The Monocled Mutineer (Book) Review
by Pen & Sword Books
RRP: £10.00
Publisher: Souvenir Press Limited
Author: John Fairley and William Allison
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780285643109
Pages: 208
Buy The Monocled Mutineer from Amazon
The Monocled Mutineer, written by John Fairley and William Allison, details World War One's most guarded secret, the ringleader of the Étaples mutiny, Percy Toplis.
In 1917 British, New Zealand and Australian troops stationed at the Étaples Training Camp in Northern France protested against the inhuman conditions. This was the cause of the Étaples mutiny. The mutineers held the town of of Étaples captive for three days and attacked military police as well as the commander of the training camp, General Thompson.
Many of the mutineers were executed shortly after but Toplis evaded capture for three years.
By tracking down surviving members of the mutiny, and relatives and friends of Percy Toplis, Fairley and Allison, have brought this story back to life after it had been buried for over fifty years. Turning the public's attention to the story of one man's leadership in an uprising, his years on the run and eventual capture and death at the hands of the police.
An Army cover-up, survivors forced into silence and even a dramatic and controversial adaptation in the 1986 BBC drama, starring Paul McGann.
The Monocled Mutineer brings this sensational story out of the shadows and into the light.
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