Books
Graham Ogilvy has published books under his own name and has acted as a ghost writer and editor on several titles including a Sunday Times Number One Bestseller.
He says “It is always a pleasure to work with armed forces veterans and to help them tell their stories. We have produced memorable books on World War Two in the Far East and Europe as well as the Falklands War. All of the veterans we have worked with have found it a rewarding experience. They have benefitted from our professional support and the expertise of our skilled researchers and interviewers who transform the daunting task of writing a book into a pleasurable achievement.”
Graham is represented by literary agent Mark Stanton of Jenny Brown Associates.
The Forgotten Highlander: My Incredible
Story of Survival During the War in the Far East
Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders captured by the Japanese in Singapore. He not only survived working on the notorious Bridge on the River Kwai, but he was subsequently taken on one of the Japanese 'hellships' which was torpedoed. Nearly everyone else on board died and Urquhart spent 5 days alone on a raft in the South China Sea before being rescued by a whaling ship. He was taken to Japan and then forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki. Two months later a nuclear bomb dropped just ten miles away . . .
This is the extraordinary story of a young man, conscripted at nineteen and whose father was a Somme Veteran, survived not just one, but three close encounters with death - encounters which killed nearly all his comrades.
Black Watch: Liberating Europe and Catching Himmler - My Extraordinary WWII with the Highland Division
As a 19-year old Black Watch conscript Tom Renouf's war began with some of the most vicious fighting of the conflict - against Himmler's fanatical 'Hitler Youth' SS Division. It ended with the capture of Himmler himself and Tom taking a trophy he still treasures - the Gestapo commander's watch. Seriously wounded and later decorated with a Military Medal for gallantry, Tom Renouf witnessed the death and maiming of countless of his teenage comrades and saw the survivors transformed into grizzled veterans. Tom Renouf draws on his own personal experiences - as well as his unique archive of interviews with veterans amassed over twenty years as secretary of the 51st Highland Division Veterans' Association - to paint a vivid picture of the Battle of Normandy, the liberation of Holland, the Battle of the Bulge and many more memorable WW2 events.
‘A remarkable wartime story.’
Financial Times
"A powerful and moving personal record of the truth and horror of war."
Scotsman
Storming The Falklands: My War and After
In the late 1970s, wild, eager young Scotsman Tony Banks joined one of the toughest outfits in the British army. The men of the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment were highly trained but nothing could prepare them for the intensity and ferocity of fighting to liberate the Falkland Islands.
Banks and his comrades were plunged into a war of night attacks and vicious close-quarters combat. In Storming the Falklands, Tony Banks gives his vivid, harrowing first-hand account of the bloodiest conflict British troops had faced in years. After the Falklands, Banks suffered years of debilitating combat stress, a battle only recently won when he met his former enemies and laid the demons to rest.
“I was very pleased to work with Graham Ogilvy and his team to produce my book ‘Storming the Falklands’. My memory was painlessly and skilfully downloaded in a series of interviews. I was impressed by the research and fact-checking undertaken by Graham and his team. I was carefully consulted at every stage.”
Tony Banks,' Secret Millionaire' and leading entrepreneur.
"A gripping account told most starkly and emotionally."
Sir John Nott in the Daily Telegraph
"fast-paced and highly recommended"
Military History Review
Tomorrow You Die: The Astonishing Survival
Story of a Second World War Prisoner of the Japanese
Andy Coogan was born in Glasgow in 1917, the oldest child of poor Irish immigrants. He was tipped for Olympic glory, but a promising running career was interrupted by war service. His capture during the fall of Singapore marked the beginning of a three-and-a-half-year nightmare of starvation, torture and disease.
Andy was imprisoned in the notorious Changi camp before being transported to Taiwan, where he worked as a slave in a copper mine and was twice ordered to dig his own grave. He was later taken to Japan on a hell-ship voyage that nearly killed him, but Andy's athleticism and spirit enabled him to survive an ordeal in which many died.
From his poverty-stricken boyhood in the slums of the Gorbals to the atomic wasteland of Nagasaki, Andy's life story is vividly recounted in Tomorrow You Die, an epic, compassionate tale that will shock, enthral and inspire.
Daily Record Non-fiction Book of the Year.
"Shocking. Heartbreaking. Inspiring. An outstanding memoir." Daily Record
"The PoW memoir to top them all."
Scotland on Sunday
"An inspiration to us all."
Scottish Field
The River Tay and Its People
From its source as a burn in the mountains of Argyllshire to its mighty estuary on the North Sea, the River Tay wends its way through some of Scotland's finest scenery. By the time it reaches the coast, 117 miles after leaving Loch Tay, it has become Britain's greatest river, discharging a larger volume of water than the Thames and Severn basins combined. This book looks at the river through the eyes of those who live and work along its banks. As it flows through Highland Perthshire and cuts through fertile straths and valleys on its way, a memorable picture of Scotland in microcosm emerges. The lifestyle of the fishing ghillies and salmon netters is a far cry from that of the welders in Dundee's oil-rig fabrication yards, so following the river's course offers a unique and fascinating view of a much-loved countryside.
A Scottish bestseller.
"A well-crafted book, written with the eye of a seasoned journalist."
Scottish Field
"An entertaining and insightful celebration of Scotland's fourth city"
Scottish Field
Dundee: A Voyage of Discovery
More than a dozen writers have contributed to this journey into the past, present and future of the city of Dundee, seeking to capture the pioneering spirit of its inhabitants. In every sphere, including science, medicine, industry, art, commerce, sport, music, politics and social reform, Dundee has played a role.
Among the figures uncovered in the work are Preston Watson, the Scottish aviation pioneer; Thomas Maclagan, the Dundee doctor who discovered aspirin; James Chalmers, the inventor of the adhesive postage stamp; and James Bowman Lindsay, the pioneer of electric light. But between the stories of cutting-edge medicine and avant-garde art, the authors have not forgotten enlightening and humorous stories about the city's maverick characters and irreverent aspects of Dundee life, both past and present.
The Herald's Tom Shields goes in search of his Dundee roots; journalist Tom Peterkin provides an account of Dundee's love-hate relationship with the demon; and writer Norman Watson captures the spirit of that legendary breed, the women of Dundee.
A Scottish bestseller.
Hillcrest Housing Association:
The First Forty Years
A comprehensive history of one of Scotland's most pioneering housing associations. Well researched and relying on many personal interviews with those who built Hillcrest into one of the country's most important and admired social landlords.
"An impressive history not just of Hillcrest but of post-war housing in Dundee"
Scottish Housing News
Scottish Legal Annual Review 2014
Scottish Legal Annual Review is the annual publication of Scottish Legal News and enjoys a 7,000 circulation among Scotland's lawyers.
It contains articles by leading lawyers, advocates, QC's and politicians.
"SLN's Annual Review is packed with in-depth articles that make it an important reference work."
Scottish Legal News
Scottish Legal Annual Review 2015
Scottish Legal Annual Review is the annual publication of Scottish Legal News and enjoys a 7,000 circulation among Scotland's lawyers.
It contains articles by leading lawyers, advocates, QC's and politicians.
"SLN's Annual Review is packed with in-depth articles that make it an important reference work."
Scottish Legal News