Camp X Feature

Adventure, espionage and heroism in small-town Ontario? During a quiet summer in 1943, brothers Jack and George discover more in the countryside than they'd ever imagined.

On December 6, 1941 a "spy school" was created in Whitby, Ontario. Known as Camp X, the base was established by the British Security Coordination to train Allied agents in special intelligence. During WWII, hundreds of agents were trained in sabotage, subversion and other tricks of the spy trade to defeat the Nazis in critical secret assignments.

The leader of Camp X, Sir William Stephenson, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A quiet and unassuming man in charge of a hidden army of thousands of men and women, Stephenson was known as "the Quiet Canadian," "Intrepid" and "Little Bill". An engineer and businessman as well as a First World War hero and an amateur boxing champ, "Little Bill" was a brilliant espionage agent and trained such notables as Ian Fleming, who went on to create the character James Bond based on his experiences at Camp X.

But 007 is not only literary character to draw upon the influence of "Little Bill." In Eric Walters' latest novel Camp X two brothers, Jack and George, stumble upon the top-secret base while passing the summer in Whitby in 1943.

Swimming in a local creek one day, Jack and George witness some disturbing events at a nearby bridge. Are the men in dark clothing trying to blow up the bridge from the town to the munitions factory? Come to think of it, is Jack's boss at the town newspaper a double agent? Is the police chief keeping tabs on people for enemy purposes?

With mom working at the local munitions factory and dad off to war in Africa to fight the Germans, Jack and George have plenty of time to investigate their suspicions. When Jack and George start to poke around they soon find themselves embroiled in espionage, intrigue and some pretty close calls with danger and adventure.

His thirteenth book for young readers, Walters' new novel will thrill boys and girls alike with the historically accurate story of Camp X and a portrait of two kids an awful lot like themselves.