Ghosts of the Empire

by Justin Sheedy

  The following reference books also played a most important part in my research for Ghosts of the Empire…

  The Amiens Raid: Secrets Revealed by Dr J.P. Ducellier (Red Kite 2012), a recent and ground-breaking French analysis of the famous raid as featured in Ghosts of the Empire. Ducellier’s work seeks to question and even debunk what has become accepted as the ‘official truth’ of the raid over the 69 years since it took place. Ducellier’s theories are so logical, indeed so clinical, that they call for a complete overhaul of the by now accepted truth of the raid, especially as it still remains in ‘official’ histories. It is indeed Ducellier’s diligent questioning of the accepted truth that inspired my own portrayal of the famous raid in Ghosts of the Empire. Also Mosquito Mayhem: De Havilland’s Wooden Wonder in Action in WWII by Martin W. Bowman (Pen & Sword, 2010) and Mosquito: The Original Multi-Role Combat Aircraft by Graham M. Simons (Pen & Sword, 2011), the latter being my personal favourite pick of all the Mosquito technical texts I absorbed.

  The following DVD documentaries were also an invaluable resource in my research for this book not only for the historical and technical detail they provided but also for the obvious historical

  ‘immersion factor’ allowed by the audio-visual medium including interviews with the always impressive and charming old men who were once the shining young men who flew the ‘Wooden Wonder’ and survived the war as a result, a key theme of Ghosts of the Empire…

  Mosquito at War (DD Video 2004 – from the files of the Imperial War Museum). Heavy Metal – Mosquito Attack (A&E Television Networks 2002 for The History Channel). De Havilland Mosquito (Eagle Rock Entertainment Ltd 2007). Gestapo – Hitler’s Secret Police (Eagle Rock Entertainment Ltd 2005). Gladiators of World War II – The Special Operations Executive (BBC Video 2007 – Nugus/Martin Productions 1998)

  Once again my thanks to you, the reader, and to all the above individuals and institutions.

  Justin Sheedy, 2013