Churchill's White Rabbit: The True Story of a Real-Life James Bond

by Sophie Jackson

A revealing biography of Edward Yeo-Thomas GC, the man who inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond Edward Yeo-Thomas GC was one of the bravest of the brave. A fluent French-speaker, he joined SOE and was parachuted into occupied France three times to work with the Resistance. Appalled by the lack of help the British were providing, he managed to arrange a five-minute meeting with Winston Churchill, during which he persuaded him to do more. On his third mission he was betrayed and captured by the Gestapo; he suffered horrendous torture before being sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, from where he eventually managed to escape, making it back to Allied lines shortly before the end of the war. This biography reveals new information about how the torture affected Yeo-Thomas, the state of SOE-Resistance cooperation, Gestapo typhus experiments at Buchenwald, and how "White Rabbit," Yeo-Thomas, provided the inspiration for Ian Fleming's famous secret agent, James Bond.

Genres: History, War, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name on GR

Reviews

[Phil Schafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative account of Forest “Tommy” Yeo-Thomas. Here one will find the root of the 60's spy film genre.

[Joanne Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read ,to read the story of a true hero maybe (I would say definitely) the inspiration for Ian Flemings Bond definitely 5 stars

[Liz V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wing Commander Forest Frederick Edward Yeo-Thomas wanted into WWI, and was thwarted by his father until the U.S. entered the war. He wanted to fight in WWII as well, and went to great lengths to convince the bureaucrats to allow him to fight. Sent to France by the SOE, Yeo-Thomas' most noted contribution may have been a conversation with Churchill, focusing on the need for arms for the Maquis. Betrayed, Yeo-Thomas was tortured by the Gestapo and sent eventually to Buchenwald, whence he was able to smuggle a letter detailing the so-called medical experimentation on concentration camp inmates. His death at age 61 undoubtedly stemmed from the torture and malnutrition of his incarceration and what sounds like not particularly stellar post-war medical treatment.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book but not the best. It is the true story of Forest Yeo-Thomas who was a real-life James Bond during the World War II operations with the French Resistance. He was parachuted into occupied France three times and had amazing success. On his third mission, however, he was betrayed by a Nazi collaborator and arrested, tortured and sent to the horrible concentration camp at Buchenwald where he suffered from infection and dysentry. Somehow, he survived and escaped. It was a fascinating story but it got mired down in parts. There are stories that he was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's master spy but that has not been confirmed.

[Harini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic but suffers from stodgy writing. It is more a bland reportage of a sequence of events than a story of a hero.
Even the horrifying bits post his capture are stodgily narrated....giving little or no insight into the man and his grit

[Roy · Rating 2 out of 5]

gave up half way through. A good individual story but nothing we haven't read before about (the otherwise selfless and v brave) people who served in SOE during WWII.