Maquis

Female spies book “ripe for film adaptation”

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment

Shadow Warriors of World War II: The Daring Woman of the OSS and SOE by Gordon Thomas and Greg Lewis

A Foreword Review by Michelle Anne Schingler

This is an invaluable historical account, shedding light on the heroism and bravery of the women spies who helped usher the Allied forces toward a victory.

Move over, James Bond—these real life stories of secret agents belong to the ladies. Shadow Warriors of World War II, from Gordon Thomas and Greg Lewis, is a thrilling, revelatory history of the women who contributed to the war efforts behind enemy lines as spies on behalf of Britain and America.

William Donovan, inspired by the burgeoning espionage efforts of the United Kingdom, persuaded President Roosevelt to initiate an agency on American soil, dedicated to gathering information and fighting the Nazis covertly. That organization would eventually feed into the CIA—but first, it would employ women for its actions, and to ends that defied expectations.

The stories here are ripe for film adaptation, but first require honor, as America and Britain’s first women spies are shown to have been both invaluable and at risk. Many ended up in concentration camps or at the receiving end of Nazi bullets.

Nancy Wake, who led an attack on a Gestapo HQ in France.

Their ranks included Nancy Wake—brazen, fiery, and skilled with weapons, she was the sort to dodge bullets and retrieve packages from vehicles before they exploded. Betty Pack used her considerable appeal to extract information from men during liaisons, and Virginia Hall posed as a journalist and became one of the agents the Nazis most resented. She escaped, on one leg, over the Pyrenees. These women jumped from planes, blew their covers to help others, and accepted the dangers they faced without blinking.

Thomas and Lewis unfold their stories carefully, preserving their efforts—their successes, their near escapes, and occasionally their betrayals—with detail, resulting in a history that is both thorough and exciting. Distressing conclusions are given their space, and fallen spies are honored, with their extraordinary efforts always taking center stage. While better known personalities also make appearances—even Ian Fleming is here—they are dwarfed by these “shadow warriors” and their daring exploits.

Virginia Hall, the one-legged spy who became the Gestapo’s “Most Wanted”.

This is an invaluable historical account, shedding light on the heroism and bravery of the women spies who helped usher the Allied forces toward a victory.

Shadow Warriors: Daring Missions by Women of the OSS & SOE

~ jonkilkade ~ 1 Comment

shadow-warriors-uk-editionWorld War Two was the war in which old gender rules changed, as intelligence agencies created specific training and roles for women.

SHADOW WARRIORS is the story of women as undercover combatants: armed with Sten guns and grenades; cutting telecommunication wires, laying mines in roadways; organizing bombing raids; preparing the way for the D-Day invasion and harassing enemy forces as the Allies moved inland.

It begins by telling the story of how US and British intelligence agencies decided to use women as spies in a way they never had before; and of how they then recruited and trained them, as couriers, wireless operators, saboteurs and even resistance leaders.

These agents ranged from girls barely out of high school to mature mothers, from working class women to the daughters of aristocrats, from the prim and proper to wild high-livers.

They were taught how to send coded messages; how to lay explosive charges; and how to kill with knives, guns and their bare hands.

Sometimes they faced sexism and even derision from their trainers. Yolande Beekman, an efficient and courageous agent who was executed by the Germans, had been dismissed by one SOE instructor as, “A nice girl, darned the men’s socks, would make an excellent wife for an unimaginative man, but not much more than that.”

Their actions behind enemy lines were to change for ever the views of the US and UK intelligence communities on using women as agents.

Some, such as New Zealander Nancy Wake and Polish-born Christine Granville led men in battle. Granville masterminded the escape of a fellow SOE agent. Nancy led a gun and grenade attack on a Gestapo headquarters in France. American Virginia Hall became the Gestapo’s most wanted agent.

Others, such as the American Betty Pack, used their beauty and sexual allure to capture enemy secrets which would change the course of the war.

All these agents knew that torture and death were the price of failure. Some had to leave babies and children at home. Many paid the ultimate price for their bravery.

As Nancy Wake said: “I hate wars and violence but if they come then I don’t see why we women should just wave a proud goodbye and then knit them balaclavas.”

The clandestine war, and therefore the war itself, would not have been won without the courage and contribution of these Shadow Warriors.

UK edition now available; US edition to be published by Chicago Review Press in January 2017.

 

 

“One of the best books I have ever read”

~ jonkilkade ~ 2 Comments

Writers work hard in their little office, or at a desk on the end of their bed, or in a coffee shop, or wherever they have space and time to work…

They write about subjects they enjoy to research, stories they want to tell; and they hope it will connect with readers… Readers they don’t know and will never meet. People who enjoy a good story, like they do.

Like I do.

That’s why reFarewell-Leicester-Square1 - Copyviews mean so much to them. Writers really appreciate the readers who take a few moments to write a few lines on Amazon.

I’ve just received the following message on this site. It means so much that someone got to the end of ‘Farewell Leicester Square’ and then took the time to contact me.

Many thanks, Alistair. And to all of you who take the time to write a short review on Amazon.

Hello Jon.
Just read Farewell Leicester Square. One of the best books I have ever read. And that is not said lightly. I am a fan of all historical fiction especially WWII. The attention to detail was remarkable. Well done.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Alistair Nash.

Write What You’d Like To Read

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment

14d442ba8a93d405bd04a8167b41b9ffIf you have had a chance to read my wartime thriller ‘Farewell Leicester Square’ I hope you enjoyed it.

