Speaker Series: Rob Hutton
Magic At War: The true story of the British illusionist who fooled Hitler
About the talk
In 1941, the British army was short of men, equipment and ideas. Whenever they fought the Germans, they lost. But out in Egypt, one man had a plan to turn things around. Lt Colonel Dudley Clarke, a soldier, spy and writer, realised he could use the stage magic principles he'd learned as a boy to mislead the enemy about British strength and intentions.
By 1944 he had built a global deception operation that saw the Allies surprise Hitler at D-Day. Along the way he would name the SAS, oversee the longest-running double agent operation of the war, and stage the largest magic show the world has ever seen. Robert Hutton, author of The Illusionist, tells Clarke's amazing true story.
Copies of The Illusionist will be available for sale and signing on the day.
