Toplis was the rank and file army deserter masquerading as a monocled officer, a ‘fascinator of women’, a ruthless anarchist — the man who some claimed had led the notorious mutiny at Étaples Base Camp in 1917 — but was his extraordinary legend an invention of the press or the creation of an incorrigible fantasist?…
Category: Percy Toplis
The Enchanting Secret Behind the Monocled Mutineer
Unhappy is the land that needs a hero. What makes the legend of the Monocled Mutineer such a compelling mystery?
Tinker, Toplis, Soldier … Spy?
At the time the military camp riots were taking place in France, Britain was in the grip of a paranoia about German Spies and Russian anarchists. It saw them everywhere. In his 1922 book Queer People, Intelligence Chief, Sir Basil Thomson offers his own sardonic take on the affliction: “I began to think in those…
поддельные новости: The Monocled Mutineer and the Red Under the Bed documentary
As news emerges that actor Ricky Tomlinson and members of the so-called Shrewsbury 24 are to have their 1970s convictions reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, we look at the role played in that conviction by Woodrow Wyatt’s Red Under the Bed documentary. The Monocled Mutineer wasn’t the only occasion that the book’s author…
Spies, Secrets & Mutiny: The story behind The Monocled Mutineer
In the previous article, we looked at John Fairley’s role in the 1973 British television documentary, Red Under the Bed, and how it served as a catalyst for the conviction of the ‘Shrewsbury Two’ following the national builders’ strike. This time we turn to the book’s publisher Quartet, and its proprietor, Naim Attallah. By the…
Illegalists and Anarchists
The way that Edwin Woodhall’s narrative evolves is that Percy Toplis, like motor-gang nemesis Jules Bonnot before him, had been helped by radicals he’d met in the deserter camps around Camiers. If this is true, then its possible that once back in England he had somehow managed to embed himself into the deeply subversive sub-culture…
Captain Francis Percy Toplis, DCM – Really?
If this is a picture of Percy masquerading as ‘Captain Toplis, DCM’, then why isn’t he wearing a Captain’s uniform? And why is there no DCM? Read on.
Toplis Detective Edwin Woodhall
A look at Toplis detective and intelligence officer, Edwin T. Woodhall and claims that he encountered Toplis at Etaples.
Monocled Mutineer – Mutiny at the BBC
Why did Bleasdale’s drama cause such a media storm? Why was the BBC Director Alasdair Milne removed? And what were Willie Whitelaw’s links to Toplis’ killer?
Percy’s REAL Aunt Annie – Toplis in Newport, South Wales
If you remember the BBC serial drama, The Monocled Mutineer you’ll doubtless remember Percy’s beleaguered guardians, the Websters. Annie was always being pestered for money, and Frank was always being pestered for his bike. But this is a look at the real Webster family. And it’s not what you’d expect. The tale might even provide…