Hitler’s Spy Against Churchill

Hitler’s Spy Against Churchill written by Jan-Willem van den Braak

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 312

From the summer of 1940 until May 1941, nearly twenty German Abwehr agents were

dropped by boat or parachute into England during what was known as Operation Lena,

all in preparation for Hitler's planned invasion of England. The invasion itself would never

happen and in fact, after the war, one of the Abwehr commanders declared that the

operation was doomed to failure.

There is no doubt that the operation did indeed become a fiasco, with almost all of the officers being arrested within a very brief period of time. Some of the men were executed, while others became double agents and spied for Britain against Germany. Only one man managed to stay at large for five months before eventually committing suicide: Jan Willem Ter Braak. Amazingly, his background and objectives had always remained unclear, and none of the other Lena spies had ever even heard of him. Even after the opening of the secret service files in England and the Netherlands over 50 years later, Jan Willem Ter Braak remained a 'mystery man', as the military historian Ladislas Farago famously described him.

In this book, the author – his near-namesake – examines the short and tragic life of Jan Willem Ter Braak for the first time. Using in-depth research, he investigates the possibility that Ter Braak was sent to kill the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and discovers why his fate has remained largely unknown for so long.

This is quite an intriguing little book that has all the elements of an espionage thriller,

with a bit of light fiasco thrown into the mix. This book follows the story mainly of one

man, Jan Willem Ter Braak, although he was part of a group of people trained to act

as agents or spies in order to start an invasion of Britain during the war. Ter Braak

was a rather evasive or reclusive character who nobody really got to know well. So

here lies the mystery around a man who nobody really knew or what he got up to.

This book I found was quite gripping and was a really quick but enjoyable read, and

I had never heard of this story before either. A book I really enjoyed and would most

certainly recommend it.

Dickens and Travel

Dickens and Travel written by Lucinda Hawksley and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 280

From childhood, Charles Dickens was fascinated by tales from other countries and other cultures, and he longed to see the world. In Dickens and Travel, Lucinda Hawksley looks at the journeys made by the author – who is also her great great great grandfather.

Although Dickens is usually perceived as a London author, in the 1840s he whisked his family away to live in Italy for year, and spent several months in Switzerland. Some years later he took up residence in Paris and Boulogne (where he lived in secret with his lover). In addition to travelling widely in Europe, he also toured America twice, performed onstage in Canada and, before his untimely death, was planning a tour of Australia.

Dickens and Travel enters into the world of the Victorian traveller and looks at how Charles Dickens’s journeys influenced his writing and enriched his life.

I found this to be a cracking little book, and that is from someone who doesn’t really like reading fiction but I found this one a little different. Maybe because it was about the writer and his travels rather than fiction. Although I may have only read one Dickens book I have always fancied reading more of his work. Written by I think a distant relative, Hawksley brings the book together well and makes an interesting read. We read all about Dickens's travels all around the world from Britain to Europe to America, he must have come across some brilliant characters and traditions. These probably influenced quite a bit of his writing without us even knowing. Although Dickens predominantly wrote about London life, reading about his travels for me has added an extra dimension to him and maybe I should start reading the odd Dickens novel. Great book, great writing.

Celtic Places & Placenames

Celtic Places & Placenames written by John Moss and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 304

‘Celtic Places’ are typified by some several hundred townships and villages whose

names still bear the imprint of their earliest Celtic roots, but the scope of the book is

not restricted to human settlements; it is also true of the many mountains and rivers

that they named, and to several thousand sites of standing stone monuments, Celtic

high crosses, henges, hill figures, funeral barrows and hillforts, which are all included

in the book.

What they all have in common is that they reflect the rich cultural heritage that was implicit in the names of places in the British Isles and Ireland as it existed before the Romans arrived.

