Description
Book SynopsisThe astonishing story of Henry Coombe-Tennant (1913-89), who served in the British Army in World War II, escaping from a POW camp, joining Special Forces and aiding the French Resistance, before working for the British Secret Service in Baghdad and ending his days as a Benedictine monk! Over 30 photographs and maps.
Trade Review"Bernard Lewis has written an engaging biography of a man of great gifts which is of both historical and personal value to the reader." - The Guards Magazine "A real life Welsh James Bond." - Neil Prior, BBC News The astonishing biography of Henry Coombe-Tennant (1913–89), whose family lived at Cadoxton Lodge near Neath and created Port Tennant at Swansea. Henry's mother, Winifred Coombe-Tennant, was a well-known suffragette, political campaigner and psychic medium, and he was the result of her extra-marital affair with the brother of the Prime Minister. According to Winifred, her spirit-world contacts claimed that Henry was to become the ‘New Messiah’, bringing peace to a troubled world. After Eton, Cambridge and China (having taught himself Mandarin), Henry went into the Welsh Guards, before being captured during World War II, escaping from his POW camp and making it back to Britain. He then joined Special Forces, parachuting into occupied France to assist the Resistance. Post-war, he served with NATO and then MI6, becoming ‘our man in Baghdad’ after a bloody revolution in Iraq. Converting to Catholicism in the early 1960s, he ended his days as a Benedictine monk at Downside Abbey near Bath. An incredible life and a fascinating read, this is the untold story of a forgotten Welsh hero. -- Publisher: Y Lolfa
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements 7 1. A New Messiah 9 2. The Wise One 21 3. Unhappy at Eton 32 4. A Success at Cambridge 43 5. The Welsh Guards 58 6. Into Battle 68 7. Prisoner of War 84 8. Over the Wire 101 9. On the Run 115 10. Special Forces 140 11. Behind Enemy Lines 153 12. Advancing on Germany 177 13. The Palestinian Mandate 203 14. Inside Intelligence 218 15. A Benedictine Monk 234 Select Bibliography 253 Index 256
