`Survival` Edited By Len Calcutt

[Tengu]

Got hold of a copy.

Not sure what to make of it.

Anyone know this book?

[Claudiasboris]

I think I've got it. Is it articles from the old Combat & Survival mag in the '80s?

I seem to recall it's okay but I can't shake a feeling of military survival in there (not always such a bad thing). I got it late '80s/90s so can't remember too well.

I'll have a look when I next venture to the study.

What do you think Tengu?

Claudiasboris

[Tengu]

It seems to be millitary stuff for a civvy audience.

Thats the impression I get

[RAPPLEBY2000]

the front half of the book is very much aimed at soldiers ie how to organise Webbing, NBC training , prisoner of war escape etc
even so
the Camouflage sections are usefull to hunters/nature photographers.
The kit sections are useful for people trying to figure out what they need(if you ignore the weapons/ammunition )
And I've looked at the Escape and evasion kit section umpteen times as the SAS belt order It's pretty much a "survival kit"


but the last half of the book from chapter 5, THE ART OF SURVIVING onwards is more useful and varied, subjects covered include (in order):

shelter for survival (Man made (tarp/poncho) and natrual shelter).
Combating the climate (how to deal with cold weather, frostbite awareness etc).
travel in the arctic(useful for arctic bushcraft courses! including making snow shoes from natrual materials)
Jungle travel (aimed at soldiers but still useful info on medicine and kit you might need).
Making fire pt 1 (Includes basics various Matches lighters etc plus Friction firelighting with bow, saw, and thong!)
Making fire pt 2 (More advanced ideas like the Maori oven)
Beware the Unseen enemy (general health/parasites)
The Inner soldier(how to use army rations, mess tins etc (the tinned rations featured are long outdated ))
The search for water(various Bushcrafty was of finding water including Indian well which Ray mears did on "Tracks")
Purifying water(this includes making cherry bark containers,bowl burning and boiling wather in a fox skin with hot stones!!)
Flint tools for survival (how to flint knapp! with decent pictures!very bushcraft!)
Alternatives to stone(using bone antler and shells as tools!)
Hunting with spears (several different designs and how to throw them!)
Choosing your Survival knife (well it was the era that Rambo was about! i do remember buying a M16 bayonet thinking it was a good survival knife! )
Using your survival knife (including cutting, sharpening and butchering a deer!!)
Trapping Animals for food(a few snare designs and how to skin a rabbit!)

all in all if you take the first half of the book with a "pinch of cold war flavoured salt" It's still a very useful book! I've had a copy since it was on sale in W.H.Smiths for £9.99!
there are a few "survival experts" shown in the latter parts of the book, one of the names that comes up in the "picture credits" is a company (or perhaps group?)"Freefoot" though i can't find anything on the net about them.

It's worth another look!

[Peter_t]

iv got it too, good book imo. as RAPPLEBY2000 said theres alot about army kit but there is some good bushcrafty bits. also unlike alot of survival books it tells you about real survival situations - when your without your 'survival knife' and other kit, having to resort to useing tools made of flint and bone and boiling water in animal skins with hot rocks. i do like the bit on escape and evasion even thow i hope to never need it

pete

[Broch]

It's interesting but I think all my survival practice has been based on excape and evasion instead of survive and rescue on the basis I usually want to stay out of sight! - I'll have to browse a copy of this book as I used to find some of the articles in C&S quite useful.

[RAPPLEBY2000]

In addition, there's quite alot of "Old school" army stuff which is usefull,

It's Pre PLCE (Personal Load Carrying Equipment)webbing and Bergen! (there are a couple of small mentions of it: "the new PLCE will diminish the need to customise, as it i close to the ideal" (hmm not heard many soldiers saying that!

canvas webbing is mentioned alot and how to fix it and make it comfy etc, exactly what you need when designing belt pouches.

Most of the kit is talked about in a sense of, "you are issued this but, you could use this", which is a useful way of looking at kit. most Outdoors books and especially TV tends to feature certain brands or products some with the Host's even wearing their own product range, as product placement. yup it's true!

Gore-tex is only mentioned in reference to Bivi bags! and even then a downside is mentioned (not being able to get out in time of attack).

so IMO, it's still useful to cadet forces as alot of the kit is the same as they get issued!

it is useful to the Bushcraft beginner by showing "what you can get away with" kit wise!

I love the book and recommend it as a useful ideas, and "Old school" info book!

[John Fenna]

I have a copy of this as well - the 2nd half of the book is well worth reading as it is pleanty bushy!
However...as I recall...the pictures of the Wilky Survival knife were taken after a disasterous review in which the ally threads on th buttcap of the handle had stripped and the knife fallen apart...and was just pushed back together to look good in the photos!
I could be wrong though so do not sue me!

[11b inf]

i also had a copy of that book..i got it in london at a discount book shoop in 93' while on holiday in the U.K. from Germany...it helped me put together my P-58 webbing with the right contents in the pouches and packs..i used and looked at it so much it fell to bits and i threw it out...it also gave me insight to how you Brits do things ....vince g. 11b inf.

