About This Book. If you purchase this book of poetry entitled 'Destroy The Minefields'you will contribute directly and specifically to the work that Diana The Princess Of Wales started 25 years ago. Through her charity work she initiated fund-raising schemes to destroy landmines in abandoned minefields, to eliminate their problems and to rehabilitate the 500 unfortunate victims maimed by exploding landmines every week. Through the sale of this book funds will be contributed to, and used directly and specifically, at the hospitals, medical care and rehabilitation centres and at the minefield-clearance sites. There will be no 'middle-organisations'. The book is a collection of 180 new poems which you will find 'readable' and to which you can relate. Many of the poems contained in 196 pages, are historically factual, such as those describing ' Diana The Princess Of Wales', 'The war-time Ghost Of The B17 Bomber Spamcan', 'Drug Addiction', and circumcision of young girls described by the poem 'Removal Of Labia Majora'. The book also includes thought provoking verse in poems which comment on the problems of our environment, our every-day way of life, humanitarian health aspects, and social and physical activities. Oh yes, there is some humour too, the one below may give you a 'taste'. Wind And Moonbeams There's no doubt some become scatty In high winds or 'neath' lunar beams. They make some eccentric, some ratty, And induce the craziest dreams. Moonbeams 'bend ones' normal behaviour, They raise the pulse of the nun, The clergy's thoughts stray from their sermons, And even the 'skin-flints' have fun. Mourners avoid the mouldering mounds, Dogs become uneasy and bark, Tight-fisted bankers behave very strangely, And the nervous stay in after dark. Wild winds of the seasons are a tangible force, They are cleansing and the freedom of spirit enhance. Moonbeams raise love thoughts and deepest romance, But wind and moonbeams together enliven a 'hell of a dance'. The book has been published after being submitted toThe HALO Trust, The International Federation Of Red Cross Society and The Red Crescent Society and The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Trust. Their Charity Numbers are respectively, 1001813, 220949 and 1064238. Abandoned minefields are a global crisis. It has been estimated that 120 million anti-personnel landmines have been laid in the world's war-zones and which now kill or maim on average, over 500 people every week, or 72 people every day, 12 of them being children. Abandoned minefields are in Cambodia, Korea, Vietnam, North-East-Thailand, Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, Mozambique and in the North African deserts, In the last twenty years there have been over 250,000 ordinary people killed in these world-wide abandoned minefields. Mines are still buried and active from the conflict of World War II. These and the mines laid in recent conflicts continue to kill and maim innocent people long after fighting has stopped. Over the past ten years over 600 workers engaged in landmine clearance have been killed or maimed. A great sacrifice, but their actions have saved many thousands of lives. Besides being a personal tragedy for victims and their families, landmines deepen the poverty of a country because they stop meaningful development, burden the health system and restrict access to agricultural land. In some areas, children cannot safely walk to school, or even play outside for fear of their lives. Landmines also present a heavy financial penalty; although only costing some £50 to manufacture one, it costs about £3,000 to remove and destroy it. In our earthly madness the 'warring' nations still lay 3 million new mines in the ground each year.
About the Author: Derek Wyndham Mayes was born in the small village of Laindon in Essex, England and served in The Royal Air Force from 1952 to 1955 in Bomb Disposal and in A.I.S. inspection of explosives. On leaving the RAF he joined the Aeronautical Division of The Marconi Company progressing through the electronic assembly lines, inspection, test, and development departments and thence into Technical Authorship. During this time he gained several technical, electronic and writing qualifications including The Ordinary and Advanced Level Certificates In Technical Authorship which gave him automatic acceptance into the Membership of The Institute Of Technical And Scientific Communicators. Moving into Technical PR he served under Commander Dick Raikes in Marconi Publicity, leaving the company in 1970 where he was Publicity Manager for Marconi-Elliot Computer Systems. He did so to accept the post of Marketing Services Manager for Viatron Computer Systems Ltd., in Boston Massachusetts. In 1972 he was appointed as an Account Director for a leading London Technical PR Company, Richmond Towers, however, in 1974 Derek set up his own company named Press and PR Services, specialising in technical marketing and PR. His experience with Philips and Obsermet led to him specialising in meteorological sensors and satellite systems, which gave him writing projects in France, Holland, Germany, Canada, America and Greece. Derek became a licensed Radio Amateur, Call Sign G3MMA, in 1957 and over 55 years has made many friends in nearly every country in the world. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand, and has been granted a reciprocal Class-A Amateur Radio Operating Licence with the Thailand call sign HS0ZJH. This book of poetry entitled 'Destroy The Minefields' was influenced by the charitable work of "PRINCESS DIANA". To raise money for charity, people engage in a wide variety of activities from Marathon runs to walking The Great Wall Of China. Unable to participate in any of these physically demanding methods but wishing to raise funds to help clear minefields and rehabilitate their victims, Derek has produced this book which contains 190 of his poems. Landmines are a global crisis; there are 120 million antipersonnel landmines laid in the world's war-zones which kill or maim over 26,000 people every year, some 72 people every day, 12 of them being children. Landmines deepen the poverty of a country, they stop meaningful development and burden the health system.