ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

At the top of my list of those I would like to thank for their help and encouragement are Barbara and Tony Bertram’s family. Their eldest son, Tim, gave me access to Barbara’s wonderful monologue, C’est On , C’est Off , and allowed it to be published for the first time in this book. His daughter, Tasha, who has been working on a film script based on her grandparents’ experiences in parallel to but independent of my own project, has been equally supportive. And the sadly now deceased, Father Jerome Bertram, Barbara’s other surviving son, who allowed me to paint what I hope is an accurate picture of his parents’ background and to use a number of very relevant photographs.

Jerome was also responsible for introducing me to Colin Cohen, son of Kenneth Cohen who had such a leading role in running SIS missions in France during the war. I am extremely grateful to Colin, who has fed me intriguing snippets of his father’s memories as well as some photographs which appear in this book.

I spent a fascinating twenty-four hours with Gilbert Pineau, son of the network chief, Christian, who was twelve years old when his father was arrested by the Gestapo and who kindly put me up in his Paris apartment and provided invaluable insights into that traumatic period. My thanks go also to Jean Novosseloff of the organization Mémoires et Espoirs de la Résistance , who put me in touch with Gilbert Pineau.

I will also not forget the help Elspeth Forbes-Robertson gave me in pointing me in the direction of useful sources at the beginning of my research and I am equally grateful to those who gave me spontaneous assistance as I retraced the footsteps of some of the leading players in this story. Ann Dennis, the current owner of Bignor Manor, is one example and members of the de La Bardonnie family, close to the Dordogne, are another. Guy de La Bardonnie, in particular, eldest son of the pioneering Résistant , Louis, has provided me with useful family memorabilia.

Lastly, I should like to thank my wife, Fiona, companion on some of my research expeditions and sounding board for a number of draft passages and also Martha Dancy, my niece, whose original idea set me thinking about writing the book in the first place.