Mark Ryan - The Hornets Sting: The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum

This book would not have been possible without the help of two peopleThomas Sneum and Alan Brooke.

Tommy, the hero of the story, was patient, helpful and amusing, especially once he had overcome an early impulse to shoot me. He was, quite simply, the most fascinating man I have ever met. I will always cherish our many hours of taped conversations, Sneums cigar smoke thick in the air, the table littered with history books and the occasional bottle of schnapps, red wine or beer. His gift to me was the material for this book, mine to him the preservation of his story, though I will always be sorry that I didnt earn him more recognition while he was still alive. It took many years to piee together the full story, perhaps too many, though I hope it has been worth it, both for you, the reader, and for Tommys family.

In sharp contrast it took Alan Brooke, Editor-at-Large for Piatkus, no time at all to see the potential of the story once I sent it to him. Like all great bosses, having made his key observations, Alan then left the writer to come up with the right blend. If I have succeeded, and only others can be the judge of that, much of the credit should go to Alan for his firm but wonderfully economical guidance.

In the Sneum family, I want to give particular thanks to Tommys son Christian, whose knowledge of English and Danish (among many other languages) helped so much with the translation of important documents, such as Danish police reports, history books and newspaper articles. It is one of the enduring joys of having worked on this book that I can now count Christian among my friends. And although some of the tales of Tommys womanizing may not be entirely comfortable for Chris, his sister Sandra or half-sister Marianne, neither will they come as any great surprise. I can only hope that everyone will recognize that, since a love for women was so central to Tommys life, it would have been a less-than-accurate portrayal of his character had some of these romantic adventures not been included here.

In my own family, my wife Victoria has given me invaluable assistance on the technical front, since the computer remains a mysterious beast to some of us. My little son Luca put up with seeing less of his father while the book was prepared, and I hope to make amends.

The late Ronnie Turnbull, who worked for Britains Special Operations Executive, also deserves special acknowledgement here. While his impact on Sneums war, however indirect, meant that he doesnt always emerge favorably in the narrative, I always enjoyed our telephone conversations in the years before he died, and I have since been told that he did too. Ronnie was more than capable of arguing his corner, and when we didnt feel like talking about the war any more we would talk about football instead. I developed an affection for Ronnie and tried without success to persuade Tommy to meet him, so that Sneum could overcome the bitterness he still felt towards SOE. The fact that I had to remain objective in the telling of this story should in no way devalue the personal rapport I developed with Turnbull, whether I agree with some of his wartime decisions or not.

There are so many people to thank: Denise Dwyer and Andy Hine in the Little, Brown London office for their cool professionalism and enthusiasm, and my excellent copy editor, Philip Parr, whose immediate grasp of the storys various elements and eagle eye for consistency were truly amazing.

Undoubtedly there are many more helpful individuals in England and Denmark who have been overlooked here, so let this page be for you too, and for all those at the National Archives in Kew, London, and the Frihedmuseet in Copenhagen, who put up with my bad temper as I tried to uncover the truth.

Here is the product of all our hard work.

The epic Flight of the Hornest Month

The Ice-Walks from Denmark to Sweden