Douglas Valder Duff
He later rescued White Russian refugees from the Black Sea, spent time as an apprentice monk, served as a 'Black and Tan' during the counter-insurgency in Ireland, and joined the Palestine Police.
In 1914, Duff entered the naval training college HMS Conway aged 13 and served in the Merchant Navy in World War I.
[7] Duff served on a third ship carrying American troops across the Atlantic which was wracked with Spanish flu that killed dozens of its passengers.
[8] After two years in the monastery Duff left to serve as an auxiliary policeman in the famous counter-terrorism force the "Black and Tans" during the Irish War of Independence of 1920 to 1921.
On enlistment Duff lied about his military background claiming to have served in the Rifle Brigade in order to spare himself an extended period of police training in depot.
He was quickly involved in combat against the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and shot his way out of two ambushes, resulting in the deaths of a pair of insurgents who had attacked his unit with grenades.
[citation needed] Whilst off duty he claimed to have confronted a man he suspected of being IRA leader Michael Collins in a Dublin street.
The man indicated he was correct in his suspicions but alleged that several men lounging nearby were his armed bodyguards who would kill Duff if he attempted to take him prisoner.
[9] By 1921, Duff was employed using his maritime training to lead small boat raids against groups of fugitive IRA members who had sought sanctuary in remote coastal villages inaccessible by road.
The most important events of the year were Christmas Eve and Easter which involved the Eastern Orthodox Sabt an-Nur, (Day of Holy Fire) and the an-Nabi Musa Muslim celebrations.
Set in spring 1937 he gives an account of a man-hunt with dogs across the Carmel hills which ended with the fugitive being shot dead and the houses he was seen running away from being blown up by the British Royal Engineers.
Plagued by recurring bouts of malaria, Duff left the police and set up home in Dorset, where he took up a career in journalism, drawing on his own experiences to write adventure stories for boys.
There was also Harding of the Palestine Police (1941) and Bill Beringer – detective – (1949) who appeared in a long running series, as did Adam Macadam – Naval cadet – (1957).
He would later serve in the Middle East, including a period on the Staff of Admiral Cunningham and commanding blockade runners breaking the siege of Tobruk.
In March 1941 he was awarded a Mention in Dispatches (MID) for his service aboard HM Yacht Eskimo off the Libyan coast, and eventually commanded patrol ship HMS Stag, netting the Suez Canal.
[23][24][25] Duff produced nearly 100 books in his lifetime, sometimes writing under pseudonyms, including Douglas Stanhope, Leslie Savage and Peter Wickloe.
His books were invariably based on his own life story and were normally a combination of nautical adventures and police/detective work featuring heroes such as Peter Harrington, Bill Berenger, Jack Harding and the Sea Whelps.
