Behind Enemy Lines: The Autobiography of Britain's Most Decorated Living War Hero

by Tommy MacPherson, Richard Bath

With three Military Crosses, three Croix de guerre, a Légion d'honneur and a papal knighthood for his heroics during the Second World War, Sir Tommy Macpherson is the most decorated living soldier of the British Army. Yet for 65 years the Highlander's story has remained untold. Few know how, aged 21, he persuaded 23,000 SS soldiers of the feared Das Reich tank column to surrender, or how Tommy almost single-handedly stopped Tito's Yugoslavia annexing the whole of north-east Italy. Twice captured, he escaped both times, marching through hundreds of miles of German-held territory to get home. Still a schoolboy when war broke out, Tommy quickly matured into a legendary commando, and his remarkable story features a dizzyingly diverse cast of characters, including Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, War, Biography, Autobiography, Military Fiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2010

Reviews

[Chloe (thelastcolour) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and read an autobiography. This man's life was so interesting and eventful! He was like a real life James Bond during WW2 - blowing up bridges and pylons, becoming a prisoner, calling a German Officer's bluff, which resulted in the surrender of 23 000 men. He was extraordinary and also very modest. I'm glad that I tried something different for once, it definitely spices things up a bit!

[Brandon Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent!

[Ben Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because almost half the book has little to do with his military service, which is what I was interested in. Very good book though.

[Kieran White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was recommended this book because of my “slight” obsession and interest in the Second World War. This book is an absolute must for this pool of people as it takes you through the life of a celebrated veteran that truly lived through it. I won’t put any spoilers, but the first 3/4 of the book is thrilling and exciting and I couldn’t put it down.
But unfortunately the reason I’ve given this fantastic account 4* is because the last 1/4 of the book is all about what he did post war and a few times there is just too much information about companies and managements etc. I found the last bit of the book very tough going, but I want going to not finish in respect of the rest of it. I hope that’s not too harsh, but all the political and business jargon was a bit much for me.

[Mike Amor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tommy MacPherson is related to my Grandmother on my Dad's side. I bought this at the MacPherson Clan Museum in Newtonmore, Scottish Highlands. The military feats of this man (around 21 years of age at the time) are mindboggling. Not sure where the bravery genes went to but I'm not sure they filtered down through Dad's lineage to me. Apart from the wartime stories, Tommy and his family had fascinating business and community lives. I must remember to tell Sam (my son) that Tommy and his brother had national representative experience with the Scottish Rugby side.

I enjoyed the read, due to the family connection.

[Mandy Morrison]

I have just purchased and awaiting delivery, I await in anticipation the arrival.

I had the great honour of meeting Sir Tommy when I rented a cottage on the MacPherson estate.

I often witnessed him walking up Craig Dhu in his kilt. He was a very special and gracious man and what I did not know at the time that he was such a legend. I for one only wished I had known half of what he had accomplished and been given the chance to thank him! I have always had a great interest in history especially the Great war and the 2nd world war. I will always cherish memories of meeting this great man and his wife Lady Jean and family.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m happy I read this. A brave and resourceful man and an account of his exploits during the war is, I would say, of great value.
I found the account of his life prior to the war, his upbringing and school days a bit of a trudge; all, I suppose, adds to the foundation of how he survived, especially the possession of such sports prowess.
One must confess, the privileged background did rub a little; it came across as a touch showy. But who am I to comment: I’ve the sporting skill of a snail, and I’m absolutely sure that faced with a smidgen of the danger this man took on, I’d faint.

[Glenn W Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Behind Enemy Lines is about highly decorated Sir Tommy MacPherson, one of the UPs most decorated soldiers

Would have been a five star book of it covered his military service as much as it covered his upbringing and sports accomplishments, little did I recognize as rugby, cricket, etc are not well know games in the US. Many of the terms used are not used or recognize here as well.

[Dan Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book from the first page til the 200th. Very interesting to see how many adventures he’s been on. Huge respect for his career during and after military life. Unfortunately, though it completes the story, I have zero interest in business, so the latter few chapters were a bit of a struggle.

[Greg Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

an amazing read

The story would be just as amazing if only half were true. At times, you think this can’t be true, it must be a Walter Mitty. But to know the story is to know what an amazing life he led!

[Bighairyken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man really did have an incredible life - so understated and so very Scottish in attitude. Great writing - a biography full of life and not facts. You really want to make your mark on the world, this is the way to do it.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting autobiography of a man with an interesting life.

[Mark Steed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure that they make them like Sir Thomas Macpherson anymore - this is a remarkable autobiography of a truly extraordinary man.

