Damien Lewis – Behind Enemy Lines: The Special Forces Heroes Who Changed the Course of WW2
17th October @ 19:00 – 20:00
Archie Gibson’s initiation into desert warfare almost proved to be his last. Barrelling through the sand dunes at the wheel of his truck, Gibson spied a searing flash of light up ahead, the signature of a feared German 88mm gun firing… right at him. He leapt from his speeding vehicle just before it was torn apart and turned into a flaming inferno. Gibson’s response was typical: his next vehicle he christened ‘Wha Daur’ – a phrase culled from the Scottish ballad, ‘Who dares meddle with me?’. Wha Daur proved to be
the slowest and most unwieldy of their Long Range Desert Group patrol – the unit that served as the forerunners of the SAS – but that didn’t stop Gibson from spearheading a string of daring and audacious missions. Miraculously, Gibson survived the war. Decades later, he went on to write his wartime story – twice. Gibson’s family decided that their father’s tale was too important not to be told.
Now, acclaimed historian Damien Lewis brings Gibson’s story to life. Working from Gibson’s incredibly detailed diaries, his sketchbooks, wartime reports, letters and the gripping account written by Gibson’s own hand, Damien reveals the full story… for the first time.
Damien Lewis is a number one bestselling author whose books have been translated into over forty languages worldwide. Many of his books have been made, or are being made, into movies or TV drama. He has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charitable concerns connected
with his writings.
