Roman Vladimir Skulski

Roman's Odyssey Roman Vladimir Skulski

These real-life memoirs record the life of a schoolteacher conscripted into the Russian Red Army. Beginning in winter 1941, in the Carpathian mountains, Roman is taken by cattle train deep into the northern Caucasus. He is trained on dodgy Soviet equipment, "billeted" in Cossack peasant huts and marched 500 km to Stalingrad in one of Russia's coldest recorded winters, Roman escapes his work camp's miserable conditions with three companions, a 6" map and a bag of onions. After crossing the Caspian Sea, he volunteers for the RAF. Two years of diary entries describe the train, jeep and ship journeys that carry the volunteers through Iran, Iraq, India and around Africa to Scotland for flight training. Once in England, Roman describes wartime England and Canada as he and the others begin their flying lessons, learn a new language, and date the local girls.