''Quartered Safe Out Here: A Recollection of the War in Burma'' is a military memoir of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by George MacDonald Fraser, the author of '' The Flashman Papers'' series of novels. ''Quartered Safe Out Here'' was first published in 1993. It describes in graphic and memorable detail Fraser's experiences as a 19-year-old

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in The Border Regiment, fighting with the British

14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to: * 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army * 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army * Italian Fourteenth Army * Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...

against the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

, during the latter stages of the Burma Campaign in late 1944 and 1945. This included his participation in the

Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay The concurrent Battle of Meiktila and Battle of Mandalay were decisive engagements near the end of the Burma campaign during World War II. Collectively, they are sometimes referred to as the Battle of Central Burma. Despite logistical difficulti ...

and the

Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations The Battle of Pakokku and Irrawaddy River operations were a series of battles fought between the British Indian Army and the Imperial Japanese Army and allied forces over the successful Allied Burma campaign on the China Burma India Theater du ...

. The military historian Sir John Keegan wrote: "There is no doubt that it is one of the great personal memoirs of the Second World War." Keegan gives similar praise to Norman Lewis'

Naples '44 ''Naples '44: An Intelligence Officer in the Italian Labyrinth'' is a military memoir of the Second World War written by the British travel writer and novelist Norman Lewis that was first published in 1978. The book is in the form of a diary that ...

memoir, later produced as a movie. Fraser's book has also been praised by the English author

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...

and the American playwright David Mamet. The book's title is a quotation from

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's 1890 poem "

Gunga Din "Gunga Din" () is an 1890 poem by Rudyard Kipling set in British India. The poem is much remembered for its final line: "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din". Background The poem is a rhyming narrative from the point of view of a Briti ...

", and is ironic since Fraser certainly was not "quartered safe out here", while serving in Burma during one of the final campaigns of the war.

References

Military memoirs World War II memoirs Works by George MacDonald Fraser {{WWII-memoir-stub