Ben Macintyre - Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle - The George Millar Literary Dinner
We are delighted to welcome Ben Macintyre, the distinguished historian, journalist and author, to talk about his latest book: Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle, the astonishing true story of the most infamous prison in history. Ben is a columnist and Associate Editor of The Times. He has worked as the newspaper’s correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington and is the author of numerous bestsellers including: Agent Zigzag, A Spy Among Friends, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Sonya and SAS Rogue Heroes, several of which have been adapted for the screen. The story of Colditz, a forbidding Gothic castle on a hilltop in the heart of Nazi Germany where an unlikely band of British officers spent the the Second World War plotting daring escapes from their captors, has gone unchallenged for seventy years. The tale contains only part of the truth. An incredible inside story reveals for the first time the indomitable human spirit as well as class conflict, homosexuality, espionage, insanity and farce. Through a remarkable cast of characters from the elitist members of the Colditz Bullingdon Club to America’s oldest paratrooper and least successful secret agent, Macintyre reveals the extraordinary story of prisoners and captors who were living cheek-by-jowl in a thrilling game of cat and mouse. Astonishingly imaginative in their increasingly desperate attempts to escape, these tales of the soldier prisoners of Colditz are brought to life with the author’s use of hitherto unknown material and an eye for detail.| When: Thursday 9th November 2023 @ 7.00 pm |
| Where: Tithe Barn, Symondsbury |
| Sponsored by: Richard and Emily Cave, Furleigh Estate, Symondsbury Estate |