Robert Baden-Powell - A Biography

Robert Baden-Powell - A Biography written by Lorraine Gibson and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

A conflicted character - militarist and pacifist, macho man and drag artist, elitist and socialist - he was one of the 20th century’s most influential and, latterly, controversial Englishmen, finding fame not once, but twice – and for two very different reasons.

Before donning his trademark shorts, the man known for inventing the Scouts is hailed a hero of the Second Boer War, the first military conflict covered in great detail by the media.

Reports of his unconventional methods of holding a Boer army at bay, despite being woefully outnumbered, at the South African town of Mafeking, make global headlines and when he returns home to England, hordes of adoring fans pack London’s streets, waving flags and declaring him the Hero of Mafeking.

The same ingenuity, reconnaissance skills and spectacular eccentricity that win him this military acclaim become the foundations of his second mission, that of saving Victorian boys from poverty and despair, and himself from having to grow up, by teaching them scouting.

This book examines Baden-Powell’s dual personality, or his ‘two lives’ as he called them, including his difficult childhood with a domineering and unaffectionate mother whom he loved even after she forced him into the army at 19, dashing his dreams of becoming an artist.

It looks at his military career and his love of drama and at why protesters wanted to topple his statue on Poole Quay in the pandemic summer of 2020.

It also considers a recently-discovered telegraph that adds fuel to the speculation over the nature of his relationship with a fellow-soldier that endured for 30 years - until he married a 22-year-old woman in secret when he was 55.

I should point out from the start of this review that I was in Scouting since I was 8, as a youth member and leader and only left a couple of years ago at 45. So you could say I already knew most of what was said in this book and taught bits of the information to the members I led. But I would say Baden Powell was an unusual character but someone who I would say was a decent man, and most of today's thoughts about him are down to modernist revisions of him. You will always get people who will always put their own views and opinions on people, which then distorts the actual person. This book I found to be very detailed, balanced and just a good read, that paints Baden Powell in a remarkably accurate light. I very much enjoyed the ‘war years’ information about the book and after he set up Scouting in 1907, this was quite well known and publicised quite often promoted through Scouting even to this day. A really good read and one of the better biographies I have read of the man.

The Forgotten Giant of Bletchley Park Brigadier John Tiltman

The Forgotten Giant of Bletchley Park Brigadier John Tiltman written by

Harold Liberty and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

In recent years, the work of the Bletchley Park codebreakers has caught the public’s

imagination with books and films. While men such as Alan Turing and Dilly Knox have

been recognised, Brigadier John Tiltman has been hardly mentioned.

This overdue biography reveals that ‘The Brig’, as he was known, played a key role. After distinguished Great War military service, he established himself as a skilled codebreaker between the Wars, monitoring Russian and other unfriendly powers’ messages. During World War Two he was regarded as the most versatile of cryptographers, cracking a range of codes including Japanese ones. He made the first breakthrough against the German High Command Lorenz system and what he found led to the creation of machines including Colossus, the first recognisable computer. His lack of recognition may be down to his apparent lack of association with Enigma but, in truth, he was closely involved at the start.

In addition to his cryptological brilliance, ‘The Brig’ was a gifted communicator and team-builder whose character combined charm, intelligence, determination and common sense. He was key to building a special relationship with our American partners both during and after the war.

Harold Liberty’s biography shines light on a man whose contribution was essential to Britain’s survival and triumphs in the Second World War.

I must admit I have heard of the Enigma machine, Alan Turing, Codebreaking at Bletchley Park and I’ve even visited the museum site, but I have little knowledge of Brigadier John Tiltman. So in a way it has been great to read about this man and his influence on the codebreaking world at Bletchley and his success. John Tiltman it turns out was a man of great experience, especially in the Great War and was able to establish himself as a leading mathematician and codebreaker specialising in European languages like German and Russian. While it seems shameful having not previously heard about him, it was great to read about him and the importance he had on breaking codes and advancing the first computer. This book is an interesting read about a very interesting man.

Air Power Supremo

Air Power Supremo written by William Pyke and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 280

Sir John Slessor was one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished wartime

commanders and incisive military thinkers, and William Pyke’s comprehensive

new biography reveals how he earned this remarkable reputation.

Slessor, a polio victim who always walked with a stick, became a First World War pilot in the Sudan and on the Western Front and a squadron and wing commander in India between the wars. When aerial warfare was still a new concept, he was one of the first to develop practical tactics and strategies in its application. In the Second World War, as the Commander-in-Chief of Coastal Command during the Battle of the Atlantic and the RAF in the Mediterranean during the Italian and Balkan campaigns, he made a remarkable contribution to the success of Allied air power. Then, after the war, as a senior commander, he established himself as one of the foremost experts on strategic bombing and nuclear deterrence. That is why this insightful biography of a great British airman and his achievements is so timely and important as we enter a new era of strategic doubts and deterrence at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

William Pyke follows each stage of Slessor’s brilliant career as a pilot and commander in vivid detail. In particular he concentrates on Slessor’s writings, from his treatise on the application of air power in support of land armies to his thinking on nuclear deterrence and Western strategy.

Well, this was a book that was full of surprises, having not read the info about the book from the back I had just gone by the front cover so I expected something detailed, dry and about an ‘office’ man. But I was quite wrong in that what this book provides us with is a story about a wily, courageous and distinguished fellow. A pilot in the first world war and during the inter-war years, he would eventually fly during the second world war and become an instrumental person in aerial tactics and the introduction of the new heavy planes of the nuclear weapon future. This was an enjoyable read and it was nice how the author took a linear approach to the book, I would certainly recommend this book about a man who had many talents and stories to tell.