By the tale of the Dragonfly

Original artwork by B Petrescu, Madre Terra Art 

Based on five diary journals, the accounts in this work is a true-life genre of Rex, an itinerant soldier of fortune during the second millennia of the twentieth century. When the second world war broke out, Rex left his job as a Police Special Constable in Bilston, England to enlist with the Corp of Royal Engineers. On June 4th, 1944, Rex was sent as advance party to the beachhead at Arromanches on the Normandy coastline as part of the greatest naval invasion in history, Operation Overlord or D Day. Rex spent a hard year fighting against the Nazis well entrenched in Northern Europe. He was then relocated to India to help fight against the Japanese Imperial forces. When the war against Japan ended abruptly with the two atomic bomb explosions, our protagonist decided to opt for a life of high adventure after purchasing two former Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boats. He then became the skipper of his own destiny making a living as a mercenary on the high seas in the South Pacific. This is his story.

  AuthorHouse:  https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/794734-by-the-tale-of-the-dragonfly                                                                                      Amazon:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tale-Dragonfly-Vincent-Hancock/dp/1728390591                                                                                                                       Waterstones:  https://www.waterstones.com/book/by-the-tale-of-the-dragonfly/vincent-hancock/9781728390581                                                                                  Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/by-the-tale-of-the-dragonfly-vincent-hancock/1129071988 

Why I started to write again after a long pause.

About 5 years ago, I decided to have a clear out if my attic. To my surprise, I found an old black box containing five journals that my late father had written which I had put away shortly after his death and forgotten about. This had been up there for at least thirty years. I brought the journals to my study room and started reading them. The journals spoke of daring, risk, high adventure and even rescue missions I was unaware of. I strongly felt back than, and I still do today that here is a true story which needs to be told before it is lost for all time. If you have this book, welcome to my world. Initially it took about eighteen months to collate the four journals (there are five journals in total) I used in book one into a readable format which flowed and made sense. I would like very much to thank my artist from the Netherlands B Petrescu for her lovely painting of the book cover and encouragement which has help bring to life my late father's story.

Picture: The Crew of the Wilful Lady on the island paradise of Tahiti 1947. From left to right: Idris (Bugis warrior), Rex (skipper) Sulaiman and Zainal (coxwain) at Tahiti. The Wilful Lady was a former American PT Boat that Rex my father purchased from the Royal Navy. American PT boats sold to the Royal Navy were designated in the pacific region as PT Motor Torpedo Boats. 

When I was young, I looked at people and saw that I had a decision to make. I could run with the pack or go it alone. I decided that I would be in advance of the others and throw myself into the winds of fortune. A lifetime of mediocrity or one day the hero. It is always up to you. Rex 1947.