<div><B>The true story of the force of &ldquo;licensed to kill&rdquo; secret agents who became the basis for the James Bond spy series.</B><BR />  <BR /> Brigadier Colin Gubbins was M. The Special Operations Executive was his Secret Service. Professor Dudley Newitt was Q. Capt. Gus March-Phillips commanded &ldquo;Maid of Honor Force,&rdquo; the team of &ldquo;James Bonds&rdquo; who, in a daring operation, sailed a ship to West Africa and stole three enemy ships from a neutral Spanish port on the volcanic island of Fernando Po. Ian Fleming worked closely with M to oil the wheels that made the operation possible, and prepared the cover story, in which the British government lied in order to conceal British responsibility for the raid. M&rsquo;s agents prepared the ground on Fernando Po, even enmeshing the governor in a honey trap. March-Phillips and his team carried out the raid successfully in January 1942, despite much opposition from the local regular Army and Navy commanders, and in the face of overwhelming odds. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden told Fleming&rsquo;s lies on the international stage, denying any British complicity in the operation. As a result, a secrecy embargo enveloped Operation POSTMASTER until recently.<BR />  <BR /> This gripping book proves beyond doubt that this thrilling operation, and the men who carried it out, were the inspiration for Fleming&rsquo;s fictional 007.<BR />  </div>

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Ian Fleming and SOE's Operation POSTMASTER

<div>While always dangerous and daring, SAS operations are by no means invariably successful and when they go wrong, they do so very badly. The first of the three operations covered in this book, SPEEDWELL 2, saw six men drop blind into Northern Tuscany on 8 September 1943, by chance the day of the Italian Armistice.  But with no radios or air/ground support their courageous three week operation ended in disaster; four were captured and executed and only one got out. The second and third operations, GALIA (winter 44/45) and BLIMEY (April 1945), provided contrasting results.  GALIA, 34 men led by Captain Walker-brown, tied up many thousands of enemy troops for nearly two months under extreme winter conditions  an extraordinary achievement, thanks in measure to cooperation with an SOE mission led by Major Gordon Lett, the authors father. BLIMEY sadly achieved little and the reasons for the success and failure of these two operations are carefully analyzed.This book adds valuable new information on SAS operations in WWII.</div>

S.A.S. in Tuscany, 1943–1945

<div><P><B>The first complete biography of Britain&rsquo;s WWII spymaster presents an intimate look at his life and career, as well as an insider&rsquo;s look at the SOE.</B><BR /><BR /> Major General Sir Colin Gubbins was the driving force behind Britain&rsquo;s Special Operations Executive, the secret military organization established by Winston Churchill in 1940. First as its Operations and Training Director, and then its Commander, Gubbins orchestrated every aspect of the SOE&rsquo;s worldwide covert operations.<BR /><BR /> Though Gubbins made enormous contributions to Allied victory, his life and work have remained shrouded in secrecy until now. With copious research and unprecedented access to family archives, biographer Brian Lett reveals the war hero&rsquo;s early experiences in the Great War, as well as in Russia, Ireland, Poland, and as Head of British Resistance. The result is a fascinating biography that reveals as much about SOEs extraordinary activities as it does about the man who inspired and commanded them. </P></div>

SOE's Mastermind

<div>The Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF) was formed in February 1942 by Gus March Phillips with Major General Gubbins SOE European chief's approval. March-Phillips and his Maid of Honor Force had just had complete success with their operation (POSTMASTER) off West Africa.Equipped with a specially adapted motor torpedo boat, the SSRF immediately started planning for operations. Op FROUDESLEY, with the aim of destroying the battleship Tirpitz ran into technical problems and was delayed but, in August and September, three daring cross Channel missions were successfully carried out without loss. The author describes these and the disastrous fourth operation (ACQUATINT) when all 10 SSRF men, including March-Phillips were killed or captured.Despite this hammerblow, SSRF now commanded by Geoffrey Appleyard made two raids on Sark a week later. Again their story is fully told in this fascinating book along with those of three further 1942 raids.Inter-service rivalry ('the war within') led to the break-up of the SSRF in early 1943. The Author describes the many colourful characters who made up this special force including Anders Lassen VC, Graham Hayes and Andre Desgranges, the Free Frenchman whom the Gestapo 'turned'.This superbly researched book lifts the veil on a little known but highly effective special force unit and the gallant individuals who served in it.As seen in Dorset Magazine.Book of the Month - Britain at War Magazine, April 2014</div>

The Small Scale Raiding Force

<div><P><B>This WWII history reveals the shocking conditions and brutal treatment endured by Allied soldiers at a notorious Italian POW camp.</B><BR /><BR /> Between August 1942 and September 1943, Camp PG21 in Chieti, Italy, was grossly overcrowded, with little running water, no proper sanitation, and no winter heating. Conditions for POWs were so bad that they were debated in the House of Commons.<BR /><BR /> Tunnels were dug, and the prisoners were even prepared to swim through human sewage to try and get out. But those who attempted escape were violently punished or killed. Even still, morale in the camp remained remarkably high. Two England cricket internationals staged a full-scale cricket match. Theater and music also thrived.<BR /><BR /> After the 1943 Italian Armistice, the British Commander refused to allow the ex-prisoners to leave camp. Germans took over the camp, and most prisoners were transported to Germany. Some managed to hide, and more than half of these subsequently escaped. After the war, a number of the Camp staff were arrested for war crimes. </P></div>

An Extraordinary Italian Imprisonment

<div><B>This WWII history exposes a shocking episode of treason among the highest levels of British leadership in a conspiracy with Nazi High Command.</B><BR />  <BR /> At the outbreak of the Second World War, a number of Fascist groups were active in Britain, all plotting to overthrow the British government. When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940, he had the leaders of these groups arrested, including Member of Parliament Archibald Ramsey. When these men were released years later, they were just as determined to install a fascist government in Britain&mdash;and all the more embittered toward Churchill.<BR />  <BR /> In the autumn of 1944, Adolf Hitler&rsquo;s military gains were eroding across the map. In a desperate plan to avoid total defeat, he sought the simultaneous assassination of both Churchill and Eisenhower. This was the opportunity Ramsay and his cohorts had been waiting for. They planned a massive outbreak of British POW camps, the seizure of tanks and armored vehicles, and an advance on London. Ramsey himself would be perfectly placed to aid the coup&mdash;within yards of his greatest enemy, Winston Churchill, in the House of Commons.<BR />  <BR /> This is the incredible, disturbing story of how close British Fascists came to impacting the outcome of the Second World War. It is also a comprehensive investigation into the Break Out Plot as it unfolded across Britain: how it came to fruition and how it was quashed, its repercussions and the many little-known stories of escape and recapture which took place throughout the country.</div>

Brian Lett
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Books By Brian Lett (6 Books)

Ian Fleming and SOE's Operation POSTMASTER

S.A.S. in Tuscany, 1943–1945

SOE's Mastermind

The Small Scale Raiding Force

An Extraordinary Italian Imprisonment

Hitler's Hangmen

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