This for me was always going to be a fascinating book, as someone who finds local history interesting this is an excellent book. I’m always one of those obsessive types who wherever he goes likes to learn about places, their origins and just what makes places be what they are. A lot of research and knowledge has gone into this book, just like the author’s previous book A History of English Placenames & Where they Came From. This book not only covers villages, towns and cities, it also seems to cover hills, areas and rivers to make it more than just about populated areas. I would say that if your into local history you would get a lot out of this book as I would highly recommend it.

Running The Gauntlet: Cargo LIners Under Fire 1939-1945

Running the Gauntlet: Cargo Liners Under Fire 1939-1945 written by

Bernard Edwards and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

The British Merchant Navy dominated the world trade routes in the years leading up

to the Second World War. The star players of the fleet were the cargo liners, faster

and larger than the tramps and offering limited passenger accommodation. At the

outbreak of war, these cargo liners became crucial to the nation’s survival using

their speed and expertise to evade Nazi warships, raiders and U-boats.

Initially operating alone, but increasingly relying on Royal Navy-protected convoys, these key elements of the Merchant Navy plied the oceans and seas despite mounting losses, throughout the war years.

This superbly researched book describes numerous dramatic incidents. Some ended in disaster such as the New Zealand Shipping Company’s Turakina which was sunk after a running battle with the German raider Orion. Others were triumphs for example Operation Substance when six fast cargo liners succeeded against all the odds in reaching besieged Malta with vital supplies.

The common denominations in all these historic voyages were the courage and skilled seamanship of the Merchant Navy crews. As Running The Gauntlet vividly illustrates, their contribution to victory, too long overlooked, cannot be overstated.

You could say that the merchant navy who transported cargo around the seas and oceans are the unsung heroes of the war. This book is all about the various triumphs and disasters faced by the merchant navy who were responsible for feeding and supplying a nation such as the UK but also transporting cargo to smaller destinations. Without Royal Naval protection these ships were sitting targets for the enemy, whether it be from u-boats to aircraft, as these cargo ships had little or no defence. Even with the Royal Navy protection wasn’t an assurance for safe passage to the destination. The merchant navy was a lifeline for Britain bringing in food supplies to keep the nation going, and the bravery of these men was very high and gutsy.

The research in this book is great and the book was an easy compelling read, most one to recommend. In a way, these guys were just as brave as those fighting on the battlefields of WWII.

On the Eastern Front at Seventeen

On the Eastern Front at Seventeen written by Sergey Drobyazko and published

by Greenhill Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 240

This is the true story of a young Red Army soldier during the Second World War,

told in his own words. Recruited into the army aged just seventeen, Sergei

Drobyazko’s introduction to battle is a violent one: forced to retreat from his home

city of Krasnodar after it is set ablaze by German forces. Later, Drobyazko is

captured by the Germans and placed in a concentration camp, where prisoners

are reduced to eating scavenged rubbish and bathing battle wounds in urine.

After a daring escape from the camp, he enters service once more, rising to the rank of sergeant in an infantry regiment. During this time, he witnesses the execution of deserters and the routine ill-treatment of German prisoners of war by vengeful Soviet troops. After surviving an attack that decimates his detachment, Drobyazko is almost court-martialled. Seriously wounded in 1944, he retrains as a radio operator, but he never returns to the war front.

In this gripping memoir, Drobyazko sets down his experience of the war as it unfolded around him. He claims to have consulted no historical sources and to have simply relied on his own memory, making this a deeply personal account. Translated into English for the first time, this unique account will be enjoyed by readers with an interest in military history.

These diaries/personal accounts from former Russian soldiers come up every so often and some are translated very well and still capture the imagination, and this is one of them. There does seem to be common threads that run through all of these books and that is how harsh the treatment and daily life is being a Russian soldier at most levels of command. It’s no wonder that so many of them try to desert or end up being captured because the training is almost negligent or non-existent. The equipment and conditions are usually very basic and there is certainly no respect or pride in the everyday soldiers, they’re almost treated like cannon fodder right from the start. Sergey was actually captured by the Germans, I’m not sure which situation would have been better really. I really enjoyed this book, one of the better personal accounts of Russian soldiers, well worth a read, and quite interesting.

