Well of the Winds Page 33
Unity Mitford
A member of the famous Mitford clan, Unity was somewhat overshadowed by her older siblings. Looking for her niche, she – like many of the aristocracy at the time – embraced the ranting of Adolf Hitler, seeing him as a defence against Communism spreading from Russia under the tutelage of Stalin.
So obsessed did she become, that she made it her business to travel to Germany in the years before the war in order to meet the Führer. Using her undoubted good looks and resourcefulness, she did, by making sure she was in the right coffee shop at the right time.
However contrived their meeting, she and the German chancellor went on to spend a lot of time together, and Mitford was frequently mentioned as being ‘Hitler’s girl’, suggesting some kind of relationship. There were even reports that his long-time partner and eventual wife, Eva Braun, developed a visceral hatred of the young English socialite, further fuelling the fire as regards a potential affair.
The accepted history was that, eventually discarded by the Führer, Unity Mitford tried and failed to kill herself with a bullet to the skull. As a gesture of goodwill, she was given safe passage in 1940 to return to Britain to be looked after by her family.
Writing in December 2007, journalist Martin Bright cast doubt over this version of events. To cut a long story short, he uncovered details that appear to indicate that Unity Mitford was smuggled from Germany and taken to a private nursing home in the English Home Counties. You would be right to assume that there is nothing unusual about someone recovering from injury to be admitted to such a place. However, this establishment was a private maternity clinic, lacking both the facilities and expertise required to treat a patient suffering from the trauma of a bullet wound.
There are photographs of Mitford arriving back in England on a stretcher in the early weeks of 1940. She’s sitting up, looking coyly at the camera, covered by a blanket, but with no obvious signs of injury to her head – not even a bandage. Indeed, for someone who has just attempted to take her own life by such means she looks remarkably healthy.
Guy Liddell, then number two at MI5, doubted that she had tried to kill herself. Despite his best efforts, he was never permitted the opportunity to interview the young woman. In itself this seems strange, given that she had just returned from Germany and was a known intimate of Hitler. Surely she would have known much that would have been of interest to British Intelligence as war raged across the globe.
Whatever the truth, Unity Mitford disappeared from sight and died on the family’s estate of Inch Kenneth, a small island near Mull, in 1948.
For further reading, see the article mentioned above: ‘Unity Mitford and Hitler’s Baby’ by Martin Bright, published in the New Statesman on 13 December 2007.
In this latest of Daley’s investigations, much of the action is set on the fictional island of Gairsay, in fact the beautiful Isle of Gigha. With its white sands, beautiful gardens and sweeping vistas across the Atlantic towards Islay and Jura to the west and Kintyre to the east, it is well worth a visit. The ferry ride takes less than half an hour; I guarantee that in those thirty minutes you will be transported to another world.
D.A.M.
Gartocharn
March 2017
Acknowledgements
As always, my lovely family, Fiona, Rachel and Sian, who make this all worthwhile. My publisher Hugh Andrew and all at Birlinn/Polygon; editor Alison Rae (the magnificent); and my inspirational agent Anne Williams of KHLA.
To the staff of Campbeltown Library for their help with research on the town in World War Two, and John Martin, a man with a foot in both camps, being a native of Campbeltown as well as a long-time resident of the beautiful Isle of Gigha. His colourful memories of both places helped immensely. Incidentally, Hamish owes more than a nod to Mr Martin, as you can see for yourself if you are wise enough to visit the bar of the Gigha Hotel, where he can occasionally be found holding court while sucking on an unlit pipe.
To Alex McKinven for his memories of old Campbeltown. Freddy Gillies, another ex-pat Campbeltonian Gigha resident, whose book To Campbeltown Once More (Ardminish Press) is a treasure trove of stories. Also some of the many works of Angus Martin, the true historian of the area. My gratitude, too, to Professor Gavin Bowd of St Andrews University. His book Fascist Scotland (Birlinn) contains fascinating glimpses of disturbing goings-on during the war right across society. Also, of course, the books by the late Angus MacVicar, particularly his autobiographical works – repositories of endless delights.
My late father and mother, Alan and Elspeth Meyrick; and my granny Margaret Pinkney (née Macmillan), all of whom regaled me with stories of times past, from childhood onwards, and are the reason I write in the first place.
Finally, to the people of Kintyre, the place I still and will forever call home, God bless you.
I’m so heartened to hear from an amazing number of readers who have made the trip to Campbeltown after reading the DCI Daley books. Please sign up to my Twitter feed and Facebook page to discover more about what’s going on in Campbeltown and its environs, plus some great places to stay.
