Book honours Glorious Glosters' bravery at Imjin River

A book documenting the bravery that Gloucestershire Regiment soldiers displayed during and after the Battle of Imjin River has been released.

The "Glorious Glosters" suffered heavy casualties and more than 500 of its troops were captured in the 1951 battle during the Korean War.

Nobber's Boy tracks the battle and two years spent in "terrible conditions" in North Korean Prisoner of War camps.

Author Lynne Lambert's uncle David Gardiner was one of those captured.

Alongside his best friend Royston "Roy" Mills and their comrades, they helped stave off an overwhelming force of about 11,000 Chinese soldiers for three days before being completely surrounded.

Despite being defeated, the regiment's actions are seen by many as being key in blunting China's advance on UN forces defending South Korea's capital of Seoul.

After being taken prisoner they endured extreme hardship at the hands of their captors in North Korean camps before being repatriated at the end of hostilities in 1953.

Ms Lambert, who began writing the book 17 years ago, told BBC Points West the episode was "part of her family history but also part of Roy's history, and the history of all of the veterans who were there and the Gloucestershire Regiment".

"I just felt that I had to write it down," she said.

The book's title comes from the nickname Mr Gardiner's father had in Cinderford in Gloucestershire, where he was a "well-known character".

She said: "While he was in his most desperate situation fighting for his life in the prisoner of war camp, this voice would keep coming back to him and it was his father's voice.

"It was Nobber's voice and he would offer him little snippets of advice.

"How to keep himself warm, how to keep himself safe. And how to keep fighting because the conditions in the camp were really hard, really brutal.

"There was disease, they were being beaten by the guards, there was no food, (it was) really quite terrible conditions."

Mr Gardiner died in 2010 so Ms Lambert presented Mr Mills with her book.

The 90-year-old was one of 20 Foresters who volunteered for National Service and fought in the battle.

He said: "I think it's great that somebody took notice of what we went through.

"I've got no regrets because it was all a good bunch of blokes together.

"All of us Foresters volunteered up. If one of us was in trouble, all of us were in trouble."