author
Maurice Andrew Brackenreed Johnston
b. 1892
Best known for a vivid First World War escape memoir, this British soldier turned lived experience into a fast-moving story of captivity, endurance, and nerve. His writing offers a direct window into a dramatic journey across the Ottoman Empire during wartime.
1 Audiobook
Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom
by Maurice Andrew Brackenreed Johnston, Kenneth Darlaston Yearsley
About the author
Born on November 30, 1892, Maurice Andrew Brackenreed Johnston was a British soldier and author. He is chiefly remembered for Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom, a memoir published in 1919 and written with fellow officer Kenneth Darlaston Yearsley.
The book recounts the escape of British prisoners of war from Turkish captivity during the First World War. Its appeal lies in its immediacy: Johnston was not writing from a distance, but from personal experience, giving the narrative the pace of an adventure story and the weight of lived history.
For audiobook listeners, Johnston's work stands out as both a wartime document and a gripping tale of survival. He died on August 15, 1979, but his best-known book still offers an unusually personal view of courage, hardship, and determination under pressure.