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Boarding Party
subtitle: The Last Action of the Calcutta Light Horse
203 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
23 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
James Leasor
155 books13 followersJames Leasor was a prolific British author, who wrote historical books and thrillers. A number of Leasor's works were made into films, including his 1978 book, Boarding Party, about an incident from the Second World War that until that time was secret, was turned into a film, "The Sea Wolves", starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.
Thomas James Leasor was born at Erith, Kent, on 20th December 1923 and educated at the City of London School. On leaving school, whilst waiting to join the army, he had his first foray into journalism, as a cub scout reporter for the Kent Messenger.
He volunteered for the Army in World War 2, as soon as he was old enough. He was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment and served in Burma with the Lincolnshire Regiment.
After the war he went up to Oriel College, Oxford, to read English. There he edited the Isis magazine, before joining the Daily Express. He became a full-time author in the 1960s. He also ghosted a number of autobiographies for subjects as diverse as the Duke of Windsor, King Zog of Albania, the actors Kenneth More and Jack Hawkins and Rats, a Jack Russell terrier that served with the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
He lived for his last 40 years at Swallowcliffe Manor, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. He died on 10th September 2007 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Swallowcliffe.
Thomas James Leasor was born at Erith, Kent, on 20th December 1923 and educated at the City of London School. On leaving school, whilst waiting to join the army, he had his first foray into journalism, as a cub scout reporter for the Kent Messenger.
He volunteered for the Army in World War 2, as soon as he was old enough. He was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment and served in Burma with the Lincolnshire Regiment.
After the war he went up to Oriel College, Oxford, to read English. There he edited the Isis magazine, before joining the Daily Express. He became a full-time author in the 1960s. He also ghosted a number of autobiographies for subjects as diverse as the Duke of Windsor, King Zog of Albania, the actors Kenneth More and Jack Hawkins and Rats, a Jack Russell terrier that served with the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
He lived for his last 40 years at Swallowcliffe Manor, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. He died on 10th September 2007 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Swallowcliffe.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 29, 2017
A great, fast-paced story with lots of details that reads more like a novel. It is unbelievable to think that this operation was carried out by a group of over-age men and there are lots of comic relief in the book about some of their shenanigans.
September 11, 2025
After reading JD’s and Ian’s positive reviews of this book, I was predisposed to like it and, sure enough, I did. It’s the story of an obscure and unorthodox military operation in the Portuguese colony of Goa in March 1943, undertaken by the Special Operations Executive with a group of middle aged British expats, veterans of WWI, who lived and worked in Calcutta. The objective of the mission was to destroy a secret radio transmitter located on a German cargo ship, the Ehrenfels anchored in the harbour of Marmagoa. Transmissions from the Ehrenfels with precise information on Allied cargo ships sailing from Indian ports (cargos, routes and destinations) were being sent to German U boats operating in the Indian Ocean and they, in turn, were efficiently locating and sinking these vessels, with negative consequences for the Allied war effort.
All of the sequences of the operation, from the early planning stages, to the recruitment of volunteers from the Calcutta Light Horse and the Calcutta Scottish, preparations for the trip to Goa, to the attack and its aftermath are presented in a style that at times reads like a documentary and more often like a novel - with a few periods of tension and many moments of humor.
The book is well written and very engaging. The author combines factual details with fictional dialogue and descriptions in a unique way to produce a storyline that flows smoothly and holds the reader’s attention. Overall, an interesting WWII history and a very enjoyable read. 4 stars
All of the sequences of the operation, from the early planning stages, to the recruitment of volunteers from the Calcutta Light Horse and the Calcutta Scottish, preparations for the trip to Goa, to the attack and its aftermath are presented in a style that at times reads like a documentary and more often like a novel - with a few periods of tension and many moments of humor.
The book is well written and very engaging. The author combines factual details with fictional dialogue and descriptions in a unique way to produce a storyline that flows smoothly and holds the reader’s attention. Overall, an interesting WWII history and a very enjoyable read. 4 stars
February 20, 2021
In the last month a couple friends asked me what I was reading, and what it was about. This is how I described it to them:
"Ok, so you know how during World War Two the British thought up a lot of crazy shit to fuck with the Germans? Stuff like - "Hey, let's kidnap a German general on Crete", or "Let's throw a body into the ocean with fake invasion plans and maybe the Germans will believe it". This is sort of like that. In this situation, you've got a German freighter that was caught in India during the outbreak of WWII. The Captain wanted to make a break for home, but was ordered to anchor in Goa - a Portuguese colony in India that was neutral. While that ship was there, the Germans utilized a network of spies across India to get information on shipping. So the German ship was radioing that info to subs, who then started killing a lot of allied shipping. So! The British devise a plan - and remember - they can't use British soldiers to attack a neutral country - so they get these middle aged businessmen to go into Goa and attack the ship. If they get caught, they're supposed to claim that they were partying, got caught up in some patriotic zeal, and tried to blow the ship up."
