A 'CLOAK and dagger' war hero hopes sales of a book hailed as one of the best ever written on warfare will help win a different kind of battle in Leominster.

John Campbell, who was twice awarded the Military Cross and was described as 'the most daring of us all' by his commanding officer, is engaged in a new campaign. He is out to save Leominster's precious medieval wall painting.

John, 80, chairman of the Friends of Leominster Priory, is spearheading fundraising and publicity efforts to conserve the fading 'Wheel of Life' painting at the church, as reported in The Hereford Times last month.

The costs of £8,000 will be met with help from many people. John has dreamed up a little money-spinner of his own - book signing.

The last surviving officer of a colourful and extraordinary secret operations unit known as 'Popski's Private Army', John has written the introduction to a new edition of a book on the PPA's exploits.

National press critics lauded the tome by 'Popski', the late Major Vladimir Peniakoff, as 'among the best of war books' and 'a superb story of adventure'.

Cassell has just republished it with John Campbell's newly penned foreword. By arrangement, anyone buying the book locally can get their copy dedicated and signed by John, in return for a donation to the 'Wheel of Life' fund.

John, who lives at Luston, and is a former UK Consul in Naples, never discusses his wartime heroics.

But he is happy for people to read Popski's book which he describes as a fair an accurate account of the phase of operations in which he took part. .

Popski and his men cut their teeth in the North African desert working with the Arabs to expel enemy forces. John Campbell joined the 'PPA' (a special unit of Eighth Army) later, in Italy.

Battle-hardened Popski, in his warts-and-all account, wrote of his poor first opinion of young Captain Campbell from the Argyll & Sutherland regiment, a 'big awkward lad' in tight clothes who had not had a haircut for six months and said 'the wrong things'.

Later, the CO criticises Campbell for his bad habit of losing things - even guns - but credits him for his bravery and skill in 'cloak and dagger operations'.

John, who swiftly rose to lead 'S Patrol' of PPA, led snatch squads to capture troops in enemy outposts. Success often came through surprise without a shot being fired.

The operations included the capture of the German garrison of a tall and impregnable medieval tower at the mouth of the Uniti River near Ravenna, northern Italy. The tower's 10-foot walls withstood shelling but Campbell came up with a daring plan of action based on stealth, Popski records.

A more head-on tactic was employed by S Patrol in late April, 1945, as described by Popski: "John Campbell charged a battery of 88-mm (German) guns while they were firing on our troops outside Padova and captured them intact with 300 prisoners, who he handed over to the partisans.

"He pursued his way to Padova and entered the town where partisans, having risen in force, were disarming the Germans."

l Popski's Private Army by Vladimir Peniakoff with a new foreword by John Campbell CVO CBE MC, is published by Cassell at £6.99 and is available from local book shops.

Information on dedicated copies and donations to the 'Wheel of Life' fund can be obtained from John Campbell on 01568 612446.