Non-Fiction
1 Best Non-Fiction Book About X Troop
Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.
Phase
X Troop
1942–1945
X Troop, formally 3 Troop of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, was created in 1942 from German-speaking refugees, many of them Jewish. Recruits adopted British names and identities because capture by German forces could expose them to exceptional danger.
The troop’s members were attached in small groups to other commando formations, where their language ability and knowledge of German military culture could be used during raids, landings and intelligence work. They served in Mediterranean and north-west European operations and often combined combat duties with interrogation and translation.
Helen Fry’s Why I Became an X Troop Commando follows Colin Anson, born Claus Ascher, through refugee flight, British enlistment and service in the unit. His life illustrates the unusual wartime position of men who fought the regime that had expelled them from their country of birth.
