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 Basalt, states categorically that he was the commando ordered by Major Appleyard to return to the cliff-top and signal to Motor Torpedo Boat 344 to wait for the delayed return of the men. As a result, he was not present during the firefight at the Dixcart Hotel.
In the current hardback version of the book, Mr Edgar’s account (as told to Tom Keene) is cited, but this is followed by contradictory accounts from two other historians which have no merit. These will be deleted in all future editions of the book.