Where Have All the Bullets Gone?
| Author | Spike Milligan |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Autobiography, Comic novel, Satire |
| Publisher | M & J Hobbs and Michael Joseph Ltd (hardback), Penguin Books (paperback) |
Publication date | 1985 |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 283 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-7181-2430-8 Search this book on  . (hardback), 0-14-008892-X (paperback) |
| OCLC | 54243991 |
| 940.54/81/41 | |
| LC Class | D745.2 .M519 1985 |
| Preceded by | Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall |
| Followed by | Goodbye Soldier |
Spike Milligan completed the draft of his fifth volume of war memoirs, Where Have All the Bullets Gone?, in late 1984[1]. The hardcover edition launched in September 1985, with the paperback edition following in 1986.
The book spans the period between Spike's physical and mental combat injuries in January 1944 through his release from active duty and the start of his civilian service in The Combined Services Entertainment (CSE, now called BFBS Live Events) in June 1946. While he describes his condition as "bomb-happy" and melancholy, it is clear that he is suffering from what is currently called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). During this time he passes through a series of psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation facilities, make-work clerking and finally entertainment jobs.
Always sensitive to the criticisms of his previous memoirs, in the Preface he states that he decided to use fictitious names in this volume and re-emphasized that the book is intended to be humorous. As he states in his Foreword, "It was all to lead to my making the world of entertainment my profession, but when you think that you have to have a world war to find the right job, it makes you think."[2]
Summary
In February 1944, Spike is downgraded to "B2" by a medical board, which he says means "considered loony and unfit to be killed by either side."
In March 1944, Spike experiences the eruption of Mount Vesuvius while stationed in the nearby village of Torre del Greco.
Spike is then posted for duty as a wine steward at an officers club in Portici, and then as a clerk, bartender, and trumpet player at the O2E officers club and in their band in [3]. He wins an art contest and is assigned to paint murals at the officers mess and the new Aquarium Club. The O2E Concert Band travels to Rome for two performances in November 1944. They then return to the Naples area and are there through the official ends of the war (V-E and V-J Day) in May and August 1945.
Spike travels home to the UK on LIAP (Leave in Addition to PYTHON) in October. He visits his family and old girlfriends.
Spike returns to Naples, Italy in November 1945 and is posted to the Central Pool of Artists (CPA). Soon after, Bill Hall, Johnny Mulgrew and Spike form the Bill Hall Trio. It becomes a hit and tours for performances in Rome, Bologna, Florence, Naples, and Bari. They return to Naples, where Spike and friends make tourist trips to the islands of Capri and Ischia in the Bay of Naples.
In June 1946, the members of the Bill Hall Trio (and others) are offered Local Release from the Army and employment as Artists with the Combined Services Entertainment Directorate of Army Welfare Services at 10 pounds per week plus accommodations and rations. They immediately start preparing a new "Barbary Coast" show. It opens to rave reviews in Naples, and they are informed that their next tour will include Venice and Vienna. But that story is left for the sixth volume of his memoirs, Goodbye Soldier.
Critical reception
The Sunday Times reviewer wrote, "Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar". The Daily Mail reviewer wrote, "Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics, throwaway lines, and marvelous anecdotes".
References
Where Have All the Bullets Gone?
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