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Betrayal in Burgundy
It was still dark. Lancaster Z-Zebra lost height as it crossed the Channel and headed back to England. James Chalmers pushed the yoke forward and eased himself into a more comfortable position. After the hazards of the Ruhr the worst was over. But was it.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
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July 15, 2013
Once again, synchronicity. I enjoy reading about WWII, and two of my recent reads have been about the British SOE, the Special Operations Executive, that was created "to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe...and to aid local resistance movements." (from Wikepedia)
Both novels take place in France and are frame stories, the war narrative contained within modern day stories that bracket the war years.
The first novel I read was The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley.
The second novel was Betrayal in Burgundy.
Betrayal in Burgundy by Howard Shaw was, in that neatly coincidental way, the next book I read that featured the SOE. It is also, by far the better book if you are looking for characters, plot, and realism.
The frame: An old woman and her son visit a cemetery in Burgundy. They look at the markers for the airmen who were shot down. She asks if he notices the difference in the stone for James Chalmers. The frame is very brief at beginning and end. The heart of the story lies within the rest of the book, as the woman tells the story of crew and pilot and the part they played in the war.
Jamie Chalmers is twenty-three, and an RAF bomber pilot Shot down over France, he is the only one of his crew to survive and is lucky enough to be rescued by a group that has helped other airmen in his position. He grieves for his crew and for the woman he has left behind in England who must think him dead. After a lengthy recovery, Jamie agrees to aid in a group who want to do whatever they can to throw a wrench in the Nazi occupying forces.
Along with another Brit, an SOE wireless operator who evaded capture, Jamie works with the small group of Frenchmen who are not formally associated with any Resistance group, but who feel the need to make a difference.
From the scenes in Britain where the young RAF pilots fly by night over Germany, no return trip guaranteed, to the scenes in Burgundy where the courageous stand up and risk their lives in a different kind of war, Howard Shaw brings history to life in an absorbing and believable tale of all those men and women who were willing to risk everything to stop Germany.
Recommended!
How dangerous was the life of an RAF airman?
'The Air Ministry was able to compile the following figures up to 31 May 1947:
Killed in action or died while prisoners of war 47,268
Killed in flying or ground accidents 8,195
Killed in ground-battle action 37
Total fatal casualties to aircrew 55,500
Prisoners of war, including many wounded 9,838
Wounded in aircraft which returned from operations 4,200
Wounded in flying or ground accidents in U. K. 4,203
Total wounded, other than prisoners of war 8,403
Total aircrew casualties 73,741'
from RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War
Taking an example of 100 airmen:
55 killed on operations or died as result of wounds
3 injured (in varying levels of severity) on operations or active service
13 taken prisoner of war (some injured)
2 shot down and evaded capture
27 survived a tour of operations.
from RAF Bomber Command 1939-1945
Historical Novel. June 27, 2013. Print version: 368 pages.
ISBN-10: 1780884885
Both novels take place in France and are frame stories, the war narrative contained within modern day stories that bracket the war years.
The first novel I read was The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley.
The second novel was Betrayal in Burgundy.
Betrayal in Burgundy by Howard Shaw was, in that neatly coincidental way, the next book I read that featured the SOE. It is also, by far the better book if you are looking for characters, plot, and realism.
The frame: An old woman and her son visit a cemetery in Burgundy. They look at the markers for the airmen who were shot down. She asks if he notices the difference in the stone for James Chalmers. The frame is very brief at beginning and end. The heart of the story lies within the rest of the book, as the woman tells the story of crew and pilot and the part they played in the war.
Jamie Chalmers is twenty-three, and an RAF bomber pilot Shot down over France, he is the only one of his crew to survive and is lucky enough to be rescued by a group that has helped other airmen in his position. He grieves for his crew and for the woman he has left behind in England who must think him dead. After a lengthy recovery, Jamie agrees to aid in a group who want to do whatever they can to throw a wrench in the Nazi occupying forces.
Along with another Brit, an SOE wireless operator who evaded capture, Jamie works with the small group of Frenchmen who are not formally associated with any Resistance group, but who feel the need to make a difference.
From the scenes in Britain where the young RAF pilots fly by night over Germany, no return trip guaranteed, to the scenes in Burgundy where the courageous stand up and risk their lives in a different kind of war, Howard Shaw brings history to life in an absorbing and believable tale of all those men and women who were willing to risk everything to stop Germany.
Recommended!
How dangerous was the life of an RAF airman?
'The Air Ministry was able to compile the following figures up to 31 May 1947:
Killed in action or died while prisoners of war 47,268
Killed in flying or ground accidents 8,195
Killed in ground-battle action 37
Total fatal casualties to aircrew 55,500
Prisoners of war, including many wounded 9,838
Wounded in aircraft which returned from operations 4,200
Wounded in flying or ground accidents in U. K. 4,203
Total wounded, other than prisoners of war 8,403
Total aircrew casualties 73,741'
from RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War
Taking an example of 100 airmen:
55 killed on operations or died as result of wounds
3 injured (in varying levels of severity) on operations or active service
13 taken prisoner of war (some injured)
2 shot down and evaded capture
27 survived a tour of operations.
from RAF Bomber Command 1939-1945
Historical Novel. June 27, 2013. Print version: 368 pages.
ISBN-10: 1780884885
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