The eponymous subject of this biography is Airey Neave, best known (if only to older generations) for his escape from Colditz in 1942 and his political assassination in 1979. Patrick Bishop sets out to fill the gap before and between these bookends.
There is early posh boy stuff – Eton, Cambridge, Officer Training Corps, an incipient career at the Bar – before war broke out and a commission in the Army. Caught up in the defence of Calais, he was captured and became a prisoner of war, eventually ending up in Colditz. His escape from there gets a good airing, followed by his subsequent role running agents in occupied Europe assisting escaped and stranded (mainly) airman get back home. Whence his codename of Saturday.
Post war, he combined his legal work with continuing, unofficial, work with the secret services, until becoming (Conservative) Member of Parliament for Abingdon. The political life is touched on, largely unexciting, even against the backdrop of the Heath – Wilson years and the miners’ strikes. But then he finds himself managing Margaret Thatcher’s leadership bid, and landing (by choice) the role as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
His outspoken, uncompromising views on how to meet the terrorist threat marked him as a threat, particularly as the 1979 election promised to catapult the Conservatives into power. Before that could happen, the INLA planted a car bomb that exploded, spectacularly, as Neave drove out of the Houses of Parliament car park.
It is a readable
account of a life that maybe peaked early and ended prematurely. But between those
notable bookends, it seems unremarkable, and Bishop fails to make it seem otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment