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The Glamour Boys

The Secret Story of the Rebels Who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler

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The Glamour Boys

By: Chris Bryant
Narrated by: Raj Ghatak
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About this listen

We like to think we know the story of how Britain went to war with Germany in 1939, but there is one part of the story that has never been told. It features a group of MPs who repeatedly spoke out against their party and their government's policy of appeasing Hitler and Mussolini. Remarkably, nearly all of them were gay or bisexual.

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain hated them. He had them followed, harassed, spied upon and derided in the press and called them 'the glamour boys' in reference to their sexuality. They suffered abuse, innuendo and threats of de-selection, yet they spoke out repeatedly against Hitler's territorial ambitions and his treatment of political prisoners and the Jews.

In doing so they risked everything, swimming against the overwhelming tide of public opinion at a time when even the suggestion of homosexuality could land you in prison. Forced by the laws of the day to hide their true nature, they ran the danger of exposure on a daily basis. Some of them used their capacity for lying as spies. Others saw brutality in Hitler's camps first-hand. Five of them died in action. Without them, this country would never have faced down the Nazis. This is their story.

©2020 Chris Bryant (P)2020 W F Howes Europe Freedom & Security Gay Studies Great Britain LGBTQ+ Studies Military Politics & Government World War Winston Churchill
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I'm not sure this is best suited to audio. There are a lot of names to keep track of, and the first part of the book is heavy on "then he did this, then he did that" which I might have preferred to skim. The political detail is much more interesting once it arrives, though. The narrator is a bit irritating, often stressing the wrong word and obscuring the sense of a sentence, and generally just a bit flat.

Slow to get going, but full of detail

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An excellent book, which I also regard as an insightful reference book.The atmosphere of the times and class system is strong and informative.

I thought the choice of reader was problematic. Not the accent but the handling of the material. Insufficient regard for expression and pauses making too often a sense of list making and ‘drills’. This was a shame.

A Necessary work; insightful and atmospheric

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Footnotes to the start of the second world war.

A group of the Tory MPs who opposed appeasement were gay. Some had visited Germany and experiences of friends and lovers informed their concerns.

Also, a lost world of country house weekends diletante politicians and deferential constituency parties.

The author's immersion in contemporary politics and Commons culture add greatly to the narrative.

I enjoyed this book

Interesting story

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Very interesting book and so many people I didn't know were homosexual or bisexual! Names I remember from my youth being fleshed out and given a whole new meaning for me. Also details about parliament in the lead-up to World War II. While I was, of course, aware of the general events in the country, the insight into the brouhaha in and around the House of Commons was all new to me. Let down somewhat by erratic narration; Raj Ghatak, who is so good in the Waringham Chronicles, is a bit out of his depth here. Too fast, too much wrong accentuation and far too many mispronunciations. Still a fascinating listen though.

Eye-Opening

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Whilst familiar with the names of some of the protagonist of this story, it was interesting to learn more about them and their fellow Glamour Boys as individuals and their hidden lives.

Unfortunately, the story was spoiled by the narrator. He continually mis-pronounced words, names and place names. It was as if he had never seen some of the words before and was trying to make an educated guess as to how they should be pronounced without bothering to check. I’m sorry this wasn’t picked up during recording. In addition, his delivery was flat with little intonation.

Despite these reservations, I enjoyed the story.

Interesting story spoilt by poor narration

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