Has The Amiens Raid by DR J.P. Ducellier been released yet?

[HTML]I think I even saw a B-26 at one point, although may be mistaken[/HTML]

I didn’t see all of the program and so I may have missed the B26 but there were certainly Beaufighters, Venturas and Bostons featuring in the film clips.
When it came to Mosquitos on camera, it contained just about every Mark including Nightfighters, I was waiting for a clip of a Hornet but was disapointed.

An interesting documentary, and Andy it doesn’t simply stick to the “old” story as Dr Ducellier features with some of his research.

I enjoyed watching it, but wonder why the TV company resorted to using shots of Beaufighters instead of Mosquitos at key points in the film? I think I even saw a B-26 at one point, although may be mistaken. Surely they would have access to plenty of Mosquito footage and would therefore have no need to insert shots of other types presumably in the hope that the viewer wouldn’t notice?

Anyway, very much looking forward to reading the book now. Ordered today, thanks to help from Simon Parry!

Just ordered a copy from the Publisher

Thanks… ordered a copy from Red Kite publishers……….. finally get to look at this new work on The Raid. If they just stuck to facts as we know them this would make for a great WW II Classic film.

BlueNoser352!

wow..this book is finally out for sale !!!!

Nice to see my post come up again on this topic….. can someone direct me to a website where one can purchase this book. Long held interest in The Amiens Raid..visited there back in June of 2010. I’ll check Amazon.co.uk to see if its offered there. Would love to get a dvd copy of the documentary and happy to pay for it…….. like many here I have been waiting for this new work to come out. Just back from a trip to The Netherlands & Belgium for a Market-Garden /Battle of The Bulge trip….. BlueNoser352 paying his respect to the brave men who fought at Arnhem.
Here in the US on our version of The History Channel….under the series titles…SECRETS OF WW II…..they have a 30 minute segment on the raid…but don’t think it includes any pilots from the raid. Nice to hear a new documentary has come out.

Much Thanks !

BlueNoser352

Yes, Max Sparks (best name ever!) is a Kiwi.

I’d love to see a copy of this show, we’ll never get to see it here in NZ.

Was Max Sparks a New Zealander? His name rings a bell from somewhere. There was a No. 487 (NZ) Squadron pilot interviewed about three years ago by TV3 here in NZ and he gave a very good account of the raid as well as many other ops and aspects of the war. I wonder if that was him? I have forgotten who it was.

Just finished watching the new Amiens raid documentary. Some good footage and a first-hand account of the mission from Max Sparks.
Quite a bit about Pickard and Broadley but a shame there was no mention (in name) of Richard Sampson.
Even Dr Ducellier makes an appearance near the end of the programme to give us his version of events. I won’t spoil it if you didn’t catch the programme ;)(on again Tues 4th Oct at 8.00am on Yesterday channel, 9.00 on +1, check their website for further repeats –
http://http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/episode/listing_id/151639373/channel_id/3866/listingOffset/1 )

Hi all just a quick reminder that the TV documentary featuring the Amiens Raid is showing at 9pm Monday 3rd October on Yesterday Channel as part of the ‘Great Escapes of World War Two’ series.
This has got to be worth watching…Ive never seen it before…cheers all Jules

Hi Denis, good to hear from you…give me an email sometime to catch up…. thanks for the useful addendum pointing out rights of way and HCC pathways…..in my enthusiasm for all things aviation sometimes I forget the common courtesies…hoping that no-one has been deterred or shot at due to my neglection.
Well back to the point I got my copy of Amiens today, scanned through, looks great, this is an incredibly detailed book which should satisy the keenest Amiens enthusiast. The newly discovered photo of McRitchie and Sampsons downed Mossie is a real historical gap filler. Its been a while coming this one….I cant even reveal the stunning revelations, with my poor memory…so Im going to be up quite late tonight getting stuck into this…..Oh no I feel a re-visit to Pickards crash site will be coming up shortly…cheers all Jules

Just had confirmation that the book was delivered to the publishers yesterday and it will be available at Shoreham Aerojumble this Saturday, 1 October, for the first time.

We purposely didnt make the Hunsdon airfield memorial orientated around the Amiens Gaol raid as it was just one story out of the airfields operations.

Albeit, a well known and famous raid carried out by some very brave men indeed, but Group Captain Pickard, Flt Lt Broadley and Flt Lt Richard Webb Sampson will be commemorated on the new, and additional, plaque that will record all 124 airmen who lost their lives flying from Hunsdon.

This is to be dedicated in a service on Saturday June 23rd 2012. Information on our groups website at http://hamg.co.uk.

Just as an addage, There are No public rights of way on Hunsdon airfield apart from the well signposted public footpaths marked by the HCC. The landowners and the gamekeeper will deter anyone who tresspasses in the woodland or off the beaten track!

