author
Kenneth Darlaston Yearsley
b. 1891
A British army officer turned firsthand war memoirist, he is best known for co-authoring Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom, an account of escape, endurance, and nerve under pressure. His life combined military service, captivity, and a talent for turning extreme experience into gripping narrative.
1 Audiobook
Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom
by Maurice Andrew Brackenreed Johnston, Kenneth Darlaston Yearsley
About the author
Born in April 1891, Kenneth Darlaston Yearsley served in the British Army’s Royal Engineers and later rose to the rank of brigadier. Records from military history sources also note that he was decorated with the Military Cross and that he lived until 1965.
As a writer, he is chiefly associated with Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom, a book written with Maurice Andrew Brackenreed Johnston and published in 1919. The work tells the story of escape from captivity during the First World War and stands out for its direct, eyewitness quality.
Yearsley’s writing carries the appeal of lived experience: danger, resilience, and the practical ingenuity of officers trying to survive and get home. For audiobook listeners interested in wartime memoirs, his work offers both historical detail and the momentum of a real adventure.