Buy this book on-line

RIOLS, NOREEN - with a foreword by Paddy Ashdown**: : THE SECRET MINISTRY OF AG. & FISH: My Life in Churchill's School for Spies

LONDON.MACMILLAN.2013.

ISBN 9780230770904.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean, matt,subject/author's portrait (then+now - young +old) colour photographic illustrated front+rear panels respectively of dw/dj panels with white lettering to front and brown+black lettering to spine/backstrip; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top edges lightly aged/toned but with fore-edges bright and clean - all with no foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners, appears unread - apart from my own collation. Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain navy blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked white ink letters to spine/ backstrip,and immaculate plain white endpapers. UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,ix-xpp+1-304pp [paginated] includes foreword by Lord Paddy Ashdown,a prologue,Pts 1+2 and an epilogue which includes Roll of Honour (F Section agents who died),SOE F sections circuits in France; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,contents list/table,acknowledgements, an SOE organization chart and to the rear,2pp blanks. 'My mother thought I was working for the Ministry of AG. and Fish.' So begins Noreen Riols' compelling memoir of her time as a member of Churchill's 'secret army',the Special Operations Executive (SOE).At the end of the war,SOE had 13,000 agents in Europe and Asia.In 1943,just before her eighteenth birthday Noreen received her call-up papers,and was faced with either working in a munitions factory or joining the Wrens. A typically fashion-conscious young woman,even in wartime,Noreen opted for the Wrens - they had better hats.But when one of her interviewers realized she spoke fluent French,she was directed to a government building on Baker Street. It was SOE headquarters,where she was immediately recruited into F-section,led by Colonel Maurice Buckmaster.From then until the end of the war,Noreen worked with Buckmaster and her fellow operatives to support the French Resistance fighting for the Allied cause.Sworn to secrecy,Noreen told no one that she spent days meeting agents returning from behind enemy lines,acting as a decoy,passing on messages in tea rooms and picking up codes in crossword puzzles. Vivid,witty,insightful and often moving,this is the story of one young woman's secret war, offering readers an authentic and compelling insight into what really went on in Churchill's 'secret army' from one of its last surviving members. Please contact seller,because of the weight/value of this item for correct, insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.