Hello Alan I dont live too far away from Hunsdon…there is still alot left, including a superb new memorial with crashed Mosquito blade as its central design…..many buildings exist and there are even more just to the edge of adjacent woodland….I too think its great that its aviation heritage still carries on. Its a very evocative place to visit, I was always interested in the Heinkel He 111 that flat panned there in 1940 and even traced some “locals” who have bits of it. It would be nice to see such a place marked with a “memorial” to the raid having taken off from here. ….fascinating stuff I was fortunate enough to accompany Simon to the crash site of Pickards Mossie a few years back an amazing experience. Cheers Julian

I look forward to watching the programme in October.

I remember as a youngster, back in the early 60’s, we used to go camping on
the farm at RAF Hunsdon. Back then the runway was still intact, although I
was too young to know anything of the airfield’s history.
I was more interested in fishing in one of the ponds.

Looking on Google maps, it’s nice to see that the airfield is still being used for
light aviation.

Just an update….

The nice man from Red Kite books has just informed that he is expecting delivery of the books this Wednesday.

That being the case, he will have copies available at the Shoreham Aerojumble on Sat 1 October where he plans to have a stand.

Although I think it worth mentioning, Julian, that the line of the TV programme (or so I understand) does not follow the line of the research and evidence presented in the forthcoming book. Rather, it follows the old and now discredited story….”Operation Jericho”, 120 resistance guys about to be shot, largish barracks of German troops guarding the prison etc etc etc…. I imagine that was because it was a “better story” for this programme and there was no desire to let facts get in the way of a good story, even although I understand the facts were made known/available to the producers. Or so I am told.

Hope this is of interest:-

Some new pages have just been put up on the Red Kite site – have a look at:
http://www.redkitebooks.co.uk/
Sample pages that give an acount of the actual bombing are at:
http://www.redkitebooks.co.uk/pdfs/amienssamplechapter.pdf
The first 200 copies are being offered at £30 – that’s £10 off the RRP, to reward the lotyalty of those who have followed the progress of the book over years.
The TV documentary featuring the Amiens Raid is showing at 9pm Monday 3rd October on Yesterday Channel as part of the ‘Great Escapes of World War Two’ series.
Cheers Julian

Thanks for the replies. Bombing from 10 feet sounds rather exciting! Thanks for releasing the gist of the new revelations. It sounds intriguing and now I wonder was the RAF aware at all on any level or had they been hodwonked by the Government, or had Britian been hoodwinked by the Resistance in the first place? I guess I’ll have to read the book some day to find out, or wait till Wikipedia is updated.

I take an interest in this raid as a chap from my town was killed in it, Dick Sampson.

Dave

I can only echo and reinforce the comments of Posart, above.

Having been privy (on the periphery) to some of the research along the way, and had a preview of the book, I am 100% confident your fears are without foundation.

This book is not about revisionism per se, if at all, but simply sets the record straight, comes up with some startling ‘new’ information, tells the untold story of the raid and dispels much of the myth about “Operation Jericho”……which it was never called until after the war!

Dave, don’t worry, the book if anything enhances the reputation of the aircrews involved as, amongst other things, it pinpoints the impact point of every bomb dropped and reveals a superbly executed attack carried out by both 464 and 487 Sqns from altitudes as low as 10ft.

The controversial aspect is based upon one crucial point, that there were no French Resistance prisoners about to be executed the next day, let alone 120, despite the aircrews being told this at the briefing. Once you accept this point (which is 100% proven), then one needs to consider why the raid was carried out on such a small provincial prison.

Go through the files in the National Archives and you’ll find many important documents have been removed. Those that remain hint at a cover-up of something. Further investigation reveals a fake message from the Resistance, thanking the RAF for the raid, and a deliberate ‘rewriting’ of the official story before it was released to the newspapers in October 1944.
(All documented and reproduced in the book)

One thing is certain. The aircrews knew nothing of the lies and real motives behind the raid, they all took-off from Hunsdon that morning in the belief that they were going to help save 120 French prisoners from certain death. Their bravery and skills in carrying out the raid are without question.

To quote an often used phrase on this forum, it’s all in the book!

Dave, I’m no better informed than you, but the if I understand correctly, issue isn’t whether or not the raid happened (or much ‘how’) but about the why. It would not be the first (or indeed the last) W.W.II event that has elements of the narrative, such as cover stories, blown away by good original research.

Be that as it may, regarding an earlier aside by Andy, there’s a great deal of difference to booksellers as to whether or not a book comes out two weeks before Christmas or two weeks after. However insulated a publisher may be from reality, that Ls&d difference comes back to them as well, eventually. (Speaking as a bookseller and publisher…)

Regards,