It was written because I love what I call “old-style” World War Two thrillers: action books in which a hero battles against the odds.

I grew up on Jack Higgins and Alistair MacLean, on ‘Warlord’ comics and the fantastic ‘Commando’ book series, and wanted to write the sort of book I loved to read.

During my research I travelled to Belgium, Luxembourg and Jersey; read prodigiously on SOE and the Resistance; and interviewed many veterans themselves.

As well as soldiers in uniform I have always been interested in those who risked their lives in their occupied homelands: members of the Maquis and Armée Secrète in France and of the Comet evasion line which helped downed airmen in Belgium, smuggling them through France to neutral Spain.

The courage of these people, who had no uniform to protect them and so faced a concentration camp or execution if they were captured, was immense.

In ‘Farewell Leicester Square’ I tried to capture some of that spirit of Resistance inside a thrilling plot line.

This was my first novel. I tried hard to craft the book I had envisaged when I wrote the first words on the first page.

It gave me great pleasure to write and I hope it gave you some pleasure to read too.

Please consider taking a few seconds to rate it and perhaps write one or two lines by way of review.

It helps so much to know there are other readers out there who love these kinds of books just as much as I do.

Farewell Leicester Square (E-edition)
Farewell Leicester Square
(E-edition)

 

 

The Cross of Lorraine smashes a Swastika

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment

November 11 1943 is, I understand, a well-remembered day for historians of the Resistance in Nazi-Occupied France.

It was on that day that the Maquis paraded through the town of Oyonnax in what Matthew Cobb in his excellent book The Resistance describes as a “stunt”.

The event was designed as a show of strength, a morale boost for the local population. The town was chosen because there was no German garrison nearby.

More than 200 Maquisards took part. They marched, sang the Marseillaise and then disappeared back into the mountains.

Sometime ago I came into possession of this small medallion. It features the date ‘XI Novembre, 1943’.

One side is the Cross of Lorraine smashing a Swastika.

medallion. French, dated 'XI Novembre 1943'

On the other side is an Astrix-like warrior.

One side Cross of Lorraine smashing Swastika - previous tweet. Other side this pic of a Astrix-like warrior.I would love to know the story behind it. I assume it relates to Oyonnax, but does it?

When was it created? How many issued?

Please help and share this post if you can.

Thanks.

(I posted this first in 2013. Had some responses. But still trying to get to the bottom of it!)

‘Superb’ thriller now only 77p!

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment

FAREWELL LEICESTER SQUARE is now only 77p on KINDLE.

farewell1

2005. Terrorists target London in an attack which makes headlines around the world.
Elsewhere, a fishing boat makes a remarkable find: a World War II bomber, hundreds of miles from where records show it disappeared.
The two events combine when journalist Jon Kilkade takes a blood-curdling phone-call.
It describes a suicide mission to destroy London. Not in 2005, but during the chaotic final months of the Nazi Third Reich.
The action in this fast-paced novel switches from occupied Jersey to the lives of SOE and Resistance fighters in Belgium.
At its heart is a deadly circle of Nazi fanatics intent on creating a final blitz which would see the people of London wiped from the face of the earth.
A riveting thriller in the tradition of Jack Higgins and Alistair MacLean.

WHAT READERS SAY:

“Superb thriller.”

“A great tale of WW2 daring, intrigue and heroism told in a gripping way.”

“Captivating from beginning to end. A thoroughly enjoyable read.”

“The story keeps the reader wanting to find out what will happen next.“

“Superb. I loved this novel for so many reasons – believable characters, excellent research and an exciting plotline. I was caught in the storytellers trap from beginning to end.”

“A good enjoyable read. Kept me captivated from start to finish.”

“Excellent thriller. It’s well researched – lots of stuff about SOE and the resistance.”

“Thoroughly enjoyable read.”

“An almost excellent read. If you enjoyed the TV series “Secret Army” and “Kessler” then this book has the same feel about it.”

This Day In History: The story behind Avenue Georges Mandel

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Photo street in Paris named after Georges Mandel who was killed by the Milice, 1944Spotted in Paris: this street named after executed politician, Georges Mandel.

Mandel died 69 years ago today, on July 7, in 1944 at the hands of the Milice, a paramilitary force which collaborated with the Nazis.

Born in 1885, into a prosperous family (his given name was Louis-Georges Rothschild, though he was no relation to the banking family), Mandel’s political career began at age 21 as a member of the personal staff of French Premier Georges Clemenceau. He went on to serve in the National Assembly from 1919 to 1924, and then again from 1928 to 1940.

In 1940, he was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior by then French Premier Paul Reynaud, with whom he shared the conviction that no armistice should be made with the German invaders, and that the battle should continue, even if only from France’s colonies in Africa.

After the resignation of Reynaud and the establishment of the Petain/Vichy government, Mandel sailed to Morocco, where he was arrested and sent back to France and imprisoned.

He was handed over to the Germans, and put in concentration camps in Oranienburg and Buchenwald.

Mandel was returned to Paris on July 4, 1944, as a hostage. While being transferred from one prison to another, he was captured by the Milice. 

Three days later, the Milice took Mandel to the Forest of Fontainebleau, where they executed him. He was buried at Passy Cemetery. 

As he was being handed over to his countrymen by the German SS, he is said to have stated: “To die is nothing. What is sad is to die without seeing the liberation of the country and the restoration of the Republic.”