[m.durston]

i also brought this book from a discount shop back in the 90's!
rappleby did you notice who the guy was doing the deer prep? i would bet my next months wages that was a very young ray mears.

[Robbo]

My copy is sitting 18" from me at the moment, had it for about 17 -18 years now. And yeah, 2nd half is very informative,

Andy

[sargey]

all in all if you take the first half of the book with a "pinch of cold war flavoured salt" It's still a very useful book! I've had a copy since it was on sale in W.H.Smiths for £9.99!
there are a few "survival experts" shown in the latter parts of the book, one of the names that comes up in the "picture credits" is a company (or perhaps group?)"Freefoot" though i can't find anything on the net about them.

It's worth another look!

very well put

one of my pet hates with people and bushcraft or survival books, is the way people will trash a whole book because of one paragraph or diagram that isn't to their liking. the whole book may not be applicable to all of us, but the good bits in that survival manual are very good indeed.

cheers, and.

[Bumpy]

Hi All
I've had a search on t'interweb to try to find this book with no joy at all
Does anyone have a copy that they are looking to sell?
Just thought I'd ask as it has sparked my interest...
Cheers!

[m.durston]

theres two copies on ebay at the moment,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SURVIVAL-TECHN...QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SURVIVAL_W0QQi...QQcmdZViewItem

[Broch]

Hi All
I've had a search on t'interweb to try to find this book with no joy at all
Does anyone have a copy that they are looking to sell?
Just thought I'd ask as it has sparked my interest...
Cheers!

Amazon have them on new and used for under £3

[Bumpy]

Thank you Broch and mdurston. Following the links and then looking closely at what it brought up has solved my problem! I was searching for author's name (I thought it would be more productive than "survival"), and have spelt it as in the title of this piece - Calcutt, but now realise it is Cacutt, and have found copies everywhere (including ebay and amazon).
Thanks again guys - very helpful

[pwb]

I've just dusted of my old copy and am enjoying rereading it .

i would bet my next months wages that was a very young ray mears.

I do believe your right, it does look very like a young and a lot slimmer RM .
Did he not have some input in the design of the Wilkinson survival knife he's using in the picture.

Pete.

[RAPPLEBY2000]

There are some pieces of evidence I came across in the past that it could be Ray Mears or one of his mates!

to check this out you'll need:

"Survival" (edited by Len Cacutt) and a copy of "The Survival handbook" (by Raymond Mears)

OK bear with me.......

"Survival" (Purifying water) Page 158
note: two front cherry bark containers
"The Survival handbook" Page 150
note: two nut filled cherry bark containers
They look very similar don't they?
they even seem to be the same string,amount and shape of stitching etc.

And 2nd!
"Survival" (Purifying water) Page 159
note: bottom picture small and larger roughly carved bowl
"The Survival handbook" Page 160
small and larger roughly carved bowl

Are they one and the same?
the larger carved bowl even seems to have the same misshapen angle on the left side!

And finally!!!!

this one's unbelievable!
"Survival" (Hunting with Spears) Page 171
note: (bottom left spear) Large flint point Atlati
"The Survival handbook" Page 95

Spear heads made by the author:

note: left hand spear, " a close range spear with broad flint point"

But look carefully at the tip of the wooden shaft both have cut away areas on the left side, the shape of the flints are identical, and look closely at the leather or sinew it is tied identically!!

The items do look slightly different but "The survival Handbook" was printed (1990), 2 years after "survival" (1988) so plenty of time for the sinew to "age" and things to get "dirty".

I Put it to you that Ray Mears once had (or worked for) a company in the early to mid eighties called "FREEFOOT"!

[RAPPLEBY2000]

I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

I was just looking through the "Acknowledgments" section of "the survival Handbook" and as i was the dust cover fell off, i then read something I've never looked at before!

this is on the inside of the dust cover:

"Ray Mears is 26 years old and was first introduced to the skills of woodcraft and woodlore when he was 7 - since which time he has developed them to an extrordinary degree.
Although this is his first book on the subject, he has written many articles for World Magazine, Outdoor Action and Combat and Survival!"

Ok It is him!
and it's him with the deer, and the spear, and up the tree, and probably flint napping!

Ray Mears is 26 years old

that's a while ago!!!

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Just had another quick look through "Survival" and I noticed that 99.9% of all the photo's in the book everyone is wearing Military boots (as you'd expect)
but the suspect photo's that may contain RM all seem to be a chap wearing light blue/grey trainers(not very tactical).
so with the assumption it's him i could assume he's also the guy showing the wilki knife uses as a pair of light blue/grey trainers are seen here too!

also the guy preparing the deer, (this time with a DPM jacket and Lightweights)has his eyes blacked out, but he's also wearing trainers!
something an "of-duty" or "Resting" soldier would do.
you'd wear polished boots for a Magazine/Book photo though wouldn't you!

also his hair is very long for a soldier even back then!
("side burns" should be halfway down the ear!)

It's all falling into place, Damn, i should have been a detective!