My description is a little more spoilery than that, but that's the gist of it.
If you've seen the movie The Sea Wolves (which, I believe used a couple real locations of incidents described in the book), here's the real story. Recommended for readers interested in India during WWII, and British special operations.
"Ok, so you know how during World War Two the British thought up a lot of crazy shit to fuck with the Germans? Stuff like - "Hey, let's kidnap a German general on Crete", or "Let's throw a body into the ocean with fake invasion plans and maybe the Germans will believe it". This is sort of like that. In this situation, you've got a German freighter that was caught in India during the outbreak of WWII. The Captain wanted to make a break for home, but was ordered to anchor in Goa - a Portuguese colony in India that was neutral. While that ship was there, the Germans utilized a network of spies across India to get information on shipping. So the German ship was radioing that info to subs, who then started killing a lot of allied shipping. So! The British devise a plan - and remember - they can't use British soldiers to attack a neutral country - so they get these middle aged businessmen to go into Goa and attack the ship. If they get caught, they're supposed to claim that they were partying, got caught up in some patriotic zeal, and tried to blow the ship up."
My description is a little more spoilery than that, but that's the gist of it.
If you've seen the movie The Sea Wolves (which, I believe used a couple real locations of incidents described in the book), here's the real story. Recommended for readers interested in India during WWII, and British special operations.
July 5, 2018
An outstanding book on an little known operation with a host of off beat characters.
April 24, 2012
This is an exciting yarn about a lesser known incident that occurred in neutral Portuguese Goa during WW2.
A motley crew of brave men attack a well-armed German battleship, which is transmitting damaging information about the Allied Forces to their masters in Nazi Germany.
Though not brilliantly written it makes for compelling reading.
A motley crew of brave men attack a well-armed German battleship, which is transmitting damaging information about the Allied Forces to their masters in Nazi Germany.
Though not brilliantly written it makes for compelling reading.
August 21, 2015
A history that reads like a post-World War II adventure novel! It'd be hard to believe, if it hadn't really happened. Leasor's writing is fast-paced, exciting, and accessible. The only knock I have is that he seems to be a bit too nostalgic for the old Empire.
September 30, 2015
Skupina srednjovječnih rezervista iz Kalkute, protivno svim izgledima, uspijeva sabotirati Njemačke brodove, među kojima i pomoćnu krstaricu, u luci Goe. zabavno.
'Ako je ovo laka konjica, kako tek izgleda teška?', komentira mlađi časnik koji ih promatra dok treniraju.
'Ako je ovo laka konjica, kako tek izgleda teška?', komentira mlađi časnik koji ih promatra dok treniraju.
July 10, 2025
A book that I read after reading the review of one of my GR Friends.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
As other reviewers have noted, this a highly entertaining history of one of WW2’s most unusual special ops, and the sort of plan that was so eccentric you can’t imagine anybody but the British coming up with it. As the blurb indicates, the Germans had a ship – the Ehrenfels - docked in the Portuguese territory of Goa, on India’s west coast. They had a network of agents throughout India – anti-British Indian nationalists – who passed the Germans extremely detailed information on the departure of ships from Indian ports, including their cargoes and routes. The information was sent by radio from Ehrenfels to German U-boats, who were thus able to devastate Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean.
As Portugal was a neutral country, the British couldn’t simply send in troops to seize Ehrenfels, so they came up with the idea of using a group of middle-aged businessmen, accountants, and solicitors from The Calcutta Light Horse. In theory this was a reserve territorial regiment, but in reality it was more a sports and social club, whose members spent so much time propping up the bar that they were nicknamed “The Calcutta Tight Horse.” The idea was that, if captured, they would claim that they had devised the whole thing themselves, and that the British/Indian authorities had played no part in it. They would get no help from the British if captured, and no credit in the unlikely event of success. There were a total of 18 volunteers, 14 from the Calcutta Light Horse and 4 from a similar unit, the Calcutta Scottish. They would have to board an enemy ship using ladders, and take control of it despite being outnumbered and facing men half their age. Their main advantage would be (hopefully) the element of surprise.
I didn’t know the story before reading the book, so it read like fiction to me, and enthralling fiction, since with a real-life story you know the outcome doesn’t necessarily conform to expectations.
The book does blur the boundary between fiction and non-fiction, in that the author uses the technique of putting himself in the minds of the various characters. Usually this is a pet hate of mine, but in this case the book was so entertaining that I didn’t mind. I did notice one error, a reference to the double agent Richard Sorge. The book described him as an important German agent, whereas I think it’s generally accepted he was a Soviet agent.
