Gavin Mortimer

Gavin Nicholas Mortimer is a British writer and historian, specialising in World War Two Special Forces.

Career

Educated at Mill Hill School in north London,[1] Mortimer's first book, the critically acclaimed 'Fields of Glory: the extraordinary lives of 16 warrior sportsmen' was published in 2001 and it was described by the Sunday Telegraph as "inspiring reading".[2] In the course of researching rugby international and SAS commander Paddy Mayne for this book, Mortimer formed a friendship with Johnny Cooper, one of SAS 'Originals', who suggested writing a comprehensive wartime account of the Regiment.

With the assistance of Cooper, Mortimer interviewed more than sixty wartime members of the SAS and Special Boat Squadron over the course of two years, an enterprise that took him to Vancouver Island, Zimbabwe, Cyprus, Spain, France and all four corners of the UK. Among the veterans that Mortimer interviewed were Jeff Du Vivier, Jimmy Storie, Malcolm Pleydell, Reg Redington, Johnny Wiseman and Roger Boutinot, all of whom were members of L Detachment in 1941/2.[3]

The result of Mortimer's research was 'Stirling's Men', published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2004.[4] Mars & Minerva, the SAS regimental journal described the book as “a fascinating insight into the Regiment’s birth and its early years".

Mortimer has subsequently written histories of the Special Boat Squadron, Merrill's Marauders and Long Range Desert Group, drawing heavily on interviews with the men who served in these Special Forces units. He caused controversy in 2015 with an article in the Spectator[5] that revealed the actor Christopher Lee had exaggerated his military service in order to make it appear he had served in the special forces, and the following year he made the headlines when he suggested that today's special forces lack the mental toughness of their forebears.[6]

Mortimer has acted as a consultant to several television documentaries including the three-part BBC series about the wartime SAS, which was broadcast in 2017.[7]

In addition to his military history, Mortimer has written several narrative non-fiction books, including 'The Great Swim',[8] about the race to become the first woman to swim the English Channel. Dramatised on BBC Radio 4 in 2010,[9] the Great Swim was described by the Daily Mail as "a fascinating and irresistible slice of sporting history".[10]

He is a regular contributor to BBC History magazine, History Revealed, WW2 magazine and The Spectator, for whom he writes about French politics and the West's war with Islamic extremism, drawing parallels between the Nazis and ISIS. In an article in August 2017 Mortimer was the first writer to identify that ISIS terrorists were specifically targeting western women on account of their sex.[11]

Publications

Non-fiction

  • Fields of Glory (2001), ISBN 1472122097
  • Stirling's Men: inside story of the SAS in WW2 (2004) ISBN 0304367060
  • Longest Night (2005) ISBN 0297846388[12]
  • The Great Swim (2007) ISBN 1906021384[13]
  • Chasing Icarus (2008) ISBN 080271711X[14]
  • Double Death (2009) ISBN 0802717691[15]
  • The Blitz (2010) ISBN 1849084246
  • The Daring Dozen (2011) ISBN 184908842X
  • The SAS in WW2 (2012) ISBN 1472808754
  • A History of Football in 100 Objects (2012) ISBN 1781250618
  • A History of Cricket in 100 Objects (2013) ISBN 1846689406[16]
  • Merrill's Marauders (2013) ISBN 0760344329
  • The SBS in WW2 (2014) ISBN 1472811135
  • The First Eagles (2015) ISBN 0760346399
  • The Men Who Made the SAS (2015) ISBN 1472122097
  • History of the Long Range Desert Group in WW2 (2017) ISBN 1472819330

References

  1. ↑ "House Spirit Wins in a Vintage 10 Mile Cup". Mill Hill Schools. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  2. ↑ Brough Scott,"Harrowing Accounts of War Reveal the Real Heroes", 'The Telegraph', 2001
  3. ↑ Furness, Hannah (13 March 2016). "SAS 'not as tough as they used to be'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Bazaraa, Danya (27 June 2017). "Unseen archive of SAS photos revealed showing remarkable first pictures of force". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  5. ↑ Guy Walters, "How film legend Christopher Lee made up his heroic war record" 'The Daily Mail', 2015
  6. ↑ Tom Batchelor, "SAS has gone 'SOFT'", 'The Daily Express', 2016
  7. ↑ "Episode 1, Series 1, SAS: Rogue Warriors". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Great Swim by Gavin Mortimer". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Gavin Mortimer - The Great Swim, Afternoon Drama". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  10. ↑ Val Hennessy, "The Water Babes Broke Records" 'The Daily Mail', 2008
  11. ↑ "Islamic State kill western women because they fear female empowerment", 'The Daily Express', 2017
  12. ↑ "THE LONGEST NIGHT by Gavin Mortimer". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "THE GREAT SWIM by Gavin Mortimer". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "CHASING ICARUS by Gavin Mortimer". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "DOUBLE DEATH by Gavin Mortimer". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Wilby, Peter (18 July 2013). "The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon by The Authors Cricket Club – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
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