Category: Uncategorized

Our first review on the Amazon.ca site: “I’m usually not a fan of ‘micro-histories’ or local history nor of military history in general, but I had a lovely time with this one. On the local history side it helped that it the events set out in this book are connected to larger, broader developments in…

A review of OPERATION BASALT in the June 2016 edition of the Channel Islands Occupation Society Newsletter. The reviewer calls the book “well-researched” and “a most informative read”.    

Many thanks to Eric for inviting me to speak this evening at the launch of his excellent book, Operation Basalt. It’s a great pleasure for me to be here because, as Eric has said, my dad, Tim Robinson, was one of the Commandos involved in the raid. However, what I would like to say is…

On 21 May 2016, the book launch for Operation Basalt: The British Raid on Sark and Hitler’s Commando Order had a surprise guest: the last surviving member of the team of British commandos who participated in the raid. Cpl. James Edgar, who turned 96 on the same day, sent us this extraordinary video greeting: Click…

I have learned new details about Operation Basalt and will be incorporating these changes in future editions of the book, including the forthcoming paperback version. The most important of these concerns the role of Cpl. James Edgar on the raid. Mr Edgar, who currently lives in Australia and is the last surviving commando from Operation…

The following is the text of the speech given by Eric Lee on Saturday, 21 May 2016, in the Island Hall on Sark at the launch of the book, Operation Basalt: The British Raid on Sark and Hitler’s Commando Order. Good evening, and welcome. I want to thank all of you who have come here…

Yesterday’s edition of Guernsey’s daily newspaper featured a full page about Operation Basalt — both the raid itself and my new book. Click here to download a PDF of the article.

My article about the fate of Annie Wranowsky, the only Jew on Sark during the Nazi German occupation, appears in today’s edition of the Jewish Chronicle. From the article: A few weeks after the Germans occupied the Channel Islands, orders were issued regarding the registration of the Jews. Any Jews in Sark were required to register…

One of the longer reviews of Operation Basalt has just been published by Roger Darlington, whose own Second World War book, Nighthawk, will be coming out soon in a new edition.  Roger’s review can be found here.

This extraordinary photo — published here for the first time — shows several of the commandos who participated in the October 1942 raid on Sark. While other photos have shown some of the officers, this is a rare photo of the “other ranks”.  The caption and article which follow were written by Graham Robinson, who…