by CW Browning
- Hans Ferdinand Mayer was born October 23, 1895 in Pforzheim, Germany; and died October 18, 1980 in Munich, West Germany. In 1936 Mayer became the Director of the Siemens Research Laboratory in Berlin. Unhappy with the Nazi regime, he arranged a business trip to Scandinavia in late Oct 1939. He arrived in Oslo, his first scheduled stop, on Oct 30 and checked into the Hotel Bristol. Borrowing a typewriter from the hotel, he typed the Oslo Report in the form of two letters over the course of two days, delivering it to the embassy himself. He returned to Germany and continued his scientific work until 1943, when he was arrested by the Gestapo for listening to British broadcasts on the radio and criticizing the Nazi party. He was imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps until the war ended. Because of the intervention of his mentor, a devout Nazi Socialist and Nobel prize winner, he wasn’t executed. The Germans never knew of the Oslo Report, or he would undoubtedly have been killed. As it was, he survived the war and went back to science. At his request, no one knew he was the author of the Oslo Report until after his death. (Wikipedia) (https://ethw.org/Hans_Ferdinand_Mayer)
- While Hans Mayer was in Oslo at the time indicated in this book, there was no scientific convention in Oslo at the time. For the sake of the story, I invented the convention as well as his associate and the meeting between him and Evelyn. Everything else relating to the Oslo Report, however, is historically accurate as portrayed.
2. English roundup of German spies: In Sept, 1939, MI5 knew of six agents working in England for the Hamburg Station (German Intelligence). Four of them were interned at once, it being unlikely that they would provide leads to other agents. One was a Swedish woman, suspected of working as a courier and local banker for German intelligence. She was left with her freedom and watched until December, 1939, when she was arrested for giving false details on an exit visa. The last was a Welsh engineer - codenamed Snow - who had been briefly employed by SIS in 1936 until it was discovered that he was in contact with the Germans. After that, he remained in contact with SIS and, on Sept 4, 1939, offered his services to them again as a double agent. (British Intelligence in the Second World War, Vol 4, pg. 41 by F H Hinsley and C A Simkins. Cambridge University Press 1990)
- That was the extent of the officially documented German spies in London at the start of the war. The spy present in London in the book is a fictional character. To my knowledge, there is no record of any spies in London leaking SIS agent identities during the war.
3. Battle of Barking Creek: On Sept 6, 1939, three days after war was declared, a radar fault led to a false alarm that unidentified aircraft were approaching from the east at high altitude over West Mersea, on the Essex coast. Six Hurricane fighter planes were scrambled from North Weald Airfield in Essex. However, two additional Hurricanes were also sent up in reserve. The two reserves were identified as enemy aircraft and Spitfires from Hornchurch were ordered to attack them. Both Hurricanes were shot down. One pilot, Montague Hulton-Harrop was killed, while the other pilot, Frank Rose, survived. Hulton-Harrop was the first fighter pilot to die in the war, and the Hurricane shot down in the Battle of Barking Creek was the first plane ever shot down by a Spitfire. (Wikipedia) (https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/70/a5781170.shtml)
- The friendly-fire incident Miles writes about in his letter to Evelyn was loosely based on the real incident of the Battle of Barking Creek. However, I moved the incident to November and used bombers instead of fighters to fit the story better. As far as I’m aware, there was no such incident involving bombers in the fall and winter of 1939.
4. Gamla Stan: Gamla Stan is also known as the Old City in Stockholm. It dates back to the 13th Century and consists of medieval alleys and cobbled streets. Many of the original buildings are still present, but many have also been destroyed over time. From the mid-19th century to the early-mid 20th century, Gamla stan was considered a slum. Many of its historical buildings were left in disrepair and, just after World War II, several blocks were demolished. Now, it has been restored and is a tourist attraction consisting of shops and restaurants.
