Blown
Subtitle: the incredible story of John Goldsmith, gambler, racehorse trainer and wartime secret agent
By: Jamie Reid
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Racing Post
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Newbury
Language: eng
Number of pages: 271
ISBN-13: 9781910498064
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945; Biography; Secret service; Race horses; Training; Horse racing; Betting; Great Britain. Special Operations Executive; Great Britain
Description: BIOGRAPHY: HISTORICAL, POLITICAL & MILITARY. The thrilling true story of John Goldsmith, one of the great unsung heroes of World War Two. An English racehorse trainer and horse dealer's son, he was born and brought up in Paris and spoke fluent French. In 1942 he was recruited in to the legendary Special Operations Executive, or SOE, and dropped three times behind enemy lines. On each of these missions he drew on thereserves of nerve and guile that he had acquired in the horse racing world. In 1943 he organised the escape of a French air force general across the Pyrenees but a few months later he was caught by the Gestapo in Paris only to engineer his own getaway from a locked third floor hotel room. By the end of the war he had been awarded the DSO, MC, Croix de Guerre and Legion d'Honneur. Resuming his peacetime occupation in 1946 Goldsmith was sent numerous French racehorses to train.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.