In this episode of HISTORY’S DEVILS, James Crossland and Phil Craig, author of 1945: The Reckoning: War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World, delve into the complex web of the British Peace Party and its connections to Nazi sympathizers during the late 1930s and early 1940s. They explore the origins of this group, the appeal of fascism in Britain, and the key figures involved in the mission to seek an accord with Hitler, including Lord Halifax, Lord Brockett and the shifty cosplay diplomat James Lonsdale-Bryans, an unscrupulous fantasists who thought he could broker a peace with Nazi Germany and alter the outcome of the Second World War.

Buy Phil’s book:

https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/phil-craig/1945-the-reckoning/9781399714501/

Further Reading

Richard Lamb, The Ghosts of Peace, 1935-1945 (1987)

Charles Spicer, Coffee with Hitler: The British Amateurs Who Tried to Civilize the Nazis (2023)

Klemens von Klemperer, German Resistance Against Hitler: The Search for Allies Abroad 1938–1945 (1992)

KV 2/2839 – James Lonsdale-Bryan’s MI5 file – https://images.nationalarchives.gov.uk/asset/28637/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to History's Devils

03:13 The British Peace Party: Origins and Context

06:06 The Appeal of Fascism in 1930s Britain

08:51 The Anglo-German Fellowship and Its Members

12:04 The German Resistance: Allies or Opportunists?

15:01 The Role of Key Figures: Halifax and Chamberlain

18:04 Peace Feelers: Attempts at Negotiation

21:04 The Fall of France: A Turning Point

23:56 The Rise of Churchill: A New Leadership

26:53 James Lonsdale-Bryans: The Cosplay Diplomat

29:59 The Impact of Peace Feelers on War Dynamics

32:52 The Aftermath of Failed Diplomacy

Music by SOULFULJAMTRACKS

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This episode of HISTORY’S DEVILS delves into the life of Sidney Reilly, a dashing, semi-mythical MI6 officer who has often been referred to – without much reason – as the “Ace of Spies”. James Crossland is joined by Professor Rory Cormac (author of How to Stage a Coup, and Fakers: A Top Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries of the Disinformation Front) for a conversation that explores Reilly’s duality as both a charming spy and a deceitful grifter who worked his way into the British intelligence community whilst building side careers as an arms dealer and radium peddler, all whilst acquiring as many as four wives without ever bother to divorce one of them. Along the way, Reilly allegedly stole German war plans, tried to kill Valdimir Lenin and, in the final act of his melodramatic life, conspired with a supposedly anti-Bolshevik secret society to destroy the Soviet Union from within.

Join James and Rory for this wild ride of truths, half-truths and outright lies!

Buy James’ book:

https://eandtbooks.com/books/rogue-agent/

Buy Rory’s book:

https://www.tgjonesonline.co.uk/Product/Rory-Professor-of-International-Relations-Professor-of-Inter-Cormac/Fakers--A-Top-Secret-Tale-of-Phantoms-and-Forgeries-on-the-Disinformation-Front-Line/15874311

Further Reading

Andrew Cook, Ace of Spies: The True Story of Sidney Reilly (History Press, 2004)

Robin Bruce Lockhart, Reilly: Ace of Spies (1967)

James Crossland, Rogue Agent: From Secret Plots of the Psychological Warfare, the Untold Story of Robert Bruce Lockhart (Elliot & Thompson, 2024)

Keith Jeffrey, MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949 (Bloomsbury, 2010)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Sidney Reilly: The Ace of Spies

04:34 The Duality of Sidney Reilly: Hero or Villain?

08:52 Reilly's Early Life and Transformation

12:50 The Rise of a Bigamist: Sidney Reilly's Marriages

25:33 The Legend of the Ace of Spies: Myths and Reality

30:37 The Problem with Historical Sources

31:00 Reilly's War-time Activities

34:15 MI6's Role in America

35:50 The Black Tom Explosion

37:14 Reilly's Recruitment into MI6

40:21 The Bolshevik Revolution and Reilly's Role

42:14 The Lockhart Plot

46:09 Reilly's Failures in Espionage

48:04 Double-Crossing and Confusion

50:23 Reilly's Later Years and Grifting

54:08 “The Trust” and Reilly’s Final Mission

56:21 The Mysterious Death of Sidney Reilly

59:34 The Enduring Legend of the Ace of Spies

Music by SOULFULJAMTRACKS

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This episode of History's Devils delves into the life of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Joined by the incomparable Edd Mair, James explores Forrest's early life, his rise in the Confederate army, the controversial Battle of Fort Pillow, and his post-war activities, including his leadership in the KKK. The discussion highlights the complexities of Forrest's character, his motivations, and the lasting impact of his actions on American history, particularly in relation to race and the legacy of the Civil War.

Further Reading
John Allen Wyeth, That Devil Forrest: The Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest (Quatarro, 2016)
Court Carney, Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory (Louisianna State Press, 2024)
Susan Campbell Bartoletti, They Call Themselves the KKK: Birth of an American Terrorist Group (Clarion, 2014)

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Nathan Bedford Forrest
02:58 Early Life and Character of Forrest
05:55 Forrest's Rise in the Confederate Army
09:06 The Civil War and Economic Motivations
11:51 Forrest's Military Tactics and Leadership
14:36 The Battle of Fort Pillow: A Controversial Legacy
17:34 The Aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction
20:13 Forrest's Involvement with the Ku Klux Klan
35:11 The Origins of the Ku Klux Klan
36:04 The Evolution of the Klan: From Pranks to Terrorism
37:50 The Klan's Structure and Governance
39:15 Psychological Fractures
41:59 The Klan's Political Aspirations and Violence
44:42 The Klan's Influence in the 1868 Election
47:46 Ulysses S. Grant and the Suppression of the Klan
54:02 The Decline of the First Klan and Its Legacy
58:31 Nathan Bedford Forrest's Later Life and Controversies
01:00:47 The Legacy of Confederate Statues and Memorialization

Music by SOULFULJAMTRACKS

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