Hellfire (2011)
Page 50
Both SIME and the ISLD were real Middle East divisions of MI5 and MI6, as were the other SIS operations mentioned. Many of the characters described were real too: Maunsell, Bowlby, Kirk, Rolo, Tilly, and even the Field Security officers, Sansom and Astley. Trying to work out the labyrinthine structure of these myriad operations and how they interconnected was quite tricky, because very little has been written about it, and what official documents remain involve careful piecing together. Maunsell, however, did write an unpublished memoir of his days as head of SIME. He did favour Christian names and informality, was both tall and rather urbane, and left a reasonably detailed description of both Red Pillars (and the doorman, Abdu), and their counter-intelligence methodology. ‘Sammy’ Sansom also left a memoir, of which the Eppler Case is its central triumph. That was, in reality, the only Axis spy circuit ever discovered operating in Cairo and was every bit as cack-handed as described. Most SIME ‘operatives’ – as Maunsell called them – struck me as being rather hit-and-miss as well. Clever and dedicated they might have been, but they were operating with none of the high-tech gadgetry of today’s spooks – no GPS, no thermal imaging, no Internet or computer hacking.
Cairo itself was very different from the city of today. The belle-époque central area must have been lovely: wide streets, beautiful buildings, fabulous clubs and hotels, and lots of open space, such as at Gezira and Ezbekiyeh. The traffic was terrible, as described, and Cairo must have been a constantly hot, smelly and over-populated place, pullulating with human and animal kind. All the main places and buildings described were real.
The lights and excesses of Cairo also served as a stark contrast with the harsh desert life. Despite the millions of flies, the desert did offer a pretty healthy lifestyle, particularly if you were on the British side. For most of the time, British troops had plenty to eat, fresh air and exercise. It got to most people eventually, but life was more bearable during this period because of the proximity to the Nile Delta and the Canal Zone, and because of the consequent ease with which supplies could reach the front. The Axis troops, in contrast, were living off minimal rations, and struggling to get enough of just about everything. The incredible logistic effort that marked both Montgomery’s first battle at the end of August – Alam Halfa – and what became the second battle of Alamein were in marked contrast with the tiny scratch force that had beaten back the Italians in the early days of the desert campaign.
The desert today is largely unchanged, and wandering over the old battlefields, it is still possible to find pieces of shrapnel, old tins, shell casings and dug-up mines. It is also a far more varied landscape than most people realize. Vaughan’s criticisms of Montgomery’s battle plan for Alamein are largely my own, based on research I did a few years ago for a non-fiction account of the last year of the North African campaign. The battles depicted followed pretty much the course described in the book, even the raids on Benghazi and Tobruk – fiascos from the outset and horribly over-ambitious. They were never going to work, just as Vaughan and others feared. The second raid by C Detachment is entirely fiction, but the hospital building and accompanying villas still stand; so, too, does the underground bunker that served as Rommel’s headquarters in Mersa Matruh.
The actions of the Yorks Rangers are based very heavily on those of the 2nd Battalion, the Rifle Brigade, and the memories and diaries of the late Albert Martin were a crucial source. There was no Grouse, but there certainly was Snipe, in which the Rifle Brigade covered themselves with glory. Charles Coles, former skipper of MTB 262, provided some important detail about coastal MTB operations. He also took part in the doomed Tobruk Raid. A number of other veterans – Jimmy James included – have provided me with a large amount of material on living, operating and fighting in the desert war and of life in Cairo too. To them, my thanks.
I would also like to thank the following: Oliver Barnham, Peter Caddick-Adams, Tom Coulson, RSM Darren Gathercole, Martin Holland, Phil Lord, Steve Mulcahey, Hazel Orme, Bill Scott-Kerr, James Shopland, Jake Smith-Bosanquet, Mads Toy, Patrick Walsh, Katrina Whone and all at Transworld. And also Rachel, Ned and Daisy.
About the Author
James Holland was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and studied history at Durham University. A member of the British Commission for Military History and the Guild of Battlefield Guides, he also regularly contributes reviews and articles in national newspapers and magazines.
He is the author of five historical works – Fortress Malta, Together We Stand, Heroes, Italy's Sorrow and The Battle of Britain – and three other Jack Tanner novels, The Odin Mission, Darkest Hour and Blood of Honour. His many interviews with veterans of the Second World War are available at the Imperial War Museum and are also archived on www.secondworldwarforum.com.
Also by James Holland
Non-fiction
FORTRESS MALTA
TOGETHER WE STAND
TWENTY-ONE
ITALY’S SORROW
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
Fiction
THE BURNING BLUE
A PAIR OF SILVER WINGS
THE ODIN MISSION
DARKEST HOUR
BLOOD OF HONOUR
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Copyright © James Holland 2011
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