January 2026

Dear friends,

Now I’m semi-retired, I have more time to enjoy reading books.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a slow reader. This always seems to surprise people, especially if they know I’ve spent most of my career in journalism, tackling fast-moving stories and tight deadlines.

My other half Laura will devour at least five books in the time it takes me to get through one – and that’s reading in her second language.

I was, in fact, always a rather slow writer, too (and still am).

I found it much easier to edit other people’s words, which is probably why my first boss, John Tanner of the North Wales Weekly News, fairly early on switched me from reporting duties to the production desk. It probably helped as well that I could spell a bit.

I still prefer reading the news every day, especially when I can get my hands on a ‘proper’ printed newspaper, but I have more time now to indulge in books.

I know I will never get through all the fact and fiction stacked on our shelves, but that doesn’t stop me acquiring more books than I can possibly read.

For Christmas, I asked the family for MI9 and The White Lady by Helen Fry. They duly arrived under the tree and both went straight to the top of my reading list. As I write this, I’m already halfway through MI9, which tells the story of the secret operation responsible for supporting escape and evasion during the Second World War.

Helen pays ample tribute to the Belgian-led undercover escape lines which helped hundreds of Allied servicemen, mostly air crew, to make their way through France and Spain to Gibraltar and back home to Britain.

The helpers and guides took amazing risks. If caught, they frequently faced the death penalty or, at best, torture by the Gestapo and a one-way ‘Nacht und Nebel’ ticket to a concentration camp.

One of the most striking aspects of Helen’s account is the remarkably high number of women involved in running or supporting the escape lines. Some of you will no doubt already be familiar with figures such as Dédée de Jongh, Elvire De Greef, Elsie Maréchal (a mother and daughter of the same name), and the Dumon sisters, Michou and Andrée, of the Comet Line.

But there were certainly many more involved too. 

Sworn to secrecy for everyone’s protection – even the men they were smuggling to safety were not aware of the true identities of those helping them in most cases – a complete list of their names will likely never be known.

We owe a huge debt to historians such as Helen for ensuring that the bravery of these quiet heroines is never forgotten.

Another excuse for my slow reading in recent weeks is that I’ve been busy editing the extraordinary memoir of the late George Beeston (below). The Australian-born son of a British father and Belgian mother, George was brought up in Charleroi and 19 when the German Army swept through Belgium in May 1940. 

After enlisting in the French Foreign Legion, he was fortunate to avoid being shot as a suspected partisan. In December 1942, he was sent to work as a forced labourer for Siemens in Nuremberg, leaving his mother, brothers and young fiancée behind.

He suffered harsh treatment, witnessed horrific sights and was extremely lucky to survive. It’s an incredible story and I’m pleased that the branch will soon be publishing it as an e-book.

This has long been the wish of our member Colin Puplett, who received the original manuscript from George shortly before he passed away in 2012. Another branch member, the late Simon Robbins, began editing the text but publication plans were put on hold indefinitely when contact was lost with his family. 

However, with the help of a German historian, I managed to track down George’s son John last November. He helped fill in a few gaps and authorised publication. So, fingers crossed, this rare historical testimony and remarkable account of survival against the odds will finally see the light of day. You will find a first excerpt from George’s book in this newsletter.

***

The Brussels Battles and Book Club, run by our member William Bache and his daughter Christina, has published its calendar of events for the year ahead. They include a battlefield tour to France and talks on books about the Belgian agents who parachuted into occupied Europe during WW2 and the Belgian SAS. Helen Fry is among the authors invited to present their books. I have incorporated the agenda into our RBL branch online calendar, which naturally also includes details of all our commemorations and planned events. If you’d like us to include an event, please contact [email protected]. 

All the best for 2026,

Dennis

[email protected]