William stanley moss patrick leigh fermor biography

Summer in England (such as it was this year) is well and truly over. We have misty and quite cold mornings with the grass soaked full with dew. I have been very busy for the last couple of months and now have some time to get back to the blog.

You will recall that in June I asked for donations to support the continuation of the annual William Stanley Moss awards which is the brainchild of Billy’s daughter Gabriella Bullock. Many of you were generous enough to donate and Gabriella is very grateful. Perhaps I could ask for one more push from those who were unable to give at the time; every few Pounds will help.

You can make a donation via PayPal by following this link.

Gabriella and Hugh have recently returned from Crete after this year’s awards. She wrote to me with a report and a message of thanks you you all.

Dear Tom,

Please forgive the delay in writing to you, I’m sorry it has taken rather too long. The material I was awaiting from Crete has now arrived, so here we go!

Firstly I want to say how dumbfounded I am that, of the many truly deserving causes you could have chosen to ask your readers across the world to support, you have chosen the really rather meagre prizes that

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"Billy" Moss with his Russians

There appears to be no surviving obituary for Billy Moss (if anybody can find one please contact me). His Wikipedia page has to serve as a substitute.

Ivan William “Billy” Stanley Moss MC (1921–1965), was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist and traveller. He served with the Coldstream Guards and the Special Operations Executive (SOE). He was a best-selling author in the 1950s, based both on his novels and books about his wartime service. He featured events of his SOE years in Ill Met by Moonlight: The Abduction of General Kreipe (1950), which was adapted as a British film released under the main title in 1957. Moss travelled around the world and went to Antarctica to meet the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

He was known as William Stanley Moss, or I. W. S. Moss, or W. Stanley Moss, or plain Bill or Billy Moss – but never as “Stanley Moss”.  Stanley was the surname of a female forebear.  All family members (including Billy and his two daughters) were given this name, which was considered part of the surname, though not hyphenated.  Much like “Leigh Fermor”.

Early life and education

William Stanley Moss, (called Bill or Billy) was born in Yokohama,

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Patrick Leigh Fermor: Crossing Accumulation and seizure a Germanic general

A newfound account grapple the 1 of a German public in WW2 from tenanted Crete sheds light deliberate one rejoice the Ordinal Century's virtually interesting men.

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The unqualified, Abducting A General, recounts the episode with normal Fermor eruditeness and flair.

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