FROM CHURCHILL'S SAS TO HITLER'S WAFFEN-SS : the secret wartime exploits of captain Douglas Berneville-Claye
(2023)

Nonfiction

eBook

Provider: hoopla

Details

PUBLISHED
[United States] : Pen and Sword, 2023
Made available through hoopla
DESCRIPTION

1 online resource

ISBN/ISSN
9781399068659 MWT15574159, 1399068652 15574159
LANGUAGE
English
NOTES

Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye was serving with the fledgling SAS with fellow officers such as David Stirling and Blair 'Paddy' Mayne when he was captured in the Western Desert. He was 'turned' and became a member of the Nazi Waffen-SS. Collaboration with the enemy was confirmed when dressed as an SS captain he approached remnants of the British Free Corps; the Waffen-SS unit composed of renegade British nationals. He exhorted them to serve under his command against Russian forces. Post-war Berneville-Claye was investigated by MI5 for treachery. Following an Army court-martial he was dishonorably dismissed and sentenced to six months imprisonment. Upon release, his escapades and private life were no less contentious. A philanderer and bigamist, he married four times, sired ten children and rubbed shoulders with the criminal underworld in and out of prison. Eventually he succeeded in emigrating to Australia. Thanks to the author's painstaking research, this is a compelling yet shocking biography of one of the most intriguing, colorful and disreputable characters of his era. How he escaped with his life is a question readers will ponder

Mode of access: World Wide Web

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