Further WW2 TV Interest 23 Oct BBC2

[A2QFI]

A one hour programme tonight (BBC2 2000) concerning Operation Jericho, the Mosquito raid on the jail at Amiens. The trailer looked good and it is presented by aviation enthusiast Martin Shaw, the actor.

[MG]

We were at Hunsdon on a Staff Ride only 10 days ago. There's a new book out about this called 'The Amiens Raid: Secrets Revealed'. It'll be interesting to see if it's tied in as the book does have some very different views contrary to traditional history.

[A2QFI]

The trailer seemed to imply that the film is based on new information or a revised take on the existing information. Seemed to ask the question of whether the raid was justified and/or achieved its aim.

[MG]

Without giving too much away, the new book suggests that it was part of Fortitude and that there was no one really that important in the prison, at least no one big enough to launch a raid like this. It also suggests that it was never Operation Jericho, but merely a Ramrod operation. I can believe most of the proposals but the evidence is not completely compelling.

[AARON O'DICKYDIDO]

MG

It also suggests that it was never Operation Jericho,

According to the autobiography of ACM Sir Basil Embry, who planned the raid, it was 'Operation Jericho'. Embry himself was forbidden by Leigh-Mallory, to fly on the raid - much to his displeasure.



Aaron.

[green granite]

There are quite a few books/TV programmes recently that have rewritten/modified history to suit views of the author, the last one on the BBC was about operation Crossbow.

[MG]

According to the autobiography of ACM Sir Basil Embry, who planned the raid, it was 'Operation Jericho'. Embry himself was forbidden by Leigh-Mallory, to fly on the raid - much to his displeasure.

The book suggests that the 'Jericho' name was added after a 1946 French film of that title which celebrated the raid. Embry's autobiography would have been written after that and after it had become culturally accepted. There are bits of the book that don't really persuade me but I'm inclined to believe this bit as it was a short notice operation which had no special practise and used a 'line' 2TAF wing. It wasn't really British practise to give an operation name to something like this and certainly not a name which could directly point to its purpose. Operation Chastise was different as it was rehearsed for weeks and its name has no correlation. The same logic applies to Operation Crossbow (having just watched it today for the umpteenth time!); it was only the Crossbow Committee until the film popularised it in 1965, now you can't escape the fact that everyone adds 'operation' to the title of countering v weapons.

[TEEEJ]

One to watch on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 - BBC2 9pm

Code-Breakers: Bletchley Park's Lost Heroes

Documentary that reveals the secret story behind one of the greatest intellectual feats of World War II, a feat that gave birth to the digital age. In 1943 a 24-year-old maths student and a GPO engineer combined to hack into Hitler's personal super code machine - not Enigma but an even tougher system, which he called his 'secrets writer'. Their break turned the Battle of Kursk, powered the D-day landings and orchestrated the end of the conflict in Europe. But it was also to be used during the Cold War - which meant both men's achievements were hushed up and never officially recognised.

BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Code-Breakers: Bletchley Park's Lost Heroes

[sitigeltfel]

Originally Posted by AARON O'DICKYDIDO

Embry himself was forbidden by Leigh-Mallory, to fly on the raid - much to his displeasure.

The risk of someone who was deeply involved in planning Overlord being shot down and captured should have been apparent to Embry.

[Willard Whyte]

And on BBC4...

BBC Four - Wellington Bomber

[henry crun]

There is one person, who I think is still with us, who could clarify any dispute about the naming and intent of Jericho.
Air Commodore E.B.Sismore, DSO, DFC & 2 bars, AFC.

Edward Sismore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia