The definitive biography of the celebrated naval hero who brought down a Prime Minister.Roger Keyes was one of the most inspiring and controversial military figures Britain produced in the twentieth century, pursuing a distinguished career in the Royal Navy.In 1918, his leadership of the Zeebrugge and Ostend raids became the stuff of legend, earning eleven Victoria Crosses and transforming him into a national hero who symbolised Britains fighting spirit.Passed over for the position of First Sea Lord due to his opposition to naval disarmament, in 1934 Keyes entered Parliament, where he campaigned fiercely against appeasement alongside Churchill. It was his decisive, fiery intervention in the 1940 Norway debate that broke the back of Neville Chamberlains government and cleared the path for Churchill to become Prime Minister.Just months later, Churchill restored him to command as the first head of Combined Operations. Keyes created and championed the Commandos, forging the elite special forces unit that terrorised Hitlers coastal defences.A hero in two world wars, Keyes was revered by the men under his command and frequently compared to Nelson, but his abrasive style also made him powerful enemies. Cutting through the controversy that surrounds his name, this definitive, warts-and-all biography aims to restore Keyes to his rightful place in British history.
When the Pipers Play is a fascinating account of the bagpipe as an instrument of war, packed full of remarkable stories. Based on the author Patrick Kings award-winning films, the book combines historical research with exclusive interviews and traces the crucial role of the military piper from the Highlander at Culloden to the carnage of Waterloo and from the trenches of the Great War to the beaches of Normandy.The author reveals how the use of music in war, including drums, bugles and pipes, has for centuries controlled the battlefield. His analysis of the pipes ranges from regulating the soldiers day in camp to a role in wartime propaganda films and how the instrument remains the one primal element in the sophistication of modern warfare. The regimental piper is the real hero of this book. A must read for anyone who enjoys stories of courage and adventure.
In 2017, reports emerged that Britains Special Air Service, the countrys most celebrated regiment, was being investigated over allegations its soldiers had executed scores of captives in Afghanistan. These unprecedented accusations led to a damning shift in perceptions of the armed forces, with soldiers widely castigated as war criminals. But these reports misrepresented the reality of the operations.Blades lifts the lid on events in Afghanistan, detailing the heroic efforts of the Special Forces in the country for the first time and revealing how government-imposed restrictions meant the enemys bombmakers could not legally be shot or detained. Failed by their government and their generals, soldiers faced an agonising dilemma: obey the rules and let their colleagues be killed or enact frontier justice and face accusations of war crimes.These events would trigger Operation Northmoor, the biggest and most sensitive UK military police investigation ever undertaken. Along the way, detectives faced a wall of silence and collusion by senior officers, with vital evidence being destroyed.Drawing on thorough research; exclusive interviews with SAS soldiers, officers, service chiefs and senior diplomats; and decades of experience as the Daily Mails defence and diplomacy editor, Mark Nicol offers a nuanced analysis and a vital corrective to false reporting on Afghanistan. Ultimately, Blades is an unflinching account of profound heroism in the face of state interference and a long-overdue defence of those who proudly protected their country.