Assassins and Secret Listeners
Britain's Invisible Armies, 1939-45
by Alistair Moffat
£12.99
- Hardback
- E-Book
True crime
Reviews
An engrossing study of a little-known aspect of the Second World War... All these are fascinating stories, and Moffat tells them with the narrative panache and range we have come to expect
The Scotsman
This is an utterly fascinating and eye-opening book – real-life thriller with a cast of ordinary people living an entirely secret and truly extraordinary life at a moment of national crisis. Compelling, exciting, revelatory and, perhaps most importantly of all, immensely entertaining
James Holland
‘There are few contemporary writers who can throw a light on historical events with such skill and sheer readability as Alistair Moffat. This tale of an important Second World War story is as astonishing as it is gripping’
Alexander McCall Smith
Reveals the extraordinary stories of Scottish radio enthusiasts, farmers, gamekeepers and young women who fought a secret war against Nazi Germany, then kept quiet about it for decades
Sunday Post
Alistair Moffat brings something more personal to this project... these encounters with the physical remnants of a vanished secret war bring the book vividly to life
Daily Mail
An absorbing extended essay on that darkest hour in which the country stood alone
Country Life
Assassins and Secret Listeners is an illuminating account of Britain’s secret war and a reminder that history must remember not only those who fought but also those who listened, planned and prepared to sacrifice everything for their country.
History of War Magazine
In rattling raconteur mode, Moffat tells the story of seemingly everyday individuals who were prepared to give up all in defence of our realm
The Herald
About the Book
Uncover the story of a nation's hidden heroes.
Throughout Britain, all day, every day and in the dead of night, the secret listeners went about their solitary work. Hands on headphones, these men and women, drawn from all walks of civilian life, listened to the coded messages of German intelligence and passed hundreds of thousands of them on to Bletchley Park.
At the same time, men with firearms experience were recruited into secret patrols trained in sabotage and silent killing with knife or garotte. In June 1940, with a full-scale German invasion expected any minute, these auxiliary units were poised to undertake suicidal missions attacking enemy supply lines and assassinating anyone who helped the Nazis. In preparation for this, they dug operational bases in remote and hidden places – the ruins of many still exist today – and stashed them with supplies and weapons.
Alistair Moffat tells the half-forgotten stories of immense bravery by thousands of ordinary men and women. Sworn to secrecy, their heroic work has long been overlooked, yet it played a crucial part in the Allied victory in 1945. This book finally pays them their due.
The Author
Alistair Moffat
Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Director of Programmes at Scottish Television and founder of the Borders Book Festival, he is also the author of a number of highly acclaimed books. From 2011 he was Rector of the University of St Andrews. He has written more than thirty books on Scottish history, and lives in the Scottish Borders.
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