JOHN R. CAMMIDGE, AN AUTHOR BLENDING MODERN HISTORY, REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES, RESEARCH, IMAGINATION, AND SPECULATION TO CREATE INSPIRING STORIES OF INDIVIDUAL COURAGE, PERSEVERANCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT.
MESSAGE ON BEHALF OF THE AUTHOR
Thank you for visiting this author’s website. John R. Cammidge is a former Human Resources executive and life-long birdwatcher who retired several years ago after a career in Ford of Britain, Bank of America, Stanford University and the University of California. He resides in Marin County, north of San Francisco, and began writing when he retired. He was born in York, England and relocated during 1979 to San Francisco, becoming a United States citizen in the mid-1990s.
So far, there are Three Published Novels, and a Fourth will be published on October 1, 2025:
- Unplanned: the original edition was published March 2014, shortly after the author discovered that he was the product of an unwelcome sexual assault during World War II. The fictionalized novel is now republished under the title Unplanned.
- Abandoned in Berlin: is a true story set in Berlin and describes Germany’s attitude towards a Jewish family before, during and after World War II. In June 2016, a second generation survivor visits her maternal ancestors’ former block of apartments in Berlin and wants to know why it was seized by the Nazis and never returned by the West German authorities. She learns that her mother, aged 15, was forcibly placed under the “protection” of a Nazi Guardianship Court in late 1933, and that these circumstances led to the seizure of the property
- She Wore a Yellow Dress: An awkward coming-of-age story of two very different personalities, set in Britain, and inspired by the author’s own upbringing. It includes his difficult childhood and the many unexpected challenges that he, his spouse and the British public faced during the transformational years in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s. Each chapter ends with an illustration and description of a bird species that reflects the theme of bird watching that runs throughout the book, and mirrors the characters’ development at each stage of the story.
A fourth novel titled 1914 to 1918: A Time to Remember will be published on October 1, 2025, in time for receipt by Veterans/Remembrance Day, and is available for preorder from mid-July 2025
This fictionalised biography is based on the life of the author’s grandfather before and during World War 1. It begins with Osmond, a horse transport driver in the British Army, being evacuated from France in January 1917 due to leg injuries. He is 21 and has served 16 months on the Western Front, delivering horse-drawn supplies to soldiers on the front lines.
He is the son of a farmer raised on the western edge of the Yorkshire Wolds in northern England. We learn about his early beginnings, his first girlfriend, and his interest in horses. He is taught horse management by the farm’s wagoner, Walter, who belongs to an East Riding association known as the Wolds Wagoners’ Special Reserve. Osmond does not join this association but attests in May 1915 to join the Army after the German Navy shells the nearby seaside resort of Scarborough and after the sinking of the Lusitania. The British Army assigns him to a Regiment as a horse driver. He is stationed behind the lines but close enough to be aware of what is happening in the trenches.
After recovering in an English hospital in early 1917, he returns to the Western Front at the same time as the United States joined the war. He goes back as a member of the Royal Field Artillery, responsible for pulling guns along the front as the Germans attack, and then as the Allies pursue the enemy east across the French countryside.
During his time in France, we watch him grapple with more than just combat: there are personal adventures, interactions with French citizens, observations of the war, friends court-martialed or lost, the Spanish flu and the fate of his colleagues during combat. The last two chapters focus on his demobilization and return to an English dispersal station, as well as his efforts to achieve his ambitions of owning a farm and finding a wife. A subtle love story unfolds throughout the narrative as we watch Osmond navigate the weight of war without harbouring malice in his heart.
As an additional benefit, readers may gain a deeper understanding of World War I and its historical context, with the novel including helpful maps and a glossary to enhance their knowledge.
This site now includes a Bird Blog to continue the author’s interest in ornithology.
