Lancaster to Berlin By Walter Thompson
Detective Inspector Walter Henry Thompson was the bodyguard of Winston Churchill for 18 years between 1921 and 1945 being recalled from semi retirement running a grocers shop with his wife by a telegram from Churchill on 22 August 1939 reading Meet me Croydon Aerodrome 4. 30pm Wednesday Churchill Although at that time Churchill had no official position in government as the leading anti appeaser he was aware of the prevailing risk to his life from assassins particularly the Nazis and he personally engaged Thompson to protect him at a rate of 5 per week with Scotland Yard continuing to pay his salary Thompson resumed his official duties with Scotland Yard being assigned to protect Churchill when Churchill rejoined the Cabinet on th Detective Inspector Walter Henry Thompson was the bodyguard of Winston Churchill for 18 years between 1921 and 1945 being recalled from semi retirement running a grocer s shop with his wife by a telegram from Churchill on 22 August 1939 reading Meet me Croydon Aerodrome 4. 30pm Wednesday Churchill Although at that time Churchill had no official position in government as the leading anti appeaser he was aware of the prevailing risk to his life from assassins particularly the Nazis and he personally engaged Thompson to protect him at a rate of 5 per week with Scotland Yard continuing to pay his salary Thompson resumed his official duties with Scotland Yard being assigned to protect Churchill when Churchill rejoined the Cabinet on the outbreak of war. During his time with Churchill Thompson travelled over 200000 miles and is reported to have saved Churchill s life on some 20 occasions including times when Churchill s own foolhardiness exposed him to danger from shrapnel during the Blitz plots by the IRA Indian nationalists Arab nationalists Nazi agents Greek Communists and the deranged The stress of his duties during his time with Churchill caused Thompson to suffer a breakdown which took him away from Churchill but within weeks Thompson had recuperated and returned to his duties The stress of the job compounded by long absences away from his family led to the dissolution of Thompson s first marriage in 1929 and during the war he married Churchill s junior secretary May Shearburn. In June 1945 with Churchill out of office and Thompson about to retire for a second time from the Metropolitan Police the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and Downing Street decided that it would be improper for him to publish his memoirs for the foreseeable future and threatened Thompson with the loss of his police pension if it was published even though he had nearly completed a 350000 word manuscript An expurgated version I was Churchill s Shadow was published in the 1950s but the full manuscript was discovered only after Thompson s death by his great niece Linda Stoker: For his service in protection of Churchill and to his country Thompson was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1945, He died of cancer on 18 January 1978 aged 87 years site_link 
| Lancaster to Berlin By Walter Thompson |
| 090757937X |
| 9780907579373 |
| English |
| 200 |
| Paperback |