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WW2 Royal Navy bio Admiral J. H. Godfrey DNID CO RIN
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Very Special Admiral
The Life of Admiral J. H. Godfrey, C.B.
by
Patrick Beesly
foreword by
Captain Stephen Roskill

First published 1980 by
Hamish Hamilton Limited, London

£18.00 + P & P

A green cloth bound book with gilt lettering to the spine which is very lightly bumped at the ends - in VERY GOOD condition.

Dust wrapper is unclipped in VERY GOOD condition. 343 pages

145 mm. x 222 mm. x 33 mm.
ISBN 0241103835

Jacket flap blurb

John Godfrey was indeed a Very Special Admiral. Appointed Director of Naval Intelligence in 1939, his achievements rivalled those of his legendary predecessor Blinker Hall. An intellectual who acted 'ruthlessly, relentlessly and remorselessly', his insistence on the independence and integrity of Intelligence and his dislike of Wishful Thinking and Very Senior Officer Veneration incurred the displeasure of Churchill and the Chiefs of Staff and the opposition of his Army and Air Force colleagues. Although dismissed by Admiral Sir Dudley Pound at the end of 1942, he had by then saved British Naval Intelligence by his exertions and Allied Intelligence by his example.

Godfrey entered Britannia in 1903 and retired, after commanding the Royal Indian Navy, in 1946. This outspoken biography, based partly on Godfrey's own unpublished memoirs, not only reveals much about World War II Intelligence which the official records conceal, but gives a fascinating picture of life in the Royal Navy during an era of unprecedented change; China in 1910 and again in 1931, the Dardanelles in 1915, the Black Sea in 1919, Whitehall in the twenties and thirties, Spain during the Civil War and India in the last years of the Raj are all brought vividly to life through the eyes of one of the Navy's most brilliant but unorthodox officers.

The author, who knew Godfrey well and served under him in the Intelligence Division, portrays a complex and intriguing man, warts and all, to whom his countrymen owe an immense if hitherto unrecognised debt. Patrick Beesly's previous book, Very Special Intelligence, was hailed by the critics as one of the most authoritative books on World War 11 Intelligence to have appeared in recent years. His biography of Admiral Godfrey is a worthy, and fascinating, successor.

Jacket design by Mon Mohan

Contents

Maps by Patrick Leeson

List of Abbreviations

Foreword by Captain Stephen Roskill

Preface

Chapter

    1. EDWARDIAN CADET
    2. THE DARDANELLES
    3. MEDITERRANEAN STAFF OFFICER
    4. THE YEARS BETWEEN
    5. BATTLECRUISER
    6. DIRECTOR OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
    7. WINSTON IS BACK
    8. WILFRED TO SEALION
    9. IT DOES WORK. THAT'S THE MAIN THING
    10. THREE VIEWS OR ONE
    11. DISMISSAL
    12. INDIA'S CORAL STRAND
    13. RIN
    14. MUTINY
    15. A VERY ACTIVE RETIREMENT

Short Bibliography

Index

List of Illustrations

Britannia and Hindustan, 1897
Britannia cadets, 1902
Lieutenant, 1909
HMS Bramble, 1911
HMS Swiftsure and HMS Euryalus, March 1915
Commander, 1921
John and Margaret, 15 December 1921
The Captain of Suffolk ashore, 1932
Repulse leaving Portsmouth, 8 June 1936
Refugees from Majorca, 1936
DNI, 1942
Recruiting in the Punjab, 1943
Inspection. Navy Day, 1945
With Princess Alexandra, July 1956
John and Margaret at Wilmington, 1969
These images augment my written description - " A green cloth bound book with gilt lettering to the spine which is very lightly bumped at the ends - in VERY GOOD condition. " If there is anything else you would like to see or know then please email me and if I can I will oblige !
These images augment my written description - " A green cloth bound book with gilt lettering to the spine which is very lightly bumped at the ends - in VERY GOOD condition. " If there is anything else you would like to see or know then please email me and if I can I will oblige !
These images augment my written description - " A green cloth bound book with gilt lettering to the spine which is very lightly bumped at the ends - in VERY GOOD condition. " If there is anything else you would like to see or know then please email me and if I can I will oblige !

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This link will take you to Admiral Sir William James' biography of Admiral Hall ' The Eyes of the Navy ' page at camberpete.co.uk ! Click for Patrick Beesly's biography of Admiral J. H. Godfrey C.B. ' Very Special Admiral '. John Godfrey's naval career from joining in 1903 until he retired in 1946 as head of the Indian Navy was eventful including the Dardanelles, Black Sea [1919], China, Captain HMS Repulse and, most interestingly, his time as Director of Naval Intelligence from 1939 until 1942 when the changes he introduced and his efforts to update the service brought him into disrepute with senior politicians and admirals. This book is for sale at camberpete.co.uk ! BRITISH INTELLIGENCE - Secrets, spies and sources by STEPHEN TWIGG, EDWARD HAMPSHIRE, GRAHAM MACKLIN: OVER THE LAST DECADE, thousands of intelligence files have been released to the National Archives in Kew. British Intelligence draws upon these once-secret records to tell the real story of Britain's security services, from their beginnings in the 19th century to the challenges facing agents of today. Click here to go to Captain von Rintelen's wartime [1914-18] reminiscenses of a german intelligence officer ' The Dark Invader ' at camberpete.co.uk !