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Double Agent Celery: MI5's Crooked Hero
by
With Britain braced for a German invasion, MI5 recruited an ex RNAS officer, come confidence trickster, called Walter Dicketts as a double agent. Codenamed Celery, Dicketts was sent to Lisbon with the seemingly impossible mission of persuading the Germans he was a traitor and then extract crucial secrets. Once there, the Nazis spirited him off to Germany. With his life on
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Hardcover, 296 pages
Published
January 4th 2018
by Pen & Sword Military
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This is a fascinating insight into the making of a double agent and all the intrigue and double dealing that go on behind closed doors. Many lives risked and some ruined. Written by the grand-daughter of Celery, it's been well researched and seems very thorough in its investigations. Essential reading for Cold War enthusiasts.
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First off, I have to say that getting a copy of this book took both perseverance and patience. I had ordered a copy in late December and it finally arrived in late February. It was slated for release in Canada on January 19, 2018 but even after that date, there were no actual books in stock online or in stores (Chapters bookstore). I even went so far as visiting Foyles while I was in London in early February and they had not received any copies either. I could have ordered an e-book but I prefer
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Double Agent Celery is a marvellous character, all the more marvellous because he's the real McCoy. If this was a work of fiction it would be considered too fanciful. A loveable rogue, and you wouldn't trust him as far as you could throw him.
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I experienced great pleasure in reading this incredible and important book, I have been recommending it to family and friends. I was quite touched by the sadness revealed over the decades,sadness relating to the activities of such a very brave man that some would say was unscrupulous,today we should not judge him,as who are we to judge. This incredible story surrounded so many peoples lives both during Walter Dicketts(Double Agent Celery)own life and the lives of his descendant to this day.The s
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An incredible and historically factual story about a womanizing, scoundrel, WW2 double agent spy that has only just come to light in 2017 - 72 years after the end of the war.
Brilliantly researched for over 7 years and brought to life by agent Celery's granddaughter Carolinda Witt, this book is a truly heroic tale of a man with an incredible past who risked it all to protect his country by entering Germany at the height of the war acting as a double agent for MI5.
A rival to some of the most unbel ...more
Brilliantly researched for over 7 years and brought to life by agent Celery's granddaughter Carolinda Witt, this book is a truly heroic tale of a man with an incredible past who risked it all to protect his country by entering Germany at the height of the war acting as a double agent for MI5.
A rival to some of the most unbel ...more
Life as the saying goes is always sweeter closest to the bone! And For Walter Dicketts this translated into a life not just beyond the beige but way past normality. So far beyond all expectation on into the stratosphere of razor edge bravery. A zest for life and a passion for living life’s adventure to the full meant challenging himself beyond the leaps of risk most of us today might ever expect to face. All for the thrill? Pushing his mind and body to the limit in a career spent challenging adv
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This well researched and documented book by the experienced author Carolinda Witt, delivers an entertaining yet invaluable account of Walter Dicketts, codenames Celery to MI5 and Brown to the Abwehr. His philandering was as daring as his double cross activities with the German secret service. During the nearly decade of research the author not only uncovered the many clandestine lives of her grandfather Walter Dicketts, but discovered a beautiful network of relatives around the globe that she ne
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An incredible insight into the life of a daring, courageous spy who's exploits seem as though they were the inspiration for James Bond Films. While not usually a fan of the spy genre, the factual nature of this book made it impossible to put it down. Clearly the author has gone to significant effort to gain the facts of Walter Dickett's ever changing life and as a result produced a story that will have anyone eager to find out what happens next.
I would strongly recommend this to anyone, well wo ...more
I would strongly recommend this to anyone, well wo ...more
Was lucky enough to get an early copy of this book from the UK prior to the Australian launch. Simply a brilliant read.
This is a true story of a clearly brilliant, extraordinary and compromised man through two world wars . Couldn’t put the book down knowing how this true account has just been pieced together so thoroughly from facts and information that have only recently come to light. Although complex its written in a style that makes it easy to read and take in the atmosphere that our grandpa ...more
I had read a couple of books about Agent SNOW who was inextricably linked to Agent CELERY, but Carolina Witt's book was amazing. I had no idea what a complicated man he was, who, while a rogue and a crook, turned out to be one of MI5's earliest and most successful double agents. It must have been a tremendous 'voyage of discovery' to learn that a relative had had such an illustrious, if checkered life, for both her and the other members of the family. Her book is an extremely valuable addition t
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An interesting piece of original research and a fascinating story. I read a lot of military history, have been to nearly all the places mentioned in the book: Lisbon, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg, Bristol, London … and I thought I knew this period pretty well ~ the Enigma code-breakers, Bletchley Park and SOE, but not so! I found the book absorbing and learnt a lot.
A difficult thing to pull off - blending painstaking historical research into a gripping story. Well done Carolinda Witt.
A difficult thing to pull off - blending painstaking historical research into a gripping story. Well done Carolinda Witt.
Thankyou for writing the story of your grandfather, it could have so easily remained lost to the world. Wow what a convoluted life! Just finished the book and my head is spinning. Will have read the book again to try and absorb the detail. I could not put the book down after I started, lots of lost sleep.
Fascinating story about a grand-daughter discovering who her grand-father was, decades after his death.
A double agent during the 2nd world war, working for MI5 and the Germans, with the unlikely code name of 'Celery'.
It's a really good read and discloses some of the risks that these agents are put through to gather intelligence and how to avoid getting caught. Not an easy task. ...more
A double agent during the 2nd world war, working for MI5 and the Germans, with the unlikely code name of 'Celery'.
It's a really good read and discloses some of the risks that these agents are put through to gather intelligence and how to avoid getting caught. Not an easy task. ...more
An extraordinary story and testimony to truth often being stranger than fiction. Walter's life is a veritable blizzard of experiences, many at the pointy end of extreme peril. For a dodgy character he had a curious sense of honour. A remarkable piece of research by his grandaughter, the author Carolinda Witt.
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This is quite an extraordinary book.
Double Agent Celery, aka Walter Dicketts, was a complex character. On civvy street he was an incorrigible rogue and he paid the price for that on a number of occasions. In times of conflict during WW1 and WW2 his sense of duty to King and country was solidly resolute.
It is a remarkable story wonderfully told.
Double Agent Celery, aka Walter Dicketts, was a complex character. On civvy street he was an incorrigible rogue and he paid the price for that on a number of occasions. In times of conflict during WW1 and WW2 his sense of duty to King and country was solidly resolute.
It is a remarkable story wonderfully told.
Carolinda's latest book Double Agent Celery: MI5's Crooked Hero provides us with a fascinating insight into the life of a loveable rogue - one of the few double agents who undoubtedly helped Britain win the Second World War. Carolinda's book about her grandfather is a fabulous read, her story one of love, hope, betrayal and courage. Her story needs to be told and deserves to be read.
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An exceptional story very well told about a very brave but also a very complex man. Celery was my Father and I wish I had been able to hear it from him personally but Carolinda has done a fantastic job.
Great read - Fascinating, well written, can't believe this is all true!
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Riverting read! Complex characters and fascinating historical detail.
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Carolinda Witt is an award-winning author who lives in beautiful Sydney, Australia with her long-term partner, three children and her cocker spaniel, Frank. Carolinda flew Richard Branson's Virgin Jet-Shaped balloon in the Trans-Australia Balloon Race and loves scuba-diving, skiing, and trekking in nature.
Her narrative non-fiction book, 'Double Agent Celery' is about her grandfather Walter Dicket ...more
Her narrative non-fiction book, 'Double Agent Celery' is about her grandfather Walter Dicket ...more
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