POW on the Sumatra Railway

POW on the Sumatra Railway written by John Geoffrey Lee and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

John Geoffrey Lee (always known as Geoff) joined the RAF on his 20th birthday in

June 1941. He left Liverpool on a troop ship in December 1941, with no idea where

he was going. He eventually arrived in Java, where he was captured by the Japanese,

along with many others. During his time in captivity, he survived several camps in

Java, Ambon and Singapore and three hell ship journeys. After being washed ashore

in Sumatra, (as a ferry he was being transported on blew up), he was then recaptured

and suffered sheer hell as a slave on the Sumatra Railway. Enduring bouts of malaria,

beri beri, tropical ulcers and a starvation diet was bad enough, but this was exacerbated

by the searing heat and extreme cruelty meted out to the prisoners by the Japanese

and Korean guards. Geoff miraculously survived, weighing just 6 stone when he arrived

back in Liverpool in December 1945.

After his release he found he had difficulty in convincing people where he had been as no one had heard of the “Sumatra Railway”, only the other one, thousands of miles away in Burma. Letters to newspapers were returned as ‘Just another Burma Railway story’.

The Ministry of Defence, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and The Imperial War Museum had no records of POWs building a railway in Sumatra.

So began Geoff’s journey, his aim… to prove to the establishment what he already knew to be true. This is Geoff's story of his captivity, release, and subsequent efforts in achieving his aim.

POW on the Sumatra Railway follows the story of John Geoffrey Lee who as a young man joined the RAF, he was moved out to the Far East where unfortunately he was captured by the Japanese. Having been caught he was forced to experience a number of POW camps and the sad treatment and punishments that went on in these camps at the hands of the guards. John manages to survive his time being captured but I think he was released weighing just 7 stone. The story then follows his mission to prove he was where he was as it seems nobody seemed to know or have heard about the Sumatra Railway at the time, and then follows his journey to provide that information.

A really good read, very informative but I should say a very sad read too. The book was a quick read but I took a lot away from it and it really does give you an idea into what the men were suffering out in the Far East. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

A History of British Royal Jubilees

A History of British Royal Jubilees written by June Woolerton and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £15.99 - Softcover - Pages 224

As Queen Elizabeth II became the only British Monarch to rule for seventy years,

she marked the historic moment with a simple message, promising to continue

her life of service. But while her Jubilee day was quiet, it was merely the start of

a year-long celebration that would see millions around the world join the royal party.

Jubilees have become regular events in The Queen’s long reign but they are a relatively modern idea that only really took hold in the reign of King George III. Initially rejected by many as a frivolity, the first royal Jubilee became a huge success. It was a beguiling mix of pageantry, religious devotion and popular celebrations including street parties that have been copied in the Jubilees that followed.

Queen Victoria enjoyed two successful celebrations, including Britain's first Diamond Jubilee, which helped re-establish her popularity and consolidate the Monarchy. King George V turned to the joy of a Jubilee to re-invigorate his country as it recovered from the war and economic woes. In the reign of his granddaughter, Elizabeth II, Jubilees have been transformed into modern media events celebrated globally.

In A History of British Royal Jubilees, we trace the ever-evolving story of these popular celebrations, bringing each of them to life and looking at how they changed the image of royalty and the country itself. This is the story of how Jubilee celebrations have become vital to the success of Britain’s Royal Family and to its place at the heart of a nation.

I suppose with Elizabeth II being ever present in our lives we go from one jubilee celebration to the next, it’s not until you sit back and think, that you realise how long we have had Elizabeth II on the throne. I must admit I hadn’t thought about jubilee celebrations as being a modern event, I just assumed it had been going on for a while celebrating monarch’s milestones. This is an excellent book and talks about the celebration and its origins this year and previous ones dating back to the previous monarch and even Queen Victoria. My one little disappointment was that all the photos were black and white, I just expected them to be bright and colourful. But other than that, an interesting book and certainly one for the monarchists.