Download or read book Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys written by William Pennington and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2003 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Pick up your parrots and monkeys, and fall in facing the boat" was the traditional last order given to British soldiers heading home from India. William Pennington overheard the command when he arrived in India at the age of 17 to serve in the horse artillery. His portrayal of army life extends from the 1930s to the Burma campaign in World War II, where Pennington fought the Japanese as a forward observation officer.