The DCI Daley thriller series
Whisky from Small Glasses
DCI Jim Daley is sent from the city to investigate a murder after the body of a woman is washed up on an idyllic beach on the west coast of Scotland. Far away from urban resources, he finds himself a stranger in a close-knit community.
Love, betrayal, fear and death stalk the small town as Daley investigates a case that becomes more deadly than he could possibly imagine, in this compelling novel infused with intrigue and dark humour.
The Last Witness
James Machie was a man with a genius for violence, his criminal empire spreading beyond Glasgow into the UK and mainland Europe. Fortunately, James Machie is dead, assassinated in the back of a prison ambulance following his trial and conviction. But now, five years later, he is apparently back from the grave, set on avenging himself on those who brought him down. Top of his list is his previous associate, Frank MacDougall, who, unbeknownst to DCI Jim Daley, is living under protection on his lochside patch, the small Scottish town of Kinloch. Daley knows that, having been the key to Machie’s conviction, his old friend and colleague DS Scott is almost as big a target. And nothing, not even death, has ever stood in James Machie’s way . . .
Dark Suits and Sad Songs
When a senior Edinburgh civil servant spectacularly takes his own life in Kinloch harbour, DCI Jim Daley comes face to face with the murky world of politics. To add to his woes, two local drug dealers lie dead, ritually assassinated. It’s clear that dark forces are at work in the town. With his boss under investigation, his marriage hanging by a thread, and his sidekick DS Scott wrestling with his own demons, Daley’s world is in meltdown. When strange lights appear in the sky over Kinloch, it becomes clear that the townsfolk are not the only people at risk. The fate of nations is at stake. Jim Daley must face his worst fears as tragedy strikes. This is not just about a successful investigation, it’s about survival.
The Rat Stone Serenade
It’s December, and the Shannon family are heading to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their AGM. Shannon International is one of the world’s biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago, Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home – and his descendants have been cursed ever since.
When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. But ghosts of the past are coming to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming – but for whom and from what?
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All of the DCI Daley thrillers are available as eBook editions, along with the novella and three short stories below.
Dalintober Moon: A DCI Daley Story
When a body is found in a whisky barrel buried on Dalintober beach,
it appears that a notorious local crime, committed over a century ago, has finally been solved. DCI Daley discovers that, despite the passage of time, the legacy of murder still resonates within the community, and as he tries to make sense of the case, the tortured screams of a man who died long ago echo across Kinloch.
Two One Three: A Constable Jim Daley Short Story (Prequel) Glasgow, 1986. Only a few months into his new job, Constable Jim Daley is walking the beat. When he is called to investigate a break-in, he finds a young woman lying dead in her squalid flat. But how and why did she die?
In a race against time, Daley is seconded to the CID to help catch a possible serial killer, under the guidance of his new friend, DC Brian Scott. But the police are not the only ones searching for the killer . . . Jim Daley tackles his first serious crime on the mean streets of Glasgow, in an investigation that will change his life for ever.
Empty Nets and Promises: A Kinloch Novella
It’s July 1968, and redoubtable fishing-boat skipper Sandy Hoynes has his daughter’s wedding to pay for – but where are all the fish? He and the crew of the Girl Maggie come to the conclusion that a new-fangled supersonic jet which is being tested in the skies over Kinloch is scaring off the herring.
First mate Hamish, first encountered in the DCI Daley novels, comes up with a cunning plan to bring the laws of nature back into balance. But as the wily crew go about their work, little do they know that they face the forces of law and order in the shape of a vindictive fishery officer, an exciseman who suspects Hoynes of smuggling illicit whisky, and the local police sergeant who is about to become Hoynes’s son-in-law.
Meyrick takes us back to the halcyon days of light-hearted Scottish fiction, following in the footsteps of Compton Mackenzie and Neil Munro, with hilarious encounters involving the US Navy, Russian trawlermen and even some ghostly pipers.
Single End: A DC Daley Short Story
It’s 1989, and Jim Daley is now a fully fledged detective constable, working in the heart of Glasgow. When ruthless gangster James Machie’s accountant, known as the Magician, is found stabbed to death in a multi-storey car park, it’s clear that all is not well within Machie’s organisation.
Meanwhile Daley’s friend and colleague DC Brian Scott has been having some problems of his own. To save his job, Scott is persuaded to revisit his past in an attempt to uncover the identity of a corrupt police officer. But there’s a problem. To do so, he must confront Machie and his cohorts. Brian Scott is soon embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse with his childhood friends.
As Daley seeks out his old mentor, Ian Burns, to help save his friend and find out who is telling the truth, it becomes a desperate race against time.