Theodore Edward le Bouthillier Allbeury (24 October 1917 – 4 December 2005) was a British author of espionage fiction. He served as an intelligence officer in the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

between 1940 and 1947, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is believed to be the only British secret agent who parachuted into

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during the war, and he remained there until the Allied armies arrived. During the Cold War he was captured and tortured when running agents across the border between East and West Germany. After running his own advertising agency, he became the managing director of the seafort-based

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

station Radio 390 in 1964, later moving to the ship-based Radio 355 (see under

Swinging Radio England Swinging Radio England ("SRE") was a top 40 offshore commercial station billed as the "''World's Most Powerful''" that operated from 3 May 1966 to 13 November 1966 from a ship in the North Sea, four and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, En ...

for details) until its closure in August 1967. His first novel, ''A Choice of Enemies'', was published in 1972. Allbeury went on to publish over 40 novels, under his own name as well as Patrick Kelly and Richard Butler.

Early life

Allbeury was born in Stockport, Cheshire, and educated at King Edward VI Aston School, Birmingham.

Media adaptations

Allbeury's 1984 novel ''No Place to Hide'' was filmed as ''Hostage'' (1992) and starred

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

Talisa Soto Miriam Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American former actress and former model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film ''Licence to Kill'', and as Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film '' Mortal Ko ...

and

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', '' The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performan ...

. The 1992 film '' Blue Ice'' starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

is "based" on Allbeury characters.

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

broadcast adaptions of ''The Other Side Of Silence'' (8-part serial, 1982), ''Pay Any Price'' (10-part serial, 1983), ''No Place To Hide'' (8-part serial, 1984), ''The Lonely Margins'' (1988) and ''Deep Purple'' (1993).

Personal life

He was married to Grazyna, who died in 1999, and they had a son and three daughters.

Bibliography

Novels

*''A Choice of Enemies'' (1972) *''Snowball'' (1974) (featuring Tad Anders) *''Palomino Blonde'' (1975) (featuring Tad Anders) a.k.a. Omega-minus *''Where All the Girls Are Sweeter'' (1975) (writing as Richard Butler) a.k.a. Dangerous Arrivals *''The Special Collection'' (1975) a.k.a. The Networks *''The Only Good German'' (1976) a.k.a. Mission Berlin *''Moscow Quadrille'' (1976) a.k.a. Special Forces *''Italian Assets'' (1976) (writing as Richard Butler) a.k.a. Deadly Departures *''The Man with the President's Mind'' (1977) *''The Lantern Network'' (1978) *''The Alpha List'' (1979) *''Consequence of Fear'' (1979) a.k.a. Smokescreen *''The Reaper'' (1980) a.k.a. The Stalking Angel *''The Twentieth Day of January'' (1980) a.k.a. Cold Tactics *''Codeword Cromwell'' (1981) (writing as Patrick Kelly) *''The Lonely Margins'' (1981) (writing as Patrick Kelly) *''The Other Side of Silence'' (1981) *''The Secret Whispers'' (1981) *''Shadow of Shadows'' (1982) *''All Our Tomorrows'' (1982) *''Pay Any Price'' (1983) *''The Judas Factor'' (1984) featuring Tad Anders *''The Girl from Addis'' (1984) *''No Place to Hide'' (1984) a.k.a. Hostage *''Children of Tender Years'' (1985) *''The Choice'' (1986) *''The Seeds of Treason'' (1986) *''The Crossing'' (1987) a.k.a. Berlin Exchange *''A Wilderness of Mirrors'' (1988) *''Deep Purple'' (1989) *''A Time Without Shadows'' (1990) a.k.a. Rules of the Game *''The Dangerous Edge'' (1991) *''Show Me A Hero'' (1992) *''The Line-Crosser'' (1993) *''As Time Goes By'' (1994) *''Beyond the Silence'' (1995) a.k.a. The Spirit of Liberty *''The Long Run'' (1996) *''Aid and Comfort'' (1997) *''Shadow of a Doubt'' (1998) *''The Reckoning'' (1999) *''Never Look Back'' (2000) *''The Assets'' (2000) a.k.a. Due Process

Short story collection

*''Other Kinds of Treason'' (1990)

Radio plays

*''Long Ago and Far Away'' (1982) *''The Way We Live'' (1983) *''Time Spent in Reconnaissance'' (1983) – story later included in ''Other Kinds of Treason'' *''Music of a Small Life'' (1983) *''There's Always Tomorrow'' (1985) – story later included in ''Other Kinds of Treason'' as 'The Dandled Days'

Essays

*"Memoirs of an Ex-Spy," in Murder Ink: The Mystery Reader's Companion, edited by Dilys Winn (New York: Workman, 1977), pp. 164–168. *"It's the Real Thing," New Statesman (1 July 1977): 27.

References

External links

WorldCat entriesAllbeury appears on Desert Island Discs in September 1979.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allbeury, Ted 1917 births 2005 deaths English spy fiction writers 20th-century English novelists English male novelists People from Stockport British Special Operations Executive personnel 20th-century English male writers People educated at King Edward VI Aston School English torture victims