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Hi again Guy's, I was PM'd this by someone in the know, he said i could show you:

Hello Rappleby

You are of course right in your observations that Ray Mears is the author of the articles in the book Survival, it wasn’t a company though, just a pseudonym he used.

I thought you might find the following information from my book collection of interest:

the articles in 'survival' are actually a reprint of the 'stone age survival' series of articles he wrote for 'combat and survival' magazine in 1987.

In total he wrote 21 (perhaps more) articles for 'combat and survival' between 1987 - 1988, these were his first published survival articles.

his first article appeared in issue 27 (which is on eBay at the moment, search for 'ray mears') and the last article I know of was in issue 72 (There were only 100 issues total)

The titles of the 'freefoot' articles are as follows:

The search for water
purifying water
flint tools for survival
alternatives to stone
hunting with spears
using your survival knife
choosing your survival knife
working with rope
knots for survival
tracking for survival
Tracking: using the light
Advanced tracking techniques
Tracking: the follow-up
Navigating in hostile terrain
Fishing for food
Navigating by natures signposts
Preserving food in the wild
overwintering
food that doesn’t run away
Preparing plants and fungi for food
Edible and poisonous plants

much of the information Ray provides in these articles is very different to what he teaches now, in these articles he uses and praises to Wilkingson sword survival knife he designed, and teaches techniques which he now discredits, like the 'edibility test'. Some also contain picures of him dressed in full combat clothing and webbing and even carrying firarms.

Its a rare collection, though no where near as rare as the 'Alberta wilderness arts and recreation' magazine from the early 1970's for which Mors Kochanski was an editor, and every issue contains at least one article on Bushcraft written by him, many of which were collected together to form the book Bushcraft a decade later, but that’s another story.

Feel free to publish this information on the forums

yeeeeeeeeeh, I knew it!
Thanks for that Anon I actually have a few of those articles

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Ok here's the Evidence......Ray Mears apearing in Combat and Survival magazine.
(and Survival by Len cacutt)


definitely Ray!


Ray again collecting Tree Ice


Again undoubtably Ray.


I'm not sure about this one being Ray, but it's his section, right colour hair, using spear to fish with etc (hairline is iffy)

What do you reckon?

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Been told by the guy in the know the first two pics are definately Ray the other two aren't.

[Koskela]

Nice to see that the old "Survival" still have some readers. I have my copy alongside with "Combat". They where the first books I bought in outdoor techniques. Brings back good memories of that period (younger, fitter, more time for being "out there").

Nice to read that my old regiment was promoted to special forces in p128 in "Survival"

/Koskela

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Nice to see that the old "Survival" still have some readers. I have my copy alongside with "Combat". They where the first books I bought in outdoor techniques. Brings back good memories of that period (younger, fitter, more time for being "out there").

Nice to read that my old regiment was promoted to special forces in p128 in "Survival"

/Koskela

Yup theres still many years of info to look up for me!

so you were in Swedish Faltjagarna? thats pretty full on!
always wondered about that picture , the soldiers are wearing Snow camo suits but they have massive black sacks on top of their dark coloured rucksacks. which isn't great camo

[Koskela]

The Fältjägarna was indeed a unit specilized in arctic warfare as a light infantry brigade. How ever, as in every unit there was always C2 (command and control) and logistics. If the orgin of the picture is Fältjägarna, it seems that they might have caught one of those troops. The guys have submachineguns and glasses, but the pointman are armed with a G3 assault rifle.This guy seems also be a little fitter then the rest.
The regiment was one of the first to adopt the FNC assault rifle i the mid 80s

Something that is wrong with the picture in the equipment. The rucksacks they have was not in use in common by the light infantry. At Fältjägarna (and other infantry units) those 70 liters (LK70) was only in use by the recon platoon. The rifle platoons and others used a 35 liters rucksack. Since the platoons where usually transported by BV202 or 206, it was very seldom that we carried the rucksacks. When transported into or out of the battle zone the rucksack was loaded onto the bandwagon and the troops was mounted, or depending on enemy situation, skijoring
Therefore was the snowcover for rucksacks not issued to the infantry units, except recon.

My personal opinion of that picture is the soldiers (if they are Fältjägare) are on a non-regular winter training tour. They might be a detachment of specialists who are issued with the recon/ranger rucksack for just this training session. On the top they have the sleepingbags (bodybag as we called them), and due to the size, they not either issued to the infantry. With the lack of handling the equipment, they might be new recruits.

The picture is also taken during the winter, sometimes between december and mars, when the batallion training period is at most intense phase. Special training tour might therefore be a very very rare occasion.

But who knows, it was a nice time, and I enjoyed my service a lot, and got a lot of practice to ski...

http://www.tradera.com/Militar-barsa...n_85236925#pic
LK70 rucksack
Found a nice pic of the organization of the battalions
http://pic.srv5.wapedia.mobi/thumb/b...at=jpg,png,gif

/K

[RAPPLEBY2000]

cheers for that!
"you learn something new every day"!
that's the same Rucksack RM uses I think!