When an entire army retreats, Common Smith VC must turn the tideSpring, 1922. The Greek army is retreating from Turkey and Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish dictator, intends to have their convoy sunk. The resulting chaos will help a defeated Germany and Russia, unless someone intervenes.'C', the mysterious head of the British Secret Service, knows that Britain is already far too stretched, the French have their own problems, and America has retreated into isolation.As always in such situations, he turns to young Common Smith VC and his gang on Swordfish. Against all odds, Smith must fight his way to Alexandria, where his real mission will begin...The second instalment of Common Smith's adventures, perfect for fans of Max Hennessy and Alexander Fullerton.
Born in the Bootham area of York, England, he was a pupil at the prestigious Nunthorpe Grammar School, leaving at the age of 16 to join the British Army by lying about his age. Keen to be in on the wartime action, Whiting was attached to the 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment and by the age of 18 saw duty as a sergeant in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany in the latter stages of World War II. While still a soldier, he observed conflicts between the highest-ranking British and American generals which he would write about extensively in later years.
After the war, he stayed on in Germany completing his A-levels via correspondence course and teaching English before being enrolled at Leeds University reading History and German Language. As an undergraduate he was afforded opportunities for study at several European universities and, after gaining his degree, would go on to become an assistant professor of history. Elsewhere, Whiting held a variety of jobs which included working as a translator for a German chemical factory and spells as a publicist, a correspondent for The Times and feature writer for such diverse magazines as International Review of Linguistics, Soldier and Playboy.
His first novel was written while still an undergraduate, was published in 1954 and by 1958 had been followed by three wartime thrillers. Between 1960 and 2007 Charles went on to write over 350 titles, including 70 non-fiction titles covering varied topics from the Nazi intelligence service to British Regiments during World War II.
One of his publishers, Easingwold-based Rupert Smith of GH Smith & Son said he was a quiet man and prolific writer.
"He's one of a band of forgotten authors because he sold millions of copies and still, up to his death was doing publishing deals.He was the kind of man who was very self-effacing, one of Britain's forgotten authors, still working at 80 years of age, with his nose down and kicking out books."
Charles Henry Whiting, author and military historian died on July 24 2007, leaving his wife and son.
A nicely written tale but skips an awful lot of detail. How they were able travel around so easily and get all the equipment and load torpedoes during the raid!
While I knew about the Armenian massacres by the Turks, I wasn't aware, despite the well publicised enmity between the two nations, of the Turks massacring Greeks in the early 1920s, so always a plus when a book throws up some new facts. Was this better than the first in the series? Just! Overall I enjoyed this book and the continued story of Common Smith VC and his crew of merry men.