- I was privileged to spend some time in Stockholm in 1995, when I fell in love with the old city. The restaurant Den gyldene freden (The Golden Peace) is a real restaurant located on Österlånggatan. It has been in business, continuously, since 1722 and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the longest operated restaurant with an unchanged environment and is one of the oldest restaurants in the world. (Wikipedia)
5. The Venlo Incident: A covert German SD operation on November 9, 1939 that took place 5 meters from the German border in Venlo, Netherlands. Two British SIS agents, Capt. Payne Best and Maj. Richard Stevens, believed they were meeting with a German officer who was working with a resistance group in the German Army to overthrow Hitler. In reality, the ‘officer’ was an SD agent and the plan was orchestrated by Himmler and approved by Hitler himself. Upon arriving at the appointed meeting place in Venlo, the two SIS agents were captured and taken across the border to Germany, where they were interrogated. Goebbels used them as a propaganda stunt and pinned the November 8th assassination attempt on Hitler to them, broadcasting that they had been the brains and money behind the attempt. They were imprisoned in concentration camps for the entirety of the war, but survived. The entire affair was a humiliating intelligence defeat that decimated Britain’s entire European intelligence network. (Wikipedia) (https://www.historynet.com/unveiling-venlo.htm)
6. General Note: SIS, or the Secret Intelligence Service, was known throughout the war as MI6 for the sake of expediency and clarity. Before and after the war, it reverted back to its title of SIS. For the sake of continuity, and because of its more recognizable connotation, I refer to it as MI6 throughout the Shadows of War series. Though it had several different sections, the main headquarters was located on Broadway, across from St. James Park Underground Station.
7. 66 Squadron: 66 Squadron was a real Spitfire squadron during the war. They were stationed in Duxford before moving to Horsham in May, and then on to Coltishall from May-Sept, 1940. In September, they went to Kenley, then on to Gravesend from Sept-Oct, 1940. As was common during the war, the squadrons were constantly moving around as they rotated through the busier sections. For example, a fighter squadron in the southern section known as 11 Group would have been in the heaviest fighting during the Battle of Britain. They would be rotated to the north of England where they could get a break from the constant stress of battle while another squadron took their place in the south. 66 Squadron was no different in that regard. Once the war began in earnest, they moved frequently throughout the war. While Miles and Rob’s squadron is named 66 Squadron, and is loosely based on the real squadron, all the scenarios and references specific to it in these books are fictional. While I have come across multiple references to a squadron that was referred to as the Corinthian Squadron due to the large number of wealthy pilots, there is no indication that it was the 66 Squadron. None of the pilots included in the books based in any way on any of the incredibly brave pilots that really were part of 66 squadron.
About the Author
CW Browning was writing before she could spell. Making up stories with her childhood best friend in the backyard in Olathe, Kansas, imagination ran wild from the very beginning. At the age of eight, she printed out her first full-length novel on a dot-matrix printer. All eighteen chapters of it. Through the years, the writing took a backseat to the mechanics of life as she explored other avenues of interest. Those mechanics, however, have a great way of underlining what genuinely lifts a spirit and makes the soul sing. After attending Rutgers University and studying History, her love for writing was rekindled. It became apparent where her heart truly lay. Picking up an old manuscript, she dusted it off and went back to what made her whole. CW still makes up stories in her backyard, but now she crafts them for her readers to enjoy. She makes her home in Southern New Jersey, where she loves to grill steak and sip red wine on the patio.
CW loves to hear from readers! She is always willing t
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If social media isn’t your thing, she can also be reached by email at [email protected] and on her website at www.cwbrowning.com.
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Note from Author:
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed The Oslo Affair, please take a moment to leave an honest review. Reviews are invaluable to authors, and it would be greatly appreciated!
Copyright © 2020 by Clare Wroblewski
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Dissect Designs / www.dissectdesigns.com
Book design by Clare Wroblewski
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
CW Browning
Visit my website at www.cwbrowning.com
First Printing: 2020
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Also by CW Browning
Kai Corbyn Series
Games of Deceit (Coming Soon)
Shadows of War
The Courier
The Oslo Affair
Night Falls on Norway
The Exit Series
Next Exit, Three Miles
Next Exit, Pay Toll
Next Exit, Dead Ahead
Next Exit, Quarter Mile
Next Exit, Use Caution
Next Exit, One Way
Next Exit, No Outlet
The Exit Series Box Set #1: Books 1-3
Watch for more at CW Browning’s site.
