The real Foyle's War
Since it was on sale I splashed out and bought The Real History behind Foyle's War. It tells of the true stories that inspired the series, as well as being filled with glossy pictures both from the series and the real events.
Did you know that Sam was based on creator Anthony Horowitz'z governess Norah Fitzgerald, who was a WAAF driver during World War II? "Known to her superior officers as "Fitzy", she told Anthony about her marvelous life in uniform and all the fun she had driving important people in a motor car at a time when most girls like her were not expected to be going out working at all. There was also, however, almost inevitably, a sad side to her stories: she fell in love with a pilot and was devastated when he was killed during the Battle of Britain. Sam then, is Anthony's tribute to Fitzy, a feisty, intelligent, inquisitive young woman who relishes the prospect of making her mark in an unfamiliar world." (p. 65)
For some reason this makes me love Sam even more(if that is possible!).
Andrew Foyle and his RAF antics were based on the memoirs of two RAF pilots called Richard Hillary and Geoffrey Wellum, and especially Hillary's book The Last Enemy.
Hee - I love knowing things like that.
The stories themselves are also based on real events. The spy in Fifty Ships is based on a real spy Carl Meier, who came to England the 3. September 1940. he was caught because he walked into Lydd in Kent to buy some drinks and cigarettes. "With no knowledge of English licensing laws, his first port of call was a pub where he asked for some cider. The landlady explained that she could not serve him just yet and recommended that he take a look around the town. When he came back it would be time. When he came back the landlady had summoned help and Meier was taken to Lydd police station." (p. 95)
Terry Charman from the Imperial War Museum, London has been a consultant for the book. Charman's finds few faults with Foyle's war except this which rather amused me:
"The attention to detail that goes into 1940's costume is impressive", he says, "but no one who did not live in the 1940's really knows how to wear those clothes. Milner, for example, looks slightly awkward in a hat. In old movies like Waterloo Road , people knew how to wear hats, how to dress in 1940's clothes. You can the period detail right, but the actors will always look slightly out of place in the old clothes because, for example, gentlemen nowadays do not wear hats like that." (p. 57)
Poor Milner! ;D
Hmm...now I really want to watch Foyle's War again.