James Bond First Editions

[The Wild Geese] Three years With 'Sylvia', and inserted T.L.S. from Colonel 'Mad' Mike Hoare, to Lt-Col. Colin 'Mad Mitch' Mitchell.

HOARE, Mike (1919-2020), MITCHELL, Colin Campbell (1925-1996)

[Euan Lloyd Productions] London: Robert Hale, 1977. [Travel / Adventure] FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp.188. Illustrated with photographic plates. Publisher's blue cloth in dust-wrapper priced £4.50. With typed letter signed, accompanying this gifted copy of the book, 37-lines on 'Wild Geese' headed stationery, on location in Transvaal, 25th Oct. '77. Book is near fine, with folded news-clipping concerning the Hoare's Seychelles mercenaries affair (for which he was imprisoned). Letter folded thrice; fine. In 1964-1965 Colonel Mike Hoare led 300 'Wild Geese' across the Congo to crush a communist rebellion, rescue 2000 nuns and priests from barbarity and beat Che Guevara. Hired by Congalese Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe, he commanded two separate mercenary groups during the crisis, firstly in the Katanga revolt, then in the Simba rebellion. He then emigrated to South Africa and undertook trans-African motorcyle rides, bluewater sailing (in his yacht 'Sylvia', about which this book was written), desert, mountain and jungle expeditions, and led safaris in the Kalahari. In the mid-70s Hoare was hired as technical adviser for the movie 'The Wild Geese', about a group of mercenary soldiers hired to rescue a deposed African president who resembled Tshombe, while the central African nation of the story resembled the Congo. Richard Burton played the Mike Hoare character ("Colonel Allen Faulkner"). The recipient is Colin Campbell Mitchell who, during the Aden Emergency, led forces in what became known as "the last battle of the British empire", retaking the Crater district from insurgents and local police mutineers. Following the conflict he became a Conservative MP and took a leading role in the Halo Trust, a not-for-profit organisation undertaking mine clearance in former war zones. The insightful letter between two exceptional if maverick and infamous soldiers, provides much comment on the film production and actors; 'Burton is a tremendous man... Harris is an enigma, an intellectual and deep personality... Roger Moore and Hardy Kruger are both ex-army types and look it... the script is better than the book... everybody thinks it will make a good film with universal appeal'. Comment is also made on the recently arrived mutual friend Terry Fincher, an award-winning British photojournalist who covered the Suez Crisis, five tours of Vietnam, the Middle East and Africa, and who was principal photographer for the film. A sequel Wild Geese II followed in 1985, also from producer Euan Lloyd, who made a career out of war films and mercenaries; his numerous credits include Cocklesheel Heroes, The Victors, The Sea Wolves and Who Dares Wins. Item #72103

Gilbert, Jon. Ian Fleming The Bibliography, A16a (1.1).

Price: £750.00