Description
Book SynopsisAt the end of the war MI5 suspected him of espionage and interrogated him but he did not confess. Nevertheless they kept James, his wife Jean and their young family under close surveillance for a number of years, regularly intercepting their mail and recording their telephone conversations. Only after James's death did the true significance of what he might have revealed become clear: in his wartime office role, James had access to the plans for Operation Overlord, D-Day. In this book, James's son Hamish tells the story of his parents, their interaction with the communist party and their flirtation with wartime espionage. It is a unique portrait of two very ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary events of World War Two and the Cold War.
Table of ContentsList of Plates – ix Acknowledgements – xi Prologue – 1 1. Son of the Manse – 3 2. ‘Ma V=voisine chez Shakespeare’ 12 3. Spain – 15 4. The Party and British Attitudes to the USSR – 25 5. War: James Recruited by the Intelligence Corps – 38 6. The Family in Berkshire, 1940-1941 – 47 7. Barbarossa – 52 8. Natasha – 58 9. Code Name ‘Dolly’ – 64 10. The Red Army: From Disaster Towards Victory – 72 11. Tehran and the D-Day Plans – 76 12. ‘He’ll be writing yellow boots’ – 80 13. The Good Life in America – 88 14. The Security Service Takes an Interest – 96 15. A New Author; A New Firm – 108 16. ‘Not the way it’s generally done’ 115 17. A Visit from Mr Skardon – 151 18. Mr White Misses the Plane – 161 19. A New Director: Would He Fit In? 171 Epilogue – 179 Appendix – 187 Notes – 206 Sources – 217 Index – 219
