LITMIR.BIZ

       Copyright

      William Collins

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       WilliamCollinsBooks.com

      This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2018

      Copyright © Gordon Corera 2018

      Gordon Corera asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this book.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      Cover images: Map © INTERFOTO/Sammlung Rauch/Mary Evans

      Other images © Shutterstock; Design: Ben Gardiner

      Map © Martin Brown

      While every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material reproduced herein, the publishers will be glad to rectify any omissions in future editions.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Source ISBN: 9780008220303

      Ebook Edition © February 2018 ISBN: 9780008220327

      Version: 2018-08-13

       Dedication

      In memory of Leopold Vindictive

      and others who made their choice.

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Dedication

       Map

       Prologue

       Introduction

       ONE: Birth

       TWO: The Special Pigeon Service

THREE: Leopold Vindictive

FOUR: Arrival

FIVE: Listening

       SIX: Battle of the Skies

       SEVEN: Reaching Out

       EIGHT: Resistance

       NINE: Secret Agents

       TEN: Undercover

       ELEVEN: Battle of the Skies II

       TWELVE: Capture

       THIRTEEN: Interrogation and Infiltration

       FOURTEEN: The Viscount

       FIFTEEN: Trials and Tribulations

       SIXTEEN: Deception

       SEVENTEEN: The Americans are Coming

       EIGHTEEN: Fates

       Acknowledgements

       References

       Picture Section

       Index

       About the Author

       About the Publisher

       Map

       Prologue

      The Belgian farmer could see there was something odd in his field, something that did not belong there. It was early on a July morning in 1941, just over a year after Nazi tanks had swept through the country. As he stepped closer the farmer could make out that the unfamiliar object was a small container with a length of white material attached. Picking it up, he realized the material was a parachute – but one too small for a man. Inside the box he could see something moving and a pair of eyes that peeped out at him through a small opening. Next came the unmistakable sound of a pigeon cooing. Attached to the side of the container was a message – a request for help. The farmer decided this was something that he needed to consult his wife about.

      It was a moment of peril – one that many a British pigeon did not survive. The message made clear that

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