bravest Brothers has finally provided the platform for the woman that their remarkable story forgot.
Retired Royal Military Academy Sandhurst lecturer Michael Seagrim was inspired to put pen to paper following a front-page story in the Mail on Sunday about his uncles.
While factually correct, the war time bravery of Derek and Hugh Seagrim was only part of a much larger story.
Michael has righted the wrong with the release of his fascinating insight into their mother, Amabel, as well as their other three brothers.
Since its recent publication, Unique Medals from the King has reached the top ten in Amazon’s historical chart.
Michael said: “In 2019 Lord Ashcroft wrote a story in the Mail on Sunday about my two famous uncles who were awarded the Victoria Cross and George Cross.
“Their photographic staff chopped in half the photo I’d given to the Imperial War Museum, and they published the half showing the future VC and GC winners, as little boys, on the front page of the paper.
“The story was called Britain’s Bravest Brothers.
“Likewise, Lord Ashcroft’s story ignored half of the family and underplayed the importance of my grandmother.”
Lieutenant Colonel Derek Seagrim was awarded the Victoria Cross for his selfless leadership in 1943 during a battle with the Germans in southern Tunisia.
But just days after his heroics he was fatally wounded, with the medal being awarded posthumously.
The following year Major Hugh Seagrim had led a number of successful guerrilla style ambushes against the Japanese in the dense forests of Burma.
But as the enemy soldiers began torturing and killing innocent villagers, he gave himself up to stop the vicious reprisals.
He was executed in a POW camp a few months later.
Derek and Hugh remain the only brothers to have ever been, separately, honoured with their country’s foremost gallantry awards.
While Unique Medals from the King masterfully retells the story of both Derek and Hugh, it also follows the fortunes of the other three Seagrim brothers, including Michael’s father, Jack.
And at the heart of the gripping narrative is their highly influential and dependable mother.
Michael, from Berkshire, added: “Unique Medals from the King focuses on the suffering of the mother of five young sons, who became army officers.
“Her sense of fortitude/pluck and service is passed onto the next generation.
“She becomes the only person to collect the VC and the GC from King George 6th at Buckingham Palace and then wear them on her right chest during a Remembrance Day Parade in Eastbourne in November 1948.”
Lord Ashdown, who wrote the original article for the Mail of Sunday, provides the foreword for Unique Medals from the King.
For more information visit Amazon and search for Michael Seagrim, where the Kindle and paperback versions of Unique Medals from the King are available.
Notes to the Editor
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