Overview

The incredible life story of Captain Alan Hillgarth - soldier, spy, gold-hunter and hero. 'A lot of people know me,' wrote Alan Hillgarth in a letter, 'but I'm very much an enigma to most of them and regarded with suspicion because I don't fit into any category . . . I'm a trouble-maker. I ride the storm.' Captain Alan Hillgarth was just 15 years old when he found himself aboard the HMS Bacchante as the First World War broke out. Within months he'd fought at Gallipoli, bayoneted an attacking Turkish soldier, and been shot in the head and leg. After the war, Hillgarth became an author of thrillers, a gold-hunter in South America, a diplomat and a spy-master. As British Consul in Majorca during the Spanish Civil War, from 1936 to 1939, he saved countless lives acting as mediator between the two sides. From 1940 to 1943 he was Britain's most important intelligence officer in Spain, a key player in the successful Allied subterfuge Operation Mincemeat. Later he became Chief of Intelligence for the Eastern Fleet, in Ceylon, and a key advisor to Churchill, during and after the war. With exclusive access to the family archive, Hart-Davis is uncovering the truth about an era previously shrouded in mystery and a man that wanted it that way.

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9780099568667

Table of Contents

Reviews

...a cracking, highly evocative yarn. * Warships International Fleet Review * A fascinating biography. * Choice * An engaging and enjoyable read, which not only sheds light on an interesting figure, but also helps to illuminate theatres of war that are too often ignored. * Country Life * A fascinating and significant life...this engaging and informed account is at once humbling and uplifting. * Literary Review * This affectionate and respectful account of Hillgarth's life helps elevate this important figure to due prominence * TLS *

Remarkable story ... Hart-Davis tells splendidly the astonishing tale he has uncovered Max Hastings for The Sunday Times An extraordinary story that needed to be told... Duff Hart-Davis tells their fascinating story, which will be new to many readers, remarkably well Charles Guthrie for the Literary Review An extradordinary story, told for the first time Today, Radio 4 20110216 Their gung-ho story is told with much buckle and swash The Times 20110305 This dramatic piece of history is thoroughly researched, drawn from first-hand accounts of the mercenaries' experience. Written at the pace of a James Bond thriller, Hart-Davis leavens his gung-ho tale with details that are at times touching and humorous The Herald

Remarkable story ... Hart-Davis tells splendidly the astonishing tale he has uncovered Max Hastings for The Sunday Times An extraordinary story that needed to be told... Duff Hart-Davis tells their fascinating story, which will be new to many readers, remarkably well Charles Guthrie for the Literary Review An extradordinary story, told for the first time Today, Radio 4 20110216 Their gung-ho story is told with much buckle and swash The Times 20110305 This dramatic piece of history is thoroughly researched, drawn from first-hand accounts of the mercenaries' experience. Written at the pace of a James Bond thriller, Hart-Davis leavens his gung-ho tale with details that are at times touching and humorous The Herald

Author Information

Duff Hart-Davis has written and edited over fifty books on a wide variety of subjects, including eight adventure novels and the Sunday Times bestseller The War That Never Was, an enthralling account of the secret war fought by British mercenaries in the Yemen during the 1960s. He worked on the Sunday Telegraph as Literary Editor and feature writer and as a columnist for the Independent. Together with his wife Phyllida, he now lives on the Cotswold escarpment.

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