The only son of a North Warwickshire farming family, Arthur Callwood was born just after the end of World War I. He was intended to follow the family tradition of farming on the estate where George Eliot had once lived. At the outbreak of World War II, however, he was called up for active service.

This is the story of his early years, marriage after Dunkirk and day to day army life at home and abroad, until he eventually returned to his destined occupation as a farmer.