The Books of Dan Raschen

I first came across a reference to Wrong Again Dan! in a book about heroic failures, a term which does not apply to Dan Raschen. Dan was certainly not a failure, and I doubt very much whether he would have called himself a hero. His four books of autobiography were written with a self-effacing modest humour which is quinticentually British; they are an absolute delight. In 1993 I exchanged letters with Dan on the subject of billitonite (see page 118 of Wrong Again Dan!) and found him to be charming.

I believe Dan's books deserve a wider readership, and these Web pages are intended to help achieve this. Used copies of his books are available through Bookfinder.com and elsewhere.

A Potted Biography of the Author

Born in 1925, Dan Raschen was in the British Army for thirty-three years and retired with the rank of Colonel. After Wellington College and Peterhouse, Cambridge his service in the Royal Engineers took him, at the end of World War II, first to a new campaign in the East Indies then back to India for the country's partition from Pakistan (Wrong Again Dan!).

After completing his degree at Cambridge, Dan volunteered for the Korean War, where the pheasant shooting was of high repute. Because the pheasants lived in or near minefields, which were Dan's particular concern, he managed to combine pleasure with eighteen months of war (Send Port & Pyjamas!).

Back in England efforts were made to train Dan in military technology, and his subsequent soldiering was unusually varied in scope. After a spell in a weapons design team, he went to the Central Pacific to command an independent unit and to advise on coral blasting (Don't Step on a Stonefish!).

Home again, Dan was an ammunition instructor before returning to Cambridge to command the University Officers Training Corps. His second command was of a Royal Engineers regiment in Germany. Then he and his wife, Judy, were delighted to spend three years in Sweden with Dan being the British Military Attaché (Diplomatic Dan).

Back in England Dan was Project Manager for Infantry Weapons, and then a Colonel at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. After retiring in 1979, he continued to work at the College as a scientific civil servant for a further twelve years. While there he invented "Raschen Bags", an indestructible cushion for use under mortars.

Daniel Godwin Raschen OBE. Colonel (Retired) Royal Engineers, died on 10th January 2017 aged 91 years.

The Books of Dan Raschen

A Potted Biography of the Author

Wrong Again Dan!

Karachi to Krakatoa

Send Port & Pyjamas!

Don't Step on a Stonefish!

Diplomatic Dan

A Military Attaché in Sweden

Links