Meyrick M E (2 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. The format is approximately 4.75 inches by 7.375 inches. 215, [1] pages. Cover is worn and soiled, corners and edges bumped and rubbed. Some page discoloration. No DJ present. Meyrick Edward Clifton James (April 1898 - 5 May 1963) was an actor and soldier, with a resemblance to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery which was used by British intelligence as part of a deception campaign during the Second World War. After serving in the Royal Fusiliers during the First World War, and seeing action at the Battle of the Somme, James took up acting, "starting at 15 shillings weekly with Fred Karno, who put Chaplin on the road to fame". At the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered his services to the British Army as an entertainer. Instead of being assigned to ENSA, as he had hoped, James was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Army Pay Corps on 11 July 1940. In 1944, his resemblance to Montgomery was spotted, and he was employed to pretend to be the general as part of a campaign designed to deceive the Germans in the lead-up to D-Day. In 1944, about seven weeks before D-Day, Lieutenant-Colonel J. V. B. Jervis-Reid noticed James' resemblance to Montgomery. MI5 decided to exploit that resemblance to confuse German intelligence. In 1954, James published a book about his exploits, entitled I Was Monty's Double[10] (released in the US as The Counterfeit General Montgomery[11]). The book became the basis for the script of the 1958 film starring John Mills and Cecil Parker, with James playing himself and Montgomery. I Was Monty's Double (released in the US as The Counterfeit General Montgomery) is a book by M. E. Clifton James, first published in London in 1954. It was made into a film in 1958, directed by John Guillermin, from a screenplay adapted by Bryan Forbes. It tells the story of Operation Copperhead: James had an uncanny resemblance to Bernard Montgomery in real life, and he was used to impersonate Montgomery to confuse the Germans during the Second World War. The film broadly follows the account by James in his book of the same name, but according to James, there was no attempt to kidnap him. The German High Command did plan to have him killed, but Hitler vetoed the plan until he could be sure where the landings would actually take place. Gibraltar was in reality a hotbed of German agents, and James/Montgomery was spied on by several operatives who were smuggled into Gibraltar specifically to discover what "Monty" was up to. James/Montgomery deliberately talked nonsense about non-existent operations and plans, in the hope that the spies would overhear and take such information seriously. Since 2010, the name 'Monty's Double' has been adopted by the actor Colin Brooks-Williams as the identity for his popular Montgomery lookalike and impersonation act, with which he tours 1940s-themed events nationwide as a tribute to Mongomery and James. Brooks-Williams has registered the name 'Monty's Double' as his professional stage name with the actor's union 'Equity' and carries the name on his Equity membership card. Book club Edition [stated]. Presumed first printing thus.

Single Issue Magazine. Condition: Fair. Baker, N. (cover); Tarrant, T. (photographer); Sansone; Caniff, Milton (illustrator). First Edition. 40 pages. Reproductions of black and white photos. Features: Editorial; Winter Comes to No. 3 B.& G. Nov. 2nd, 1944; The Padre's Page; A Tour of Ops; The "Gen" on Rehabilitation - article with photo of F/L E.L. Rose, Personnel Counsellor; Love in a Kitchen; Station Personalities - photos and brief write-ups of Sgt. "Norm" Milne, Cpl. "Hannah" Halverson, Cpl. "Ralph" Brhelle, and W/C C.C. Taylor; 3-A-2 Trainer; Armament Section; Tid Bits from Turrets; Nice group photo of 8 members of the post office staff; Gunnery II; Turret Armourers - H.V. Dodds, W. MacCallum, J.H. Arnett, N. Copley, B.S. Fry, W.N. Haslam, A.G. Schultz, J. Mathews, G.E. Glenn, and A.W. HAncock; Drogue's Drivel - with photo of 12 unnamed airmen; M.T. Mumblings; Gossip, Introductions, Stories; Article on dental clinic staff with group photo of its six members; Kuthbert's Korner; Sports news; "Male Call" comic. Binding intact. Above-average soiling and wear. Child's scribbling erased from back cover. A worthy vintage copy of this nostalgic WWII periodical.