Catch That Tiger--Churchill's Secret Order That Launched the Most Astounding and Dangerous Mission of World War II [electronic resource]
Botham, Noel2012
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Unleashed by Hitler in 1942, the German Tiger tank was by far the most powerful tank ever built at the time. The 60-ton monster could destroy any Allied tank from more than a mile away, and it soon became the most feared tank in the world. Desperate to discover the secret technology used in the Tiger's manufacture, Winston Churchill close a brilliant young army engineer, Major Doug Lidderdale, as his special agent. In a late-night briefing in the subterranean War Rooms under Whitehall he ordered him: 'Go catch me a tiger'. Doug did not hesitate and by February 1943 was facing Rommel's desert army. After several unsuccessful and hair-raising efforts to bag a Tiger on the battlefields of Tunisia, Doug and his team put their lives on the line in a terrifying, close-hand shoot-out with the five-man crew of a Tiger, capturing the tank intact. The morale boost to the Allies was such that both Churchill and King George VI flew to Tunis to examine the Tiger first hand. But the Germans were not finished with Doug. They did not want the secrets of the Tiger benefitting the Allies' war efforts, and constant attacks by the Luftwaffe and U-boats pursued Doug and his men on every step of the journey back to England. But eventually, by October 1943, the Tiger - number 131 - was delivered to London and gifted to Churchill, who had it placed on London's Horse Guards Parade. Lidderdale went on to use some of the Tiger technology to develop war machines for the D-Day landings and was promoted to Colonel. Tiger 131 is now kept at Bovington Tank Museum and is the only working Tiger in the world.The full extent of Doug Lidderdale's adventures in North Africa only came to light after his son, Dave Travis, revealed the existence of his father's diaries. With exclusive access to these and dozens of photographs, Catch That Tiger tells the incredible story of one of the most dangerous and thrilling secret missions of World War II.
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Imprint:
[Place of publication not identified] : John Blake Publishing, 2012
Collation:
1 online resource (1 text file)
System details:
Mode of access: Internet
Biography/History:
After National Service attached to 656 Squadron, RAF, in Malaya, Bruce Montague trained at the RADA. In his early twenties, he joined the Old Vic where he appeared in several plays with Vivien Leigh. He has acted in over 300 TV productions but is probably best known for his five-year run in the popular BBC sitcom Butterflies as Wendy Craig's would-be lover, Leonard. More recently he returned to the theatre in musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof with Topol at the Palladium, Oliver! (as Mr Brownlow – three years at the Palladium), and Phantom of the Opera (two years at Her Majesty's). His latest TV appearance was as a guest star in New Tricks, and he will play Flo Ziegfeld in the West End production of Funny Girl, the first revival of the musical for fifty years. He has written several plays for the theatre and a number of scripts for the BBC, as well as screenplays, and he has written the lyrics and libretto for new musical, The Mistress, based on the scandalous affair between Admiral Lord Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton. His other books (all published by John Blake) include Wedding Bells and Chimney Sweeps, Birds, Bees and Educated Fleas, and The Book of Royal Useless Information, which he co-wrote with the late Noel Botham. He lives in Hove and has been married for fifty-three years to the actress Barbara Latham.
ISBN:
9781857829693
Language:
English
BRN:
2836854
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