Major Farran's Hat: Murder, Scandal and Britain's War Against Jewish Terrorism 1945-1948

The gripping true story of the murder, in Palestine in 1947, of a Jewish activist by a British counter-terrorist officer, and the subsequent cover-up. In May 1947, a Jewish teenager, active in a Zionist underground group fighting British rule in Palestine, was abducted. He was never seen again. Witnesses said he was seized by British policeman. A hat found at the scene was traced to Major Roy Farran, an ex-SAS officer leading a covert counter-terrorist squad. A sensational court martial followed, but Farran was acquitted, and the Zionist underground swore vengeance.Drawing on recently declassified files of the security services, the book exploresthe reasons why Britain lost Palestine and reveals the full extent and ambition of Jewish terrorist attacks on Britain in the late 1940s. Part Boys' Own adventure, part narrative history, Major Farran's Hat solves a murder mystery and exposes a shady episode in the final years of the British empire, and throws light on Britain's legacy in the Middle East.From the Hardcover edition.