Catapulted from a privileged upbringing in the highlands of Scotland and at Fettes into military service, the young officer spent most of the war causing trouble 'behind enemy lines'. He was captured and escaped three times, before being parachuted into France in 1944 with a small elite team charged with the task of disrupting the German withdrawal. At times his account reads like a Biggles novel: blowing up railway lines, power cables and bridges before escaping under fire on a motorbike or stolen car. At times the reader needs to be reminded that this is no work of fiction, and these were not pranks - these were real operations that had a significant impact on the course of the war. The French phase of his "war" culminated in the kilted Macpherson personally taking the surrender of 23,000 SS soldiers of the Das Reich tank column. He was then transferred to northern Italy, a region which he already knew well from one of his escapes from the Germans earlier in the war, where he almost single-handedly prevented Tito's Yugoslavia annexing the whole of north-east Italy. No one could doubt that he had a "good war" - his tally of decorations speak for themselves: three Military Crosses, a Croix de Guerre, a Papal Knighthood and the honour of being a Chevalier in the Legion d'honneur.

But there is so much more to this autobiography than the reminiscences of a war hero. Sir Thomas story didn't end with the German final surrender - his fascinating life continued. A talented sportsman, he combined playing fly-half for London Scots with a top athletics career, even beating a young Roger Bannister whilst at Oxford. After graduating with a First in PPE, he went on to be tutor to the young Prince Edward (later the Duke of Kent), mixing with the royal family - he diplomatic enought to be bowled out by Prince Phillip (later the Duke of Edinburgh). Leaving royal service, he went on to qualify as a lawyer before embarking on a distinguished career in industry which saw him take seats on the Board of many of the country's top companies, culminating in him becoming President of the London, then British, and finally, European Chambers of Commerce.

[André · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a review of the book (which I would give 4.5 stars) but more a correction of a small but very significant detail which keeps turning up when people discuss Sir Tommy Macpherson's remarkable life and his incredible military accomplishments.

Sir Tommy Macpherson never said or wrote he forced the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich to surrender simply because he did not.
He and his group of Résistance fighters were not equipped to do that. Sadly.
What they managed to do however was to delay the division's advance towards Normandy with a set of well planned sabotage actions.
The infamous SS Division went on to fight The Battle of the Bulge, continued to Antwerp after which it was pulled back to Germany and Austria where it finally surrendered in Linz in May 1945.
Sir Tommy Macpherson was involved in forcing/fooling German Maj. General Erich Elster and his 20,000 troops to surrender (who had indicated his willingness to surrender to the Americans) Sept. 16 1944.

That said, anyone interested in the Jedburghs or WW2 in general should read this book.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible story about a young man who went to war, fought as a commando, was captured and then escaped twice from POW camps, before leading SOE campaigns in France and Italy, working very successfully with local resistance to disrupt the occupying German forces. Amazingly, his family were mostly unaware of his wartime feats.

After the war, he carved out a hugely successful business career which is what he seems more proud of, I suspect because he had to forge his own way rather than simply reacting to the circumstances that he found himself thrust into. For the reader, the war stories are far more impressive as they are so removed from our experience.

Tommy MacPherson is one those sickening people you come across in life who are highly intelligent, talented at sport, driven, successful, and at the same time seem to be utterly charming, warm, modest and engaging. I'm delighted he was encouraged to share his story.

[Jeffrey Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it says, “most decorated”, it’s no joke. He won three Military Crosses, three Croix de Guerre, a Légion d’Honneur and a Papal knighthood. During the Second World War, he was behind enemy lines for four years and never slept in the same bed for more than one night. He worked with both French and Italian partisans, and single-handedly negotiated the surrender of two Axis units, totalling over 20,000 men. He was a phantom… a superhero. He should never have survived.

I was lucky enough to meet him when he was President of Athletics at Oxford and immediately loved the man; he was everything that I admired. We won the war and were able to establish our modern, free democracies because of men like Tommy.

For more of my reviews, please go to My Unputdownable Articles

[Josh Meier]

The autobiography is about Tommy McPherson. Who was still a boy when the war broke out. He grew up to be a legendary commando. he was captured and had escaped twice. He fraught through hundreds of miles to make it back home. he had made forces way bigger then all of his troops surrender and stopped the capturing of northern Italy. the book was very well writen and had an amazing story line.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting and fascinating story. Such a brave hero this man was. My only criticism is that the last quarter of the book is about his civilian life as the war was over. This didn't really interest me.

[Richard Schick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be a little hard to find but worth the effort . I was attracted to it because I had never heard of him despite my background in Special Ops.
He is a fascinating character though I took one star away as I found the style a bit dry for my taste.

[Kid · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is basically 3 parts: childhood, at war, and business life. I will grant mr macpherson that he lived a pretty remarkable life, but the book is written so blandly it's hard to care.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most fascinating in this book are Tommy MacPherson's descriptions of his experiences supporting the resistance during WWII.

[Fred Cheever · Rating 3 out of 5]

An honest autobiography with good parts and bad. The child of empire and brave, creative war hero becomes an arch-tory. Perhaps that's no surprise.