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By Lord Ashcroft

IN THE SHADOWS
The extraordinary men and women of the Intelligence Corps

The new book by Michael Ashcroft, with a Foreword by Lord Hague of Richmond.

Publication date: 8th November 2022
Price: £25 hardback

PRE-ORDER NOW FROM BITEBACK OR AMAZON.

The Intelligence Corps is one of the smallest and most secretive elements of the British Army. It has existed in various guises since the early twentieth century, but it was only formally constituted in July 1940. In this book, Michael Ashcroft tells the astonishing stories of some of its most courageous and ingenious figures, who have operated all over the world from the First World War to the present day.

Whether carrying out surveillance work on the street, monitoring and analysing communications, working on overseas stakeouts, receiving classified information from a well-placed contact or interrogating the enemy in the heat of war, a hugely diverse range of people have served in the Corps, often supplementing their individual professional skills with original thinking and leadership in the name of the Crown. This book pays tribute to them and shows why, in the words of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, ‘No war can be conducted successfully without early and good intelligence.’

Lord Ashcroft is donating all author’s royalties from In the Shadows to military charities.

PRAISE FOR IN THE SHADOWS

“Every story in this book is a gripping individual drama, reminding us that many Intelligence Corps operators have risked and, in some cases, lost their lives in pursuit of a mission. Taken together, these accounts combine to portray a remarkable organisation.”
Lord Hague of Richmond, from the Foreword to In the Shadows.

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READ THIS PRESS RELEASE IN FULL

By Lord Ashcroft

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has had his latest “hero of the month” article published in Britain at War, the country’s best-selling military history monthly magazine.

The October issue of the magazine has four pages on the life and career of Fight Lieutenant Michal Maciejowski DFC, DFM, one of many Polish servicemen who fought with the Allies to try to regain their homeland during the Second World War.

Maciejowski was one of the scores of brave Poles who served in the RAF, having been forced to flee their homeland in late 1939, after his country was invaded by Germany. (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

Published in The Mail On Sunday on 25 September 2022.

LORD ASHCROFT shares the full story of the short yet remarkable life of a baby-faced soldier who died saving his company’s ‘father-figure’ commander in the Great War

• Park in Tottington, Bury will be renamed in honour of Private George Peachment
• Pte Peachment was the youngest servicemen to be awarded Victoria Cross at 18
• A giant mural depicting him and his mother, Mary, and VC will also be unveiled
• The baby-faced soldier died more than a century ago during First World War

At 2pm today, Padre Hugh Bearn will preside over a service to commemorate a courageous baby-faced soldier who died more than a century ago. The event in Bury, Lancashire, will also bring to a close his long campaign to right a wrong. (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

Press Release at 1430hrs on 21 September 2022.

The huge increase is made possible by Crimestoppers founder Lord Ashcroft, matching the sum offered by a new private donor as a renewed appeal is launched for anonymous information.  

The charity Crimestoppers, which provides a vital service enabling people who might otherwise stay silent to speak up anonymously, is today offering a new reward of up to £200,000 for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

Olivia, who was just 9 years old, was shot dead by a gunman who had forced his way into a property in Dovecot, Liverpool on Monday, 22 August 2022. Her mother, 46-year-old Cheryl, sustained injuries during the shooting whilst trying to protect her young daughter from harm.

Last week, the founder of Crimestoppers, Lord Ashcroft, offered £50,000 which he has now doubled to match a £100,000 donation from a new, public-spirited private donor to make a total of £200,000. (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

The charity Crimestoppers makes urgent direct appeal to those with information to contact Crimestoppers anonymously

As the desperate search for the killer of schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel continues, the Founder and Chair of the charity Crimestoppers, Lord Ashcroft, is supporting the investigation by personally offering £50,000 for information that leads to those responsible being jailed. (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has had his latest “hero of the month” article published in Britain at War, the country’s best-selling military history monthly magazine.
The September issue of the magazine has four pages on the life and career of Captain Charles Upham VC and Bar, the only combat soldier ever to be awarded two Victoria Crosses.
Upham, who was born and raised in New Zealand, showed incredible and relentless bravery for much of the Second World War having enlisted into the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

He was awarded his first VC for outstanding bravery in the defence of Crete in 1941, initially leading a counter-attack on an airfield that Germany had captured and later completing a series of courageous actions. (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

Lord Ashcroft is to write a biography of Liz Truss. The former Conservative peer, who has also served as Conservative Party treasurer, made the announcement within minutes of Ms Truss being announced as the new Tory leader and new Prime Minister today.

He said: “I have watched the Conservative Party leadership campaign with great interest over the past eight weeks. Now that the results are in, I am pleased to announce formally that I will be writing a biography of the new party leader and Britain’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss.”

He added: “I know that Harry Cole, the political editor of The Sun, and James Heale, the diary editor of The Spectator, are currently working together on a book about Ms Truss. According to my contacts in the publishing industry, their effort – which is apparently being produced with the co-operation of Ms Truss and her wider family – will be published this autumn. My project will be different. As with all of my previous political biographies, my book on Ms Truss will be accurate, objective, open-minded, fair, factual and even-handed. It will also be independent.” (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has had his latest “hero of the month” article published in Britain at War, the country’s best-selling military history monthly magazine.

The August issue of the magazine has four pages on the life and career of Staff Sergeant Olaf “Oz” Schmid GC, who showed outstanding bravery as a bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan in 2009 – a tour of duty that eventually cost him his life. (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

Published in The Mail On Sunday on 24 July 2022.

Major Colin Ogden-Smith volunteered for a group known as the Jedburghs

Small Breton community in France still holds a special service every other year 

The service will commemorate the gallantry of the British Special Forces office

At 11am next Saturday, in the heart of the French countryside, up to 100 people will attend a moving ceremony.

The event is to remember the lives of three men who died as a result of a daring wartime mission behind enemy lines nearly 80 years ago. (more…)

By Lord Ashcroft

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has had his latest “hero of the month” article published in Britain at War, the country’s best-selling military history monthly magazine.

The July issue of the magazine has four pages on the life and career of Warrant Officer Class 1 Barry Johnson GC, who was decorated for courageous bomb disposal work in Northern Ireland that nearly cost him his life.

Johnson, who was born in north London, underwent a three-year apprenticeship as an ammunition technician before joining the Royal Army Ordnance Corps.

During his second tour of Northern Ireland in 1989, he was called to deal with a van abandoned in a housing estate in Londonderry. It soon became apparent that inside the van were six barrels loaded with mortars. (more…)