The War That Never Was

The true story of the men who fought Britain's most secret battle. A Sunday Times bestseller.

Remarkable story ... Hart-Davis tells splendidly the astonishing tale he has uncovered

Duff Hart-Davis has taken over the writing of this book from Jim Johnson's second-in-command, Tony Boyle, who was working from Johnson's archive; both men died before the work was completed. He has done his extraordinary subject justice. Why did any of them get involved with the project? Well, the pay was good, but that is exactly the sort of thing men say to cover their enjoyment and excitement. The fact of the matter is that it was a terrific adventure

Plenty of books claim to be about forgotten aspects of the past. Yet Duff Hart-Davis has managed to go one better in this tale of British mercenaries and Egyptian skulduggery by unearthing a war that has hitherto remained more or less secret

An extraordinary story that needed to be told... Duff Hart-Davis tells their fascinating story, which will be new to many readers, remarkably well

This dramatic piece of history is thoroughly researched, drawn from first-hand accounts of the mercenaries' experience. Written at the pace of a James Bond thriller, Hart-Davis leavens his gung-ho tale with details that are at times touching and humorous

An extradordinary story, told for the first time

Their gung-ho story is told with much buckle and swash

This true story has all the ingredients of a John Buchan 1920s thriller

Duff Hart-Davis has written and edited fifty books on a wide variety of subjects, including eight adventure novels and biographies of Peter Fleming, the traveller and author, J.J.Audubon, the American bird artist, and most recently Philip de László, the portrait painter. A deep interest in natural history led to Monarchs of the Glen, a history of the Highland deer forests, and to the much-praised illustrated encyclopaedia Fauna Britannica. 
 
He worked on the Sunday Telegraph as Literary Editor and feature writer, reporting from many parts of the world, and from 1986 to 2001 he contributed the weekly Country Matters column on rural affairs to the Independent. Together with his wife Phyllida he now lives in a 17th-century farmhouse on the Cotswold escarpment.

For the very first time, The War That Never Was tells the fascinating story of a secret war fought by British mercenaries in the Yemen in the early 1960s. In a covert operation organised over whisky and sodas in the clubs of Chelsea and Mayfair, a group of former SAS officers - led by the irrepressible Colonel Jim Johnson - arranged for a squadron of British mercenaries to travel to the remote mountain regions of the Yemen, to arm, train and lead Yemeni tribesmen in their fight against a 60,000-strong contingent of Egyptian soldiers. 
 
It was one of the most uneven running battles ever waged; the Egyptians fielded a huge, professionally-trained army. The British fought back at the head of a ragtag force of tribal warriors and, ultimately, won. Egypt's President Nasser described the battle in the Yemen as 'my Vietnam'. 
 
It's a fascinating, forgotten, and rip-roaringly entertaining pocket of British military history, much in the spirit of Ben MvIntyre's bestselling Agent Zigzag and Operation Mincemeat.

Duff Hart-Davis

This affectionate and respectful account of Hillgarth’s life helps elevate this important figure to due prominence

A fascinating and significant life...this engaging and informed account is at once humbling and uplifting.

An engaging and enjoyable read, which not only sheds light on an interesting figure, but also helps to illuminate theatres of war that are too often ignored.

'A lot of people know me,' wrote Alan Hillgarth in a letter, 'but I'm very much an enigma to most of them and regarded with suspicion because I don't fit into any category . . . I'm a trouble-maker. I ride the storm.' 
 
Captain Alan Hillgarth was just 15 years old when he found himself aboard the HMS Bacchante as the First World War broke out. Within months he'd fought at Gallipoli, bayoneted an attacking Turkish soldier, and been shot in the head and leg. 
 
After the war, Hillgarth became an author of thrillers, a gold-hunter in South America, a diplomat and a spy-master. As British Consul in Majorca during the Spanish Civil War, from 1936 to 1939, he saved countless lives acting as mediator between the two sides. From 1940 to 1943 he was Britain's most important intelligence officer in Spain, a key player in the successful Allied subterfuge Operation Mincemeat. Later he became Chief of Intelligence for the Eastern Fleet, in Ceylon, and a key advisor to Churchill, during and after the war. 
 
With exclusive access to the family archive, Hart-Davis is uncovering the truth about an era previously shrouded in mystery and a man that wanted it that way.

Duff Hart-Davis

Praise for Man of War

This affectionate and respectful account of Hillgarth’s life helps elevate this important figure to due prominence

A fascinating and significant life...this engaging and informed account is at once humbling and uplifting.

An engaging and enjoyable read, which not only sheds light on an interesting figure, but also helps to illuminate theatres of war that are too often ignored.

This affectionate and respectful account of Hillgarth’s life helps elevate this important figure to due prominence

A fascinating and significant life...this engaging and informed account is at once humbling and uplifting.

An engaging and enjoyable read, which not only sheds light on an interesting figure, but also helps to illuminate theatres of war that are too often ignored.

This affectionate and respectful account of Hillgarth’s life helps elevate this important figure to due prominence

A fascinating and significant life...this engaging and informed account is at once humbling and uplifting.

An engaging and enjoyable read, which not only sheds light on an interesting figure, but also helps to illuminate theatres of war that are too often ignored.

Books by Duff Hart-Davis

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