Seemingly the story of the operation was unknown until this book lifted the lid on it, in 1978. It was subsequently adapted into a film called The Sea Wolves, which I had never heard of. I will have to look it out now!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
As other reviewers have noted, this a highly entertaining history of one of WW2’s most unusual special ops, and the sort of plan that was so eccentric you can’t imagine anybody but the British coming up with it. As the blurb indicates, the Germans had a ship – the Ehrenfels - docked in the Portuguese territory of Goa, on India’s west coast. They had a network of agents throughout India – anti-British Indian nationalists – who passed the Germans extremely detailed information on the departure of ships from Indian ports, including their cargoes and routes. The information was sent by radio from Ehrenfels to German U-boats, who were thus able to devastate Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean.
As Portugal was a neutral country, the British couldn’t simply send in troops to seize Ehrenfels, so they came up with the idea of using a group of middle-aged businessmen, accountants, and solicitors from The Calcutta Light Horse. In theory this was a reserve territorial regiment, but in reality it was more a sports and social club, whose members spent so much time propping up the bar that they were nicknamed “The Calcutta Tight Horse.” The idea was that, if captured, they would claim that they had devised the whole thing themselves, and that the British/Indian authorities had played no part in it. They would get no help from the British if captured, and no credit in the unlikely event of success. There were a total of 18 volunteers, 14 from the Calcutta Light Horse and 4 from a similar unit, the Calcutta Scottish. They would have to board an enemy ship using ladders, and take control of it despite being outnumbered and facing men half their age. Their main advantage would be (hopefully) the element of surprise.
I didn’t know the story before reading the book, so it read like fiction to me, and enthralling fiction, since with a real-life story you know the outcome doesn’t necessarily conform to expectations.
The book does blur the boundary between fiction and non-fiction, in that the author uses the technique of putting himself in the minds of the various characters. Usually this is a pet hate of mine, but in this case the book was so entertaining that I didn’t mind. I did notice one error, a reference to the double agent Richard Sorge. The book described him as an important German agent, whereas I think it’s generally accepted he was a Soviet agent.
Seemingly the story of the operation was unknown until this book lifted the lid on it, in 1978. It was subsequently adapted into a film called The Sea Wolves, which I had never heard of. I will have to look it out now!
March 18, 2024
Thrilling and inspiring history lesson.
Having seen the film 'The Sea Wolves' several times and always enjoyed it I thought it time I should read the book it's based on and was not disappointed.
It's an intriguing, inspiring true story of some very brave men who made a massive contribution to the war effort but received no accolades for their exploits which is disgraceful.
Thank goodness the film exists to keep alive their memory and keep reminding future generations of their sacrifice.
Obviously the film doesn't stick exactly to the story in this terrific book but the main story is still told and I would highly recommend both.
Having seen the film 'The Sea Wolves' several times and always enjoyed it I thought it time I should read the book it's based on and was not disappointed.
It's an intriguing, inspiring true story of some very brave men who made a massive contribution to the war effort but received no accolades for their exploits which is disgraceful.
Thank goodness the film exists to keep alive their memory and keep reminding future generations of their sacrifice.
Obviously the film doesn't stick exactly to the story in this terrific book but the main story is still told and I would highly recommend both.
February 19, 2019
This book tells the true story of the Calcutta Light Horse, an Indian Army reserve unit organized during WWI but only employed in WWII when members who were considered too old for active service were given a chance to work for the SOE and end an Axis scheme that resulted in hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping sunk in the Indian Ocean. It reads like a novel (and no doubt some of the dialogue is "reconstructed") but this makes it a gripping story of espionage, adventure and determination. Includes maps and some photos.
December 29, 2025
Page-turning true story involving the neutral port of Goa, a complicated WWII Indian political situation, and an unofficial/official British equestrian unit in the waning days of gin and tonic colonialism. James Leasor's novelistic approach, heavily suffused with nostalgia, makes for a nice period piece.
August 1, 2020
Read in 1980. Adventure about a mission by British forces.
January 10, 2023
An absorbing account of a raid on German shipping moored in Goa by the Calcutta Light Horse and the Calcutta Scottish. Much better than the film (The Sea Wolves).
June 24, 2025
A fascinating description of British India. I read it after watching lindybeige’s video on this.
April 4, 2013
This is the true story of a World War II raid. A German ship was sending information on British movements in India from the neutral port of Goa. The British could not overtly attack Goa. To stop the transmissions, they reactivated a Boer War era Unit, the Calcutta Light Horse, and with the aid of a British agent, infiltrated Goa as tourists.
This was turned into an exciting movie starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.
Original title of this was "Boarding Party".
This was turned into an exciting movie starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.
Original title of this was "Boarding Party".
August 20, 2010
-A war story about the U-boats. It is a story that only now can be told about World War 2. The mission to board German boats and stop the sinking of many ships on the water was so secretive that only now have the facts been told. It is very intriguing.
Want to read
July 9, 2012"Stichting Overal" in Nijmegen cleared out some shelves. I received many of the books in a book box in Castricum.
January 17, 2014
Based on a true story. A most enjoyable boys own novel. Engaging from